Day 8 Holy Rome Batman

Today we're on our way to Sorrento, and very excited to have 4 days of sun and relaxation... Hopefully the sun part for sure, cross your fingers. It's overcast and the forecast today is looking grim. But we have hope, we've had near flawless weather, except for one or two quick thunderstorms.

We had a day and half and 2 nights in Rome. The whirlwind tour was filled with sights, from the Colosseum to the Vatican. All very inspiring and grand. I can't do the sights justice with words or photographs, but it was all very overwhelming. We're staying in a courtyard Marriott which was more Marriott, less Courtyard for sure. A nice balcony overlooking the city, St. Peters Cathedral in the distance. Really nice tiled bathroom with a large tub/shower. All the hotels have been nice, but the others were more quaint, and built in old homes. We were definitely a little spoiled in this one.

The first day we did the Colosseum and then met up with Allison's college friend Alessandra, she has dual citizenship and works in Rome. Really nice girl, she was very helpful in pointing us to a few great locations and restaurants. I know Allison and her family were so glad to see her, and I was pleased to have met her. She lead us to dinner then she had to hop a train out of the city, she has a very long train trip home every morning and night. She told us to see the Trevi fountain and the Spanish steps at night.

The Trevi fountain was really impressive, hundreds of people hang out around it at night and eat Gelato, sit and talk, or take pictures, we really enjoyed that.

After the Trevi fountain we walked a short walk over to the Spanish steps, basically a similar hangout where people sit on the steps and enjoy the locations. At the top of the steps there is a gorgeous view of Rome. You can see the Vatican and Saint Peter's Cathedral. After that we headed back to the hotel for a much needed sleep. That was a very quick run through of a really full and great day. The age and history of the city is so overwhelming.

Day two of Rome, we decided to sleep in a bit and get room service, which for some reason is cheaper than dining in the restaurant. We had a giant basket of pastries, blood orange juice and 2 Cappuccinos for about 12Euro, not bad. We ate that on the balcony while I uploaded the pictures and checked emails.

After breakfast and showers, we hopped a cab to Saint Peter's Cathedral. The cab titled "Taxi Jazz" was a great ride, straight out of a Woody Allen movie, except Rome, not NY. Imagine driving though an old city, passing fountains, beautiful people, and grand statues, all while listing to really peppy up tempo jazz. Great moment, that will stick with me forever.

We get out of the cab and start heading towards the Cathedral, which is littered with huge fountains and statues lining a roundish courtyard. There are also large screen monitors surrounding the area,. I assume the Pope gives speeches over this courtyard, but I'm really not sure. First we visit the sub level of the Cathedral where all the Popes Tombs are. The oldest one I saw was dated 999 AD... Seriously 900's? Scary old. We also saw Pope John Paul the 2nd. I don't consider myself religious, but it still had some impact on me, he's just a man, but still achieved the highest level in the largest organization in the world. After the tombs we went up to the cathedral, once again I can't explain the grandness and beauty of this place. Marble statues, walls, floors, doors and alters. It was massive and all I could think about is the amount of work and money put into this place. Truly breathtaking and unbelievable.

After Saint Peter's we visited the Vatican, I really was a little bit religioned (yeah I get it, made up word, get over it!) out by this point, it was basically a museum filled to the brim with art, statues, vases, tables and anything else having to do with the religion. All very beautiful and amazing, but I grew desensitized to it all after awhile, it all looked the same. The Sistine Chapel was very amazing. It's buried into the Vatican through hallways and stairways.

Sorry for the delay, but I found wifi and can get back to updating. Today we're off to Pompeii and Mont Vesuvius. Talk to you all again soon.. I hope all is well, thanks again for following :)