The Eternal City

Prego... I know this is long, and already people are saying 'I'm not reading all that!', but please do... it's awesome... and I don't want to tell the same thing a million times... so take the time and save my voice later on! Graczi and enjoy!
Wow... so how do you spell amazing? R-O-M-E!!! Never in my life have I seen such amazing man made structures! It was so incredible! I'll post pics ASAP. The history is so rich there. I'm so tired... but I'll give you a quick lowdown.
First night... boring as all get out! It got there just as the sun was setting and everyone spooked me about it being a dangerous place, so I pretty much stayed in the hostel the whole evening. Did wander to the Termini (train station) to have little boo around. Had a slice-o-pizza at a dodgy looking shop across from my villa. The hostel was freezing and I discovered the heat doesn't turn on until 7:30 pm! Yeah, it was a little chilly... put all the available blankets on my bad and slept with my sweatshirt on! The days were beautiful though... went up to 10 degrees everyday, and sunny.
First official day was incredible! Walked about 1o mins to the Piazza where most of the sites are, ie. the Colosseum, the Arch of Constantine, the Roman Forum, the jail where Paul and Peter were kept (yeah awesome, I know!), and some magnificantly huge monument/castle to Vittorio Emanuel II (does anyboby know this guy?!). Met an Italian man (not creepy... just your aveage grampa) first thing and he gave me the lowdown on all the places... in Italian! The language is much easier to understand than German, let me tell you! Spent 4 hours in and around here. I actually visited those places in reverse order. Saved the best for last, had lunch under the Colosseum. Did you know that the Colosseum is actually called the Flavian Amphitheater? It came to be known as the Colosseum because of the 40 foot bronze of Nero that was placed in front of it. (Learned that you don't have to pay for the guided tours... you can just as easily eavesdrop to get some tidbits!). After this walked to the Pantheon, hugely awesome! Then to the Fountain of Trevi... again hugely awesome... you'll have to see pictures to understand! Tradition has it that you have to throw a coin over your shoulder into the fountain so that you come back to Rome some day... I only threw in a penny... might decrease the chances of my return...
Finally... getting super, unreal tired at this point, but there is one more place on my list to see... the Spanish Steps... long walk from Trevi but even longer from my hostel if I put it off til the moro. Get there... huge disppointment, as the beautiful church at the top of the stairs is covered in scaffolding, I don't even think I took a picture, I was that bummed out! Climbed to the top anyways, got a great view of the city and got to see the sunset... the sun was already out of sight at the bottom of the steps... yeah, they were big! Pretty much everything there was as big as you can imagine and then make it just a bit bigger! Walked for 8 hours today.
Second day... Vatican City! If I never see another more priest or nun, it will be too soon! Never in all my life... they were everywhere, from everywhere! Saw a friar, looked like he was right out of Robin Hood... tempted to take his picture. Eavesdropped again and found out that I could have met the Pope the day before, cause he gives private audiences to anyone who wants to see him... sorry Dad, missed my chance to say 'hi' to Benny for you!!! I can hardly speak German anyways, so it would have done no good! Went inside the Basilica... was going to take a free guided tour but I got tired of waiting for them to get the headsets you need to wear in order to hear the guide, so I took off on my own. Inside was incredible... but it was like a freaking Hindu temple inside... they had more icons in there than I have ever seen in a Hindu temple (although, the only one that I have ever seen was under renovation and it didn't have as many gods as it usually did), it was wild! Couple of dead bodies too... an old Pope (not JP II) and a cardinal, I think. Just nuts. Interesting picture in one of the 'chapel' areas... pic of Christ seated at the right hand of God, BUT Mary was inbetween them and higher than both Jesus and God... found that very intruiging. Got a pic of course! Okay, on to the Sistine Chapel... talk about a maze to get there! Anyways finally found the place, after going through the Vatican museum and 3 or 4 'Raphael Rooms'... which were awesome but I really wanted to see the Sistine! At one point, I was like, 'here I am looking at these amazing works of art by Raph and I could care less!'...sorry, Nate, I'm an ignoramous! Finally... oh no, wait just a huge corridor that one thinks is the Chapel. The paintings are beautiful but not yet the real thing! Yes... we are here! The room is packed with people sitting, standing, gawking... many mouths wide open. And amidst the 'No pictures!' and 'Be silent!' warnings, flashes blink and cameras click and people discuss the art... and of course I am of the guitly party!!! Hey folks I'm in Rome... where sins are forgiven for a couple of bucks!..... was that sacrereligious?
Moving on the the Castel of D'Angelo... massive structure... don't go inside, can't be bothered to pay the fee... watch some guys skate, yes in 10 degree weather, alot of melting was happening! Listen to some busker making his music. Look at the disgusting Tiber River, get disgusting picture to show you, then...
Take the bus back to the Termini, get back to the hostel, and decide to get some pics of the Colosseum at night... (to up Jon's pic of Big Ben!), went for a real Italian pizza at a place I had found. Note that I'm getting braver as time goes on! Only walked for 5 hours today.
Decided to sleep in on my last day since I had pretty much done everything I wanted to do. Doorbell rings at 8am... sleeping... no idea what's going on! Travellers at the door... up to this point I had the place to myself, which was nice but also attributed to my boredom the previous nights. Anyways they were Aussies (a couple who had been backpacking for a month already... don't have that kind of stamina, I'm beat after 3 days!!!). Little while later someone else shows up... so nice to have people around! So we sat around talking for a bit, then I took the Aussie couple to the Colosseum... one last time to look at my 'baby'! Love that place! Took a bus... yes, I figured out the transit system!... to the Piazza Nationale... another cool fountain, another beautiful church (on the inside, the outside was rather drab... a certain type of architecture, can't remember the era). Had some more time to kill, so I went to the National Museum, the whole thing was stautes, but it was really cool. Got a few clandestine pics... including one of Melpomene, in light of one of my previous blogs! Nice to be able to put my pack sack (kit bag, for the Islanders!) down for a bit since I had to take it with me when I left the hostel. Had lunch and then started my way home. Walked only maybe 3 hours plus the 1/2 hour walk from the train station home!
Low points... the dirtiest place imaginable, beggars everywhere, and sketchy looking men eyeing you at all times. A little stressed about the possiblity of getting mugged. Crowded! Sufferers of claustrophobia should not live here! And I thought places in Switzerland where crowded! Nice to get home, for sure, where it's clean and there's room to breathe.
So... that was long... hope you enjoyed the read. Wasn't planning on writing so much but it was good to get everything down while it's still all fresh.
Now it's really time for bed!!!