On our third day in Rome, we took a guided tour of the Vatican with Italy With Us. Our tour guide, Kathy, was from the US and she was hilarious in addition to being very informative about the history of the Vatican and it's popes, artists, etc. She even threw in the story of Romulus and Remus and said that Romulus killing Remus is the reason why Rome is now "Roma, not Rema". We made our way past beautiful and priceless works of art and stood in awe of Michelangelo's work in the Sistine Chapel.
On our way out of Vatican City, I stopped to mail some postcards from their post office after our tour guide told us how remarkably efficient they are compared to the Italian post office(she was right! One of them made it to Michigan in 2 or 3 days). We also "cheesed some bread" near the entrance of Vatican City which is Ryan-speak for putting cheese on bread. We were able to refill our water bottles (at one of the many public drinking fountains that can be found throughout Rome) and enjoy our cheesed bread, apples, snacks and the purest water you will ever find in a public fountain in an area that would have been jam packed if the Pope had been scheduled to speak.
We then took to the metro to the Spanish Steps and from there walked to Villa Borghese Park where we saw the Italian version of our cat Tiny Paws of Fury!
That evening, we headed back to our hostel to cook dinner and everyone joined us for fresh pasta, caprese salad and lots of wine :) This was my favorite part of our trip, it was just so nice to hang out and enjoy each others company in one of the best cities in the world!
After the family left for their hotel, we went to an Irish pub, Druid's Rock, with our London friends for a few pints of beer (Strongbow for me!), Irish car bomb shots and "Italian shots" which were Absinthe, grenadine and some white liquor, I can't remember what it was...the colors of the Italian flag. We didn't stay out too late though because wanted to be rested for our next day at the beach...
Random Photos
The Swiss guards at the Vatican
Vatican City
Cheers to Rome!
How lovely to be able to share all of that with your friends and family - makes the experience richer, I would imagine.
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