Saturday, July 26, 2008

Someone forgot to tell Europeans that smoking is bad for you

Last night after we returned from Pompeii we went on a night walk through Rome (as I'm sure you noticed with the pictures below). The city was much cooler and a little bit calmer at night, and we got more of a taste of Rome. This morning we went to the Vatican, and had a bit of an interesting experience there. I had reserved a guided tour before leaving for our trip so that we could avoid the ridiculously long lines, but I hadn't paid for it yet which I thought was kind of strange at the time. Anyway, we got there and found our tour guide, and after we'd been standing there for 40 minutes waiting for the rest of the group to arrive he handed out our headsets and immediately the Italian police came over and started talking to the guide. Then they questioned a guy in our group, and the guide came over and told us that he couldn't take us on a tour. Thankfully we hadn't paid him any money, but we were worried that now we'd have to wait in line for hours. We walked up to the Vatican museum, and miraculously there was no line at all! We walked right in, and ended up saving ourselves quite a lot of money! The Vatican was amazing with all sorts of art and intricate detail. And of course, the Sistine Chapel. We also went into St. Peter's Basilica and saw the tombs of the popes. After returning to Rome we visited another museum, took a nap, and then headed back into ancient Rome. We saw Mamertine prison where Sts. Peter and Paul were held, an amazing monument to Italy's first king, and St. Peter in Chains church. Talk to tomorrow on our last day here!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It all sounds so romantic. We are so excited to see you guys! Travel safely and we will see you soon.

Brad Foster said...

...because killing your lungs is a small price to pay for looking supercool...