Day Two!

Since we were all so exhausted from yesterday we were glad for the chance to sleep in a little, aka our wake up call was at nine. After showering and getting ready, we headed down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. There was a nice spread f toast, fruit and pastries. There was also a cool machine that made coffee, espresso, cappachinos and hot chocolate. Jess Toner, Ali Stein, and Amy Lodovico agreed that the cappachinos were good with a few packets of sugar. I had the hot cocoa, which was thicker than what we drink in the US but not as thick as the Spanish Chocolat.

We were scheduled to tour the Vatican today, but we didn't have to leave until eleven. So Jess, Sam Hahn and I headed out with Professor Burns to find the Ecstasy of St. Therese statue. We went to three churches in thirty minutes but did not find the statue.

So then Robbi took us to the Vatican where we met up with the tour guide Susan. At the Vatican, they have these cool radios where the tour guide can talk into a mouth piece and we can all hear her through headphones. After walking through the Vatican museum, we went to the Sistine Chapel and saw Michelangelo's beautiful frescoes. At one point, Jess and I were seated next to two art students who were making sketches of the frescoes. The drawings were amazing and they did them so quickly.

Unfortunately my camera battery died during the visit to the Vatican so I am not able to upload any of today's pictures and will have to rely on other's pictures later on.

After the Sistine Chapel, we went into St. Peter's Basilica. Jess had special directions from her friend who studied in Rome. One of the directions told us to stand under the arches to see how one of the arches is twisted and therefore off center and is an optical illusion.

We decided to walk back to our hotel instead of take the bus so that we could see some more of the city. Once again I was surprised at how close things are. From the Vatican to our hotel is only an hours walk. The walk back to the hotel was a lot of fun. We made our way to the Piazza Narvona where we got some very very yummy Gelato, the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish steps. We also made several stops to do some souvenir shopping. Overall, the walk took us three hours, but it was a ton of fun and well worth the tired feet.

Even though we have only been in Rome for two days I feel like we have seen so much and gone so many place that it feels a whole lot longer. I am excited that we still have four more full days of exploration.

Tomorrow we are getting up super early, 5:30 wake up call, and have to leave the hotel at 6:30 so that we can get to Florence early. I am excited for Florence and from what I hear there is some good shopping there in the markets! :)

Chaio!