We made it to our hotel in Rome OK yesterday morning. We were absolutely dead tired and hungry when we got there. I was even falling asleep while sitting up in lobby chairs within seconds. I slept a decent amount on the plane over here, but Brooke wasn't so lucky. We had to wait about 45 minutes for our room because we got here so so early. Once we got into our room, which is very nice, Brooke had to drag me out of the bed so we could go find something to eat.
We walked a few blocks down past the Spanish Steps(a really cool place to just sit and hang out) where we found a 5th Ave. type scene. Choosing a cafe to eat at didn't take long once we found the right street. I had a Coke and a Calzone. My coke was 5 EUROS at this place!!! I have since found much much more affordable Cokes... Brooke had some pizza, which is a treat for her because American pizza is too greasy for her to eat.
Sleep was next on the agenda, so we climbed back up the Spanish steps, then several blocks back to our hotel where we took a nap. Later that night we walked to the Trevi Fountain and enjoyed some Gelato. It's the only ice cream that I can say is actually better than Blue Bell. I had to fight off the pushy Indian vendors around the fountain. They were selling things like mini tripods, roses, glowing mini Trevi Foutains, and stupid things like bubble machines and strange silly putty toys. I guess since we have dealt with this before in New York it hasn't been hard to shake them off. I will say they are much more pushy here than in New York. Vendors will actually set things into your arms while you are saying no to them. We called it a night after that.
This morning we had our tour of the Vatican! We figured out the subway and just took that. The Vatican is ENORMOUS, and a guided tour is a must! The museums are incredible with 1ST CENTURY works, St. Peter's Basilica is unbelievable, and the Sistine Chapel is breathtaking. Taking pictures in the Sistine Chapel is a huge no no. It's a copyright infringement to do so because the company that conducted the restoration secured that right with the Vatican when the deal was negotiated. I sneaked a few with my point and shoot camera though. At one point my flash went off and Brooked was nervous that we were going to get kicked out. There were too many people for the guards to figure out that it was me...BOOYA;)
The Vatican was incredible and I will have to give more detail later.
The current problem is power. BOTH of our power converters are broken because Brooke damn curling iron fried them both and itself. We plugged the converter in, then the iron WTF? So I am trying to find a place to buy another one, and that is proving to be very hard for some reason.
Tomorrow we are traveling to Naples, and exploring the ruins of Pompeii.
Ryan
