Roma Day 3

Our final day in Rome was all about the Vatican. We met up with our trusty tour guide once again and she helped us skip most of the lines. We were first led through a courtyard where she explained the history and controversy surrounding the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. From there, we wound through corridors and rooms with hoards of people on our way to see the Chapel, receiving information from our tour guide the whole way. We weren't allowed to take photos inside the Sistine Chapel, but it really, truly is incredible.

From there we visited St Peter's Basilica and Square. St Peter's Basilica was also incredible. I loved the Pieta sculpture as well the ornate decor and the altar.

We had lunch near the Vatican at a pizza place recommend by our tour guide and afterwards, decided to head over to the Pantheon. We'd been photographed in front of it the day before, but didn't actually go inside. Aaron and I listened to the Rick Steves guide on my phone and it was fascinating to hear the 1000+ year history of this one building. Originally it was a pagan center of worship, it's bounced back in forth between Catholic control and not.

After that, we visited the Santa Maria della Vittoria church. Famously in Angels and Demons, it's the one that burns down. It was much smaller than other churches we visited, but equally as ornate.

Our next stop was the Borghese museum. This museum requires advanced reservations and you're only allowed in for 2 hours maximum. We had originally planned to do this on Day 1, but when Aaron's plane was delayed we couldn't schedule a time since we didn't know when exactly he would arrive. We finally got to visit and it was fantastic - tons of Bernini, Caravaggio, and Titian among others.

That night for dinner we were a little pooped. Sight seeing is hard, not to mention the stifling heat. We were all a little sick of Italian food. So we looked up some other ethnic foods in the area and found a Chinese restaurant that came recommended on a website. It was alright but definitely a great break from the pasta. We got our last gelato that night - I've concluded that the pistachio is absolutely my favorite.




Typo!

 Aaron and I headed out early the next morning while Colby, Talyn, and my parents headed to Venice and then Padua for another week. We had a car pick us up and take us to the airport at like 3am for our 6am flights. Because Aaron's flight was booked later, he was on a completely diferent airline and terminal (We both had connections on the way back - Me in Amsterdam, Aaron in Zurich - and we arrived at Dulles at the same time). I have no issues with flying by myself, but I'm telling you, do NOT fly Alitalia. I had a purchased, confirmed ticket, but when I checked in for my flight they told me I was on stand-by. The dude at the desk was a complete jerk and I had to wander by myself through a mostly closed terminal and just sit and wait to see if I'd make it home or not, with no one willing to communicate with you about what's actually happening. What was even more stupid - they did it to Talyn when she flew home a week later too. I made it home, flights were generally on time, etc, but they clearly don't care about customer service - at least with Americans.

Overall, our trip to Italy was fabulous. I'm jealous of Colby and my parents who got to enjoy it for a whole extra week, but I guess that's what being a working women does to you. Aaron's just lucky he got to go at all (he had to save most of his days off for ortho interviews in the fall), but now he's been bit by the Europe bug. We're hoping a trip this coming summer is in our future.