From London...to Rome...
so, the internet is very very expensive and the locations that are cheap around here tend to be very inconvenient.
We survived our experience in London (although we just about ended up in the middle of an attempted riot after England lost the world cup game...Kendel and I suck at predicting who has won...). And thus we began our travels through Italy.
Let me say...travelling to a country where you don"t (sorry...this keyboard is wierd) know the language is really freaking frustrating at times. First of all...we left from London to Italy at what...2am...so we get to the airport at 5...just in time for our plane. Then when we get to Rome...we realize we have no clue where we are going. So we call the hostel like 8 times (after finding the only working phone in the airport)...and then have to find bus tickets. We take the bus to the train station and then have to figure out what train to catch...(getting to the hostel requires taking the metro...and the train...). After getting to the train station...we realize that we have no cash..and there is no atm in sight. We head back to Termini and get money..and the finally make it back to the train station, where we can"t get tickets. This all ends with us...on the train...with no tickets...and no one seemed to care.
Hell...atleast the hostel was nice when we got there.
The first day in Rome we spent waiting in line for the Vatican Museum and then walking around there and St. Peters. We passed the time by talking to some other Americans who happened to be in line ahead of us...and by playing several hours of the celebrity name game (which kendel and I have had to use many times when we worked at the kiosk...*shudder*...Animaland). When we got into the museum, it was hot and crowded, but there were alot of crazy statues (sans penii) and some great paintings/mosaics. At the end of the museum was the Sistine Chapel where guys in suits stood around, pointed people to empty spaces in the room, and shushed the crowd. Next we headed to St. Peters...saw some encased Popes...and more statues/mosaics. Of course, we had to go up to the top of the dome, and instead of taking the elevator, we opted to take the 530 steps. The dome, which looks like it is painted is actually covered in intricate mosaics, and is really spectacular up close. Following some more steps, we made it to the top of the tower, which overlooked all of Rome. The breath-takind view was worth the clausterphobic climb.
In the gift shop, we laughed at the sliding pope pens...and the shot glasses...and the pope trading cards.
The second day was spent looking at the ruins of the Roman architecture and the various fountains/statues. The colluseum is actually right outside of the metro stop, and really catches you off guard as you are exiting. We wandered around, avoiding the lines to go inside...and instead chose to explore the forum. It is really strange to see the ancient architecture juxtaposed against the modern buildings and streets. We ran across town to see the Trevi fountain, spanish steps (which, i must say are a tad overrated...and overcrowded), and the pantheon (which is now a church...we sat outside for like 10 min thinking we were somewhere else...). Finally, we ended our day with the "Angels and Demons" tour. We made it over to the Bernini "four rivers" fountain which served as the symbol for water in the book...and the Bernini statue "St. Theresa in Ecstasy" which stood for fire. Both pretty cool and a bit more out of the way.
And now, i think my internet time is about up...
hopefully we"ll find some better internet places around in the next few days.
We survived our experience in London (although we just about ended up in the middle of an attempted riot after England lost the world cup game...Kendel and I suck at predicting who has won...). And thus we began our travels through Italy.
Let me say...travelling to a country where you don"t (sorry...this keyboard is wierd) know the language is really freaking frustrating at times. First of all...we left from London to Italy at what...2am...so we get to the airport at 5...just in time for our plane. Then when we get to Rome...we realize we have no clue where we are going. So we call the hostel like 8 times (after finding the only working phone in the airport)...and then have to find bus tickets. We take the bus to the train station and then have to figure out what train to catch...(getting to the hostel requires taking the metro...and the train...). After getting to the train station...we realize that we have no cash..and there is no atm in sight. We head back to Termini and get money..and the finally make it back to the train station, where we can"t get tickets. This all ends with us...on the train...with no tickets...and no one seemed to care.
Hell...atleast the hostel was nice when we got there.
The first day in Rome we spent waiting in line for the Vatican Museum and then walking around there and St. Peters. We passed the time by talking to some other Americans who happened to be in line ahead of us...and by playing several hours of the celebrity name game (which kendel and I have had to use many times when we worked at the kiosk...*shudder*...Animaland). When we got into the museum, it was hot and crowded, but there were alot of crazy statues (sans penii) and some great paintings/mosaics. At the end of the museum was the Sistine Chapel where guys in suits stood around, pointed people to empty spaces in the room, and shushed the crowd. Next we headed to St. Peters...saw some encased Popes...and more statues/mosaics. Of course, we had to go up to the top of the dome, and instead of taking the elevator, we opted to take the 530 steps. The dome, which looks like it is painted is actually covered in intricate mosaics, and is really spectacular up close. Following some more steps, we made it to the top of the tower, which overlooked all of Rome. The breath-takind view was worth the clausterphobic climb.
In the gift shop, we laughed at the sliding pope pens...and the shot glasses...and the pope trading cards.
The second day was spent looking at the ruins of the Roman architecture and the various fountains/statues. The colluseum is actually right outside of the metro stop, and really catches you off guard as you are exiting. We wandered around, avoiding the lines to go inside...and instead chose to explore the forum. It is really strange to see the ancient architecture juxtaposed against the modern buildings and streets. We ran across town to see the Trevi fountain, spanish steps (which, i must say are a tad overrated...and overcrowded), and the pantheon (which is now a church...we sat outside for like 10 min thinking we were somewhere else...). Finally, we ended our day with the "Angels and Demons" tour. We made it over to the Bernini "four rivers" fountain which served as the symbol for water in the book...and the Bernini statue "St. Theresa in Ecstasy" which stood for fire. Both pretty cool and a bit more out of the way.
And now, i think my internet time is about up...
hopefully we"ll find some better internet places around in the next few days.