Friday June 13th 2008

Today we woke up very early and went to the Vatican Museum.  It was around 7:00 when we left so I packed a granola bar and ate it in line for the museum.   The Vatican museum was amazing!  Michael Angelo’s  Chapel was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen in m entire life.  We spent hours staring at the ceiling until our neck hurt too much to do it anymore.  I was amazed. 

            After the museum we went to St. Peter’s. Suddenly cops were everywhere.  We did not know what was going on.  People were not being aloud into the church.  Erin and I walked down the street and found a little bakery. We got tiny pizza looking things.  It was small pieces of bread with sauce and cheese.  I though it was delicious and they were very cheap also.  We both got to for around a dollar.  We found that getting snacks like this at bakeries is a very good way to go and very cheap!

            Once we got out of the bakery we went back to the church to find out that Bush was meeting with the Pope.  We saw Bush’s car come into the Vatican.  There was cops and FBI members everywhere.  It really was a site to see. 

            After watching all the commotion we hiked up a hill and viewed the whole city of Rome.  The site was wonderful.  From there we walked around the old city.  Erik, Mike, Erin and myself stopped together for lunch.  I got a fried piece of cod, a piece of brochette with tomatoes and another one of those fried balls I had tried earlier in the week.  The ball had rice and cheese in it.  I did not like it very much.  Lunch was good though!

            After lunch we walked down the river.  They were setting up for what looked like a carnival. There was tents all along the river.  They were not open yet.  We walked onto Isola tiberina which is an island on the river.  There were painters all along the way of the river.  It was neat.  After this we went to Fontaa di Trevi which was a site.  Erin and I got another ice cream bar.  She got another magnum.  I decided to get a fruity ice cream this time due to the heat.  It was delicious and raspberry flavored.  I enjoyed sampling this.  We sat by the fountain and ate, enjoying our treat and the amazing work of art before us.

            After the fountain we went to the Pantheon.  It was neat but not as impressive as the other things we had seen.  From there we went to Pzza Navona which was a square filled with performers and artists.  There was a man singing oprah.  It was neat.

            After this we went to Castel Sant Angelo.  The castel was nice but we chose not to go inside.  There was a bridge on the river that lead us there. After we got to the Castel we decided to take a bus home.  We got a little lost on the bus.  We ended up at the stadium where the Olympics were held.  It was interesting to see this!

            We got back to the coliseum and then headed to our Hostel.  When we got to the hostel we showered and napped.  Once we woke up we went to dinner.  We ate at what I called “the olive garden of Italy.”  It was a chain Italian restaurant.  Erin and I both got a pasta dish that was very different then what we thought we ordered.  It was like a pasta salad, cold pasta with tuna and vegetables.  We both liked it but it was not what I was hoping to eat. 

            After dinner we met up with Rachel, Matt, Genna and Sam and walked the city.  We stopped at a shop and got canolies.  The cannolies were amazing!  We have not found these in Verona.  After eating our desert we went to bed.