Anywho, the next day I planned out as my tour Bernini day. I started by going to the Galleria Borghese which is where some of the pieces that I had been totally and completely excited to see for the longest time. It was a difficult place to find because it was in a huge park that is in the middle of the city, but once I found it I found out that they were sold out until Sunday on tickets. So, disappointed as I was, I got a ticket for Monday. I had some time to kill because I had intended to be visiting Bernini so I found a zoo in the park that I was in. I think I am probably one of the only people in the world that would go to Rome and proceed to go to the zoo. I don't know. It was fun, and I noticed the difference between American zoos and foreign zoos. I don't claim to be the expert seeing as I've only been to one foreign zoo, but I am allowed to make assumptions. It was getting to be mid-day and It was getting hot. I tried to find shade wherever I went, but eventually I had to just overcome the blasting heat. I walked around the city finding little holes in the wall, and random city squares where Bernini sculptures reside. It was actually pretty awesome and great seeing parts of the city I would not have otherwise. I also went to the Trevi Fountain which is where, I figure out, every tourist is. All at the same time. Or so it seems. There are just people everywhere, and when I say everywhere, I mean it. HUGE crowds, and probably one of the best places to people watch on the planet. It was great sitting there listening to the different languages, watching all of the pictures being taken, and seeing everyone so happy with themselves. It was a good place to end my journey for the day.
The Galleria Borghese.
The elephant says CIAO!
Bernini's Ecstasy of St. Teresa.
Me in front of the Trevi Fountain.
On the following day I planned on doing one of those cityseeing, hop on/hop off bus tours, the ones with the double deckers. I had never done one in a country that did not speak english, so I was unsure on how they were going to treat the situation, but they did it remarkably well. Everyone gets a set of headphones on the way onto the bus, then you plug it into the jack in front of your seat, and tune to the channel that is of the language you speak. WONDERFUL. I got to see some great places on the tour too. We went past the place where Julius Caesar was murdered, drove by the Colosseum, and under the walls of the ancient city. All around it was amazing. I hopped off at the Colosseum to do a tour of it. I heard from the girl that I stayed with in Venice to do the English tour that sounds sketchy but in fact is not sketchy at all. We got to skip the line and recieved much valuable information on the huge and ancient structure. I can't explain how huge it is once you're inside. Seriously, again, it's just one of those things that you have to see for yourself. I found out through the same tour group that I had a free tour of the Palatine Hill which is the place where the whole city started. It's right next to the Colosseum and it's got some pretty amazing structures for itself. There's a huge palace (all in ruins of course), Mousolini's villa, the foot off of a huge statue (all that's left) and the supposed hut location of Rome's founder, Romulus. All in all it was well worth it. The exit of the hill comes straight out into the Roman Forum which is apparently where every Roman has walked...that's a lot of history. It's mostly just ruins, again with the ruins, but still awe inspiring. The day was hot, and I got very sunburned, so it was time for me to turn in.
This is where Caesar died.
Inside the Colosseum.
The Roman Forum.
Outside the Colosseum.
This new day was going to be a fun day I decided. I was going to take a nice day trip to Pisa where I was going to see the leaning tower. I got to the train station, got my ticket to Pisa and found the train to be delayed. Now, I have not really mentioned it yet, but trains in Italy are, well, hard to get used to...especially when you don't speak Italian. I was standing there, waiting for the train that said 'Pisa' which had a 30 minute delay. I waited and waited, then at the last second realized that the train I needed to get on was in fact the one that said 'Torino' for it would be stopping in Pisa. I ran, but it was too late, my train had departed and I had to hastily speedwalk to the other train platform to see if I could still ride the next train. I was able, but soon realized after I got on the train that it was taking a very very long time. It in fact took me nearly five hours to get from Rome to Pisa which on the other train would have only taken about two. Upset as I was, I just went with the flow, the scenery was nice. I get to Pisa and book my return train just to make sure I have a seat. I had to get one that would put me back in Rome at a decent hour. I wandered around for a bit trying to figure out how to get to the tower, finally found the bus stop, could not figure out where to get the ticket, figured it out, got on the bus, got to the tower, only to find out that I would not be able to go up into the tower because it was sold out until after I had to leave. Livid, upset, angry...I just wanted to leave. I hung around for a while, tried to go into the Cathedral, found out that you had to pay for that as well, that's not right. Whatever, bad day, bad idea. Oh yeah, and the tower's not much to see anyways, it looks like it does in all the pictures, and I don't think it's worth seeing in real life. However, I do know now that if I had not gone to see it I would have kicked myself. I finally left Pisa, fuming from how the day turned out. I got back to Rome just before the sun started to set, got on the bus which was completely packed and i was totally squished in. At my stop I had to push and shove my way through to get out. As the bus pulled away towards the stoplight, I realized that my phone had dropped out of my pocket when I was exiting the bus. I FREAKED out. I ran up to the door of the bus, banging on it, praying that the bus driver would open the door. As I was doing this I was trying to explain that I had lost my phone. Some kindly person then proceeded to hand it to me out the window, saving my sanity and life. My heart was racing, but luckily I was not completely screwed. I got back to the hostel, ate some pizza, calmed down and went to sleep, excited for the next day, glad that this one was over.
The tower that leans exactly the same if you see it in real life or on a post card.
I woke up extra early to get to Vatican City, and again, went through the same tour group that did the Colosseum, which meant again, that we got to bipass the huge line into the museums. Now, here's something else I can't explain for you must go there yourself, but I will attempt to speak of a few things. It is huge and completely confusing. There is so much in there I can't even remember most of it. The pieces that you go to see are all that really stick out, like some of Rafael's work and what not. The Sistine Chapel is great, but completely packed with people, and guards shushing people left and right. There's also the recorded man telling people off every 5 minutes or so for taking pictures and talking, the recording is much longer however because it is read in many languages. St. Peter's Basilica is pretty awe inspiring in itself. It's huge, and again, full of people. The statue of St. Peter is made of bronze and apparently you're supposed to rub his toes for good luck, and after hundreds of years of people rubbing his toes, they have completely worn off. That's amazing in itself. There's a lot of Bernini's work in there too, which was exciting to see. Michaelangelo's Pieta is behind bullet proof glass making it seem more like a diarama than a piece of art. The square outside is not in fact a square, it is an oval, and huge. And the end of the tour is mostly anti-climactic. I wish I could have seen Vatican City's secrets, I think that would have been better. After this I was to go back to the Galleria Borghese to see the sculptures I had waited so long to see. I got there a bit early so walked around for a while, then when I reached the Galleria, I found the doors to be closed and locked with a sign that said it was not going to be open. I FREAKED again. Actually, I started crying. I had my mom call me because I was so upset. I found out that the management of the place decided to sell people tickets for Monday, but then could not follow through with staffing the place for Monday and closed it. I was frustrated and upset, so upset that my feelings about traveling completely changed. I wanted to go home as bad as ever. I did not get to see the one thing in Rome that I had truly been excited about, and I just wanted to go home. I did not get my money back and since I was leaving the next morning, there was no way for me to see it. The worst day so far, even worse than the stupid Pisa thing. However, once I calmed down and got back to my Hostel, I hung around with some people and we just talked, ate and drank the night away. There was this trio from Slovenia, and ps, Slovenian wine is great, if you ever get your hands on some, you will be lucky. I ended the day on a good note. The next day I would be leaving Italy after a long stint, and trudging on to the South of France.
Michaelangelo's Pieta.
St. Peter's Basillica.
*A few things I will miss about Rome: The history that's at every turn, the architecture, the smell of the metro (I know that's a weird one but hey), the flowers along the street leadig to my hostel, the people I met while in the hostel.
*A few things I will miss about Pisa: NOTHING!
*A few things I will miss about Italy: The food, the people, the gelato, the atmosphere, the fields and fields of poppies, the art, the language, and the history.
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