Rome - Day Tre

It's Thursday!  That means it's time for Thinking Out Loud Thursday.  I'm thinking out loud today about our third day in Italy.

Our day three in Rome started bright and early.  We had followed the advice of Rick Steves and pre-purchased a tour of the Vatican that started at 8:30 am.   Looking back on our trip, we probably had more funny moments happen on this day than any other.  You know, the moments that you just have to be present to fully get and no matter how you try to explain it, it just doesn't seem as funny as when you were there living it.  It's the moments that bond friends and I'm so glad I got to share them with Eric and Linda.

Our Roma Pass was still active and our plan was to have the city bus deliver us to the Vatican.  We knew right where the bus stop was and got there in plenty of time to catch the bus.  We waited.  And waited.  And waited for our bus number 62 to arrive.  Buses came and went, but none of them were the bus 62 we needed.  After waiting for almost 30 minutes and much debate, we decided to go to the cab stand.  About a block-and-a-half of walking down the street, guess what we saw coming towards us.  That's right, bus 62.  Without even speaking to each other, we all turned and started running (and I mean RUNNING) after the bus.  We had to look like idiots.  In my mind I could hear Jenny yelling, "Run Forest, Run!"  As the bus came to a stop we were still quite a distance away but we were able to slide in the door just as it was closing.  Vatican City here we come!

It took half the ride for us to catch our breath, but we made it to the Vatican just in time for our tour.  We were handed our earphones and off we went following the yellow light bulb high on a stick being carried by our knowledgeable guide throughout the museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peters Basilica.

 To keep our group together, he was constantly whispering, "come closer to me, come closer to me, come closer to me."  There were times that I obviously wasn't quite close enough because I was searching for him and the yellow light bulb in the sky quite a bit.  At one point, he handed off the light bulb and had Eric keep the group together.

There was so much beauty in St. Peter's Basilica.  If you go to Rome, don't miss the opportunity to wonder around this magnificent church.  None of my pictures do it justice.

One tip our guide gave us was how to get a ticket for the Wednesday appearance of the Pope.  He said we just need to ask one of the Swiss guards for an invitation.

They looked a bit intimidated, but I was determined to see the Pope.  Walked right up and asked Mr. Guard if I could please have three tickets and he kindly obliged.  We were seeing the Pope on Wednesday!!

After visiting the Vatican, we were starving and decided to revisit the restaurant we went to the first day, Origano.  It was just as delicious as the first time we were there!  With our bellies full and hearts happy, we decided to head back to the hotel and rest for an hour.  While we were at the hotel, I wrote postcards to my friends at home.  BTW, no one has received their postcards yet!

Recharged and ready for more Italy, we headed to the Pantheon, the temple of the Gods.  We had walked past it many times, but hadn't gone inside.   This is one of the most perfectly designed architectural domed structures in the world.  It also where you can find the tomb of the infamous artist Raphael.

There is a hole in the domed ceiling and the rain water drains out 22 small holes in the center of the floor.

The rest of the evening was spent roaming in and out of a few more churches, getting gelato and grabbing a bite to eat at the restaurant attached to our hotel.  While walking through a piazza, we stopped to enjoy the street musicians.  Ahhhh, the sights, sounds and flavors of Rome!

As with almost every night we were there, we took a few pictures at the Trevi fountain.  I loved that it was so close to our hotel!

Day three had been amazing and we were all excited about seeing the Pope on day four.  Check back in later to see what other adventures we had while in Rome.

That's what I'm thinking out loud about today.  What's on your mind?  Link up and let us know!

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