Day 10 brought us to the beautiful Vatican City. This day was at the very tip top of my bucket list for years. I would literally dream about my trip to the Vatican and my entrance into the Sistine Chapel, daily. I would always tell people, "I picture myself walking into the Sistine Chapel and having this unbelievably emotional, spiritual, life-changing experience where everyone and everything else just seems to fall away from me in that moment with Michelangelo's masterpiece." I was so excited that this day was finally here- it was so hard to believe.
Clearly I'm ecstatic We got in line to get into the Vatican bright and early. We waited for a while- maybe an hour or so, but when we looked back at the line and realized it stretched back as far as our eyes could see, we were happy that we got there when we did. Upon entering Vatican City, my heart began to flutter. I was giddy and so ready for everything this day was going to bring. We met our tour guide, who brought us through the Vatican Museum. Everything at the Vatican was positively stunning. The artwork was just mind-blowing. There aren't many words or even photos that would do what I saw that day any kind of justice. Just know that the Vatican is inexplicably beautiful in every way you can imagine.
Michelangelo's Pieta at St. Peter's Basilica When it came time to go into the Sistine Chapel, I could hear my heart beating inside my head. As I walked through the doors, my head went back and my eyes opened wide. It was amazing. My heart was racing and filled with so much joy it could have exploded. It's so wild to know that Michelangelo wasn't even a painter- that he didn't want to take on the ceiling when he was commissioned for it. Thank God he did- it was unbelievable. I had another me moment. It seemed like every me moment I had, I found myself saying, "you got yourself here. You made this happen. This moment is yours. It's the first of many you have yet to experience." After traveling on my own to Italy, I feel so fearless. I'm ready to take on the world in a way I never thought possible. I'm ready to enrich my life with more art, history, culture, passion, and beauty outside of being here, in the States. Italy- what a perfect place to ignite this fire inside of me.
The other highlight for me at the Vatican was St. Peter's Basilica. It was absolutely breathtaking. I couldn't believe how big it was- so much beautiful religious art in one place. The marble sculptures were just out of this world. I was SO excited to see Michelangelo's Pieta, another bucket list must-see of mine. It was behind glass, which is why the picture above looks as it does with that line down the middle. Michelangelo was just 21 years old when he sculpted that marble masterpiece. Impressive doesn't even begin to sum it up, really. Just- wow.
After the Vatican we headed to a private beach where Mike's friend owns a hotel. Lucky for us, his friend also happened to be an amazing chef, who prepared the BEST burgers and fries I will EVER have in my life. The burger was phenomenal. It had delicious onions and an aioli sauce on it. The fries were crispy and delicious in a way that we will never know or experience here in the United States. UGH even thinking about this meal makes me hungry. I will definitely need to go back there someday just for the burger and fries.
We had our own beds and umbrellas right by the water. It was a perfect afternoon in Roma- sunny, hot, and spent in beautiful company. It was nice to just lay in the sun or float in the water and relax. We had been walking, walking, walking non-stop for almost two weeks by this point in the trip, so it was a nice change of pace. Well, there was no pace- we just starfished in the sun. Similar to the beach in Capri, we had to walk out onto rocks before we could get into the water where it was deep enough to swim. The rocks were slippery and of course, yours truly sliced the arch of her foot trying to climb out of the water. It's just starting to heal now two weeks after the fact. I hope I get a scar. It would be a fucking cool scar with an awesome story from a beautiful place. On a scale of one to ten though- how tapped does that sound? |
For dinner that night we went to Trastevere, an area of Rome known for its artsy, bohemian-type atmosphere with narrow cobblestone streets and charming Medieval houses. It was such a perfect, romantical, artsy little place where I could totally spend the rest of my life and die happy.
We ate like royalty that night. Well, not like we didn't every night, but I have never been more stuffed to the core as I was on that night. We had wine, delicious bread with balsamic, appetizers, and I had pasta all'amatriciana, as well as a taste of everyone else's food. Then, just when I thought I couldn't possibly force another bite of anything else down the hatch, Leila and Lex decided to order a Nutella pizza. Yes, a Nutella fucking pizza. You read this correctly.
We ate like royalty that night. Well, not like we didn't every night, but I have never been more stuffed to the core as I was on that night. We had wine, delicious bread with balsamic, appetizers, and I had pasta all'amatriciana, as well as a taste of everyone else's food. Then, just when I thought I couldn't possibly force another bite of anything else down the hatch, Leila and Lex decided to order a Nutella pizza. Yes, a Nutella fucking pizza. You read this correctly.
To your right, you will see God's ultimate gift to Earth- the Nutella pizza. Please understand how hard it is for me to write about this and look at this picture and not die a little bit inside. This pizza was pure food porn at its finest- life changing, earth shattering, o-m-g, tears in eyes delicious. It ended up all over my white shirt. I was only half ashamed. What's worse is that we definitely got Gelato afterwards. It literally hurt to suck in my stomach. I gave up and decided to rock the food baby. No shame whatsoever, I tell you. |
After our little walk around Trastevere, we caught a bus ride back to the hotel. We all spent the next few hours packing up our bags, triple checking under beds, and relaxing. The initial plan was to have a game night in the lobby but we were all too tired and some of us had to be up at 3am to catch a car to the airport. So sad. Justin, Kevin, and I sat in the lobby waiting to see if anyone would come play with us but no one did and I ended up falling asleep on myself rather quickly. While I had to be up at 6, the boys had to "be up" in an hour. We turned in for the night, said our goodbyes, and got what little sleep we could.
Waking up the next morning was as rough as it gets. Thank God I had Gabby as a roommate- I never would have been able to get up on my own...on more than one occasion during my trip. I'll share all about my departure in my next post, though.
Until then, arrivederci.
Waking up the next morning was as rough as it gets. Thank God I had Gabby as a roommate- I never would have been able to get up on my own...on more than one occasion during my trip. I'll share all about my departure in my next post, though.
Until then, arrivederci.