Breaking News: American tourists conquer Rome!

So it is now 11:30pm here in the Eternal City and all we have to say is...hey, we got this.

We began the day in a bit of a hurry as we had booked a tour of the Vatican city and the Sistine Chapel. Just like home, 6:00am does not cone easily. Our guide Guido (a.k.a. 'John Smith' of Italy) did a fantastic job of herding us past the line that was wrapped around the Vatican wall at 8am to the entrance. After fixing a minor issue of us leaving our camera memory card in the hotel room (imagine us holding back many curse words as we entered the Vatican halls) we indulged in the many wonders of the Tapestry Gallery, the fresco statues and the Sistine Chapel. Although we weren't able to take pictures in the Sistine chapel (the stink eye from the Swiss Guard is the worst of its kind) we marveled in Michelangelo's masterpiece that took him 5 years to create. We wandered past the various tombs of Vatican popes (no pictures there either) and headed towards the Basilica.

Pictures cannot describe the breath you are forced to inhale upon entering the chapel. Between admiring Michelangelo's Pieta (his most famous work out of marble at age 24) and appreciating the complexity of the bronzed altar that only the pope himself may speak from, we couldn't help but be humbled by the sights before us. We wandered out to St. Peter's Square to find the Vatican staff setting up for tomorrow's Papal audience. Here we found many a nun who had come for worship.

After the Vatican we attempted to make the trip into Castel Sant' Angelo...but we were too tired! We made it to the grounds, realized how many stairs we'd have to climb after having just walked for 5 hours, and decided that we'd get the souvenir hat and call it an afternoon. We spent the next hour wandering the streets of Piazza Navona while enjoying a little gelatto as we walked in the direction of the hotel.

We ventured out in the evening after enjoying our own siesta to the neighborhood of Campo di' Fiori. There we took in the splendor of the courtyard that included a view of the statue of Bruno (the intellectual heretic who was burned alive) and a faraway glance of the makeshift Senate building where Julius Cesar was stabbed to death. All warm and fuzzy reminders of Rome's vast history. We continued to follow our friend Rick (That's Rick Steves to be exact) on his night walk through Rome. We ventured through Campo di' Fiori back to Piazza Navona to find a restaurant for dinner. Finding the restaurant did not go as planned and after a minor meltdown from Steph (okay, more of a major meltdown-just don't make me walk any further when I'm hungry!!) we wandered into a small pizzaria which turned out to be some of the best pizza we'd had during our time in Rome. In fact, our best meals thus far have come from places we'd simply wandered into off the street that made up for the lack of ambiance in their simply marvelous food.

Rick took us past the Pantheon through the narrow alleyways leading to the Trevi Fountain, where we followed with the tradition of throwing a coin in the fountain to ensure our return to Rome. We then made our way to the top of the Spanish Steps and down towards the overlook of the Piazza de Popolo. After a day that consisted of nearly 10 hours of walking this magnificent city we've come to realize that Rome is best seen on foot to ensure that the essence of the city has fully set in. Upon our walk back to the hotel our confidence in our ability to not only navigate this city but to experience all it has to offer was strengthened. Despite our backpacks and white sneakers we came away with a wealth of knowledge and a true understanding of the menagerie that is Rome.

-- Steph