La Vita e Bella- Ciao, Roma!

Our last day in Rome wasn't even technically in Rome, but actually in Vatican City. You know, we wanted to catch up with the Pope. It's been awhile since he came to chill at our campus in 08. :) For those of you who saw my Facebook comments, yes, I did find a Swiss guard. Guaranteed: Catholic, single, over 5'6", and under the age of 30. Sweet!

The main attraction: the Pope! He's that little white dot under the white canopy. We felt quite language-savvy as we understood about 4 of the languages spoken: Spanish, English, Portuguese, and Italian! :)


St. Peter's Square! Waiting in line for the Basilica... obviously a photo opp. :) (Yes, the line was this long!)


The inside of the Basilica. Fun fact for the day (not official... feel free to research): I've heard rumors that the occasional basilicas which are actually bigger than St. Peter's are christened as two basilicas, or half is not christened, so that St. Peter's keeps the record. Oh, Catholics...


The Pieta! It really does live in here!


In the gardens of the Vatican Museums. In case you're like us, and lost, just follow the signs that say "Sistine Chapel this way." Hysterically, you actually pass through the entirety of the Vatican exhibition under the premise that you're "on the way" to the Sistine Chapel! Ha. Tourists. They know us so well.

After about 90 minutes of "Sistine Chapel this way", Lucy managed to be paying enough attention to spot a Dali painting in the middle of new age artistic paganism. Yay, Luce!


Also, FYI, Rome-hopefuls: the spiral staircase is at the end of the exhibit. We got to the bookstore, realized we had missed it, decided we didn't care because we were so tired, and then found it on the way out! Don't lose hope! :)


What do you do if you're exhausted from trouncing around on foot all day? Find the cheapest, biggest dinner you can, of course! Mmm... :)


And thus end our travels in Rome... stay tuned for more Italian fun and food coming your way soon! :)