ROMA!

Rome was by far the most touristy city I've been too. I loved it, but it was just packed with souvenir stands, overpriced entrances and english speaking tour guides constantly offering us their 'best deal'. I didn't have a ton of time in Rome we we fit a TON of sight seeing into a couple short days.

First we went to the pantheon and saw the tombs of quite a few people. After we made a stop at Romes biggest gelato place called Gioletti. It was crazy inside. You went to a separate counter just to make your decision about cup or cone and how many scoops, then you got a ticket and were sent to the actual gelato counter where there was no line, just mass chaos to push your way through. The towers of cones was stacked so high I couldn't believe it. At the same time we were there, there was an american celebrity in the back of the kitchen, so there were security guards all around and people waiting to take a picture of whoever it was... Anyway, the gelato was delicious - one of the best I've had!

Outside of the Patheon

Inside of the Patheon

In Front of a tomb

Gelato!

So many cones

Packed full

We took it to-go and continued walking around the city! We walked passed the ruins and the capital building then made our way to the Colosseum. (We waited to go in until the next day) Afterwards we went to the trevi fountain to make our wishes! tossing the coin over our right shoulders is supposed to guarantee that we return to rome someday :)

Colosseum

Capitol

Roman Forum (Ruins) 

More of the ancient ruins

In Front of the Roman Forum

In Front of the Trevi Fountain

Trevi Fountain

Colossuem

For the sunset we sat on the spanish steps and had some coffee to-go. There were some guys next to us that were playing the guitar and singing while the sun was setting. It was such a relaxing break after running around all day!

Spanish Steps

That night we got pizza (surprise, surprise). Afterwards we went to Scholars Irish Pub for karaoke night. I've learned that its not smart to go to and english oriented place during spring break. IT WAS PACKED. I literally could not move when i got within 20 feet of the karaoke area. After getting shoved around for a couples hours by mostly Americans, we decided it was time to leave! But, just as we were leaving we met these really nice guys from Sweden. So we stayed to chat for another 30  minutes then called it a night.

The next morning we got up early to go into the Colosseum. We took our time reading the signs and walking throughout the entire inside. Very cool to see all the history! (I took a pic of some of the history info in case anyone is interested) 

We then went to grab a quick breakfast at a cafe right outside of the Vatican City. Another lesson I learned is not to eat near the tourist attractions. It was 9 euros for a small coffee and a croissant (should be no more than 4 or 5 in most of Europe). As soon as we walked into the Vatican we saw there were seats all lined up and we realized that the POPE was right in front of us giving a speech. :) We sat down and listened to the remaining portion (unfortunately he didn't speak in English at all, but it was still so cool to see).
We went into the St. Peter's Basilica which was absolutely beautiful and I bought a rosary at the gift shop! Then we saw the Michelangelo painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. (The iconic image of the hand of God giving life to Adam.)

St. Peter's Basilica

The Pope

People sitting in st peter's square listening to the Pope

Inside the basilica

List of all the Popes

Me and Marlee split off from the group afterwards to go in to the Jewish ghetto (neighborhood). We went to a kosher restaurant and yet again, I got pesto pasta! There were signs everywhere with Hebrew writings and also an ancient temple.

ruins of the temple

Hebrew

not sure what this is... but it was sitting outside of a restaurant

The friend I was staying with lives in the same apartment complex and many other students from the University of Illinois. There were also a few other groups visiting from other abroad programs. So.... there ended up being like 30 people from U of I in this one small apartment before we went out to the bar. It was so fun. For about an hour I forgot that I was even in Italy. The next day we went to a cafe, bought some souvenirs and packed up for our luxurious flight home on ryan air :)