Day 16: Vatican City & Rome, Italy

We woke up at 5:30 to make our way to Vatican City. We bought tickets to go in with a tour guide at 8 so it wouldn't be as crowded when it opened to the public at 9. It was still so crowded with all the other tours doing the same thing, but our turtle-paced walk allowed us to really look at everything. The Vatican is just simply amazing.

We walked through all the galleries, into the Sistine Chapel and then finished off in St. Peter's Basilica. I don't think any of my pictures do the art and architecture any justice. We also walked the 551 steps to the top of the St. Peter's Basilica Dome and the views were incredible. I forgot just how narrow the staircases were!

After the Vatican, our plan was the head back to our Airbnb to eat lunch and freshen up before heading out to the Trevi Fountain. Since all public transportation was on strike from 8:00-5:30, we had to change our plans. The metro was completely closed and the buses were incredibly limited and packed to the point where no one could get in. We decided to walk from the Vatican to the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and then the Spanish Steps.

The Pantheon is so cool as there's a 9 meter hole in the ceiling so it essentially tells time from the inside from wherever the sun is shining. When it rains (which is barely does) they have holes in the middle to drain all the water. The Trevi Fountain was gorgeous and of course we made our wishes. The Spanish Steps were really nice too.

By the time we saw it all, it was 4:30 and we were pooped out so we decided to walk the hour back to our Airbnb rather than wait for the public transportation to start up again. When we got back, I've never loved a shower or a bed so much.

After we relaxed, Zoe cooked up the chicken we bought and tried to kill me by serving it to me raw. All is well, but I think she just wanted the big bed to herself as none of us offered to take the single...

We also met our roommate from Michigan. He's really nice and we all went out for dessert. Zoe had Tiramisu which she said didn't disappoint and I had some Nutella dessert (not sure exactly what it was), but it was really good too.Read more