Micca Club

 Micca is a funky 20s club with some of the best drinks and dancing I've had in Rome.

Papal Audience and Necropolis Tour

Classes were canceled today so all the jforce students could see the Papal audience. The address was long because the Pope had to read his address and blessings in 7 different languages. It was really cool though to see Pope Benedict XVI in person especially since I had only seem him in pictures or on TV.

Really talented Mariachi band from Mexico who played for the Pope... front row seats!

I spent another hour or so poking around Vatican City until I got caught by some Swiss Guards who were not very amused, especially when I tried to take some pictures with them as I was getting kicked out. I walked around with my friend Nina and then met my friend Angela for lunch. Angela has been living here since August and working by the Vatican so she is somewhat of an expert on the area. We bought sandwiches (panini ) at a really good (and inexpensive) sandwich shop which was completely void of tourists, and took out lunch to the park around Castel San Angelo. We had a good time talking and catching up. After lunch I had a few hours to kill before my tour of the necropolis. I wandered around, found a really good gelato place, and caught up on some history readings in a quiet spot I found near the Basilica. I really enjoyed being able to read a letter by Cavor only minutes away from a piazza dedicated to him. Having some time to be alone in Rome was a nice experience.

Creeping...

At 3:15 I made my way to the Necropolis tour office. I had to get checked out by the Vatican security, then escorted inside. The tour guide was really adamant about us not being able to take pictures, and since there was only a few people on the tours I didn't want to risk it.

I walked ancient streets, saw 2000 year old frescoes inside of tombs, and was in the presence of the body of St. Peter all18 meters beneath St. Peter's! The tour was one of the best ones I have gone on in Rome. If you are ever in Rome I HIGHLY recommend it. The ruins are so well preserved and the history is so intriguing it seems almost unreal. Fyi, you have to book way way way in advance, and they can't talk big groups.

First Egyptian Belly Dancing Class!

Vatican Museum

Today was a free day at the Vatican Museum. We were told to leave early to avoid the huge lines; Some people left at 6am! Unfortunately, my friends and I slept in a bit, and by the time we arrived the lines were wrapping around the outer walls of the city. We stopped at a cafe and enjoyed some hot chocolates and cornettos (croissants). By the time we had finished our breakfast the lines had shortened and we were able to get in without a problem. The inside of the museums is breathtaking. There is so much to see, and every piece is stunning. It was overwhelming. Eventually we made it to the Sistine Chapel. Luckily, it is the off-season so I was able to sit down and look up and around for about 30 minutes. It is a lot to take in at one time, and the ceiling is pretty high up. If you want to look at it in more detail check THIS out: (thanks Mom!). And I recommend taking a few days to see the museum. After the Sistie Chapel we realized how overwhelmed we all were, and decided to head out. We went and sat outside St. Peter's for an hour and relaxed and discussed everything we had just seen. We then got a delicious lunch at a local restaurant, and spent the rest of the evening exploring.

Caravaggio! My (second)  favorite.

Hall of Maps

Roma!

Rome is all ours right now

I woke up early this morning and watched the sunrise over Rome:

While waiting for the sun to get over the mountains a little old man ran past us quoting Socrates. Intrigued, I asked him (in my terrible Italian) to explain... I spent the next 5 minutes trying to figure out which was worse- my Italian or his English! He told us to follow him up to the top of the hill to where there was a better view of the sunrise (I know it sounds creepy.) We followed him up the trail to the top of the hill where we watched the sunset, quoted famous poets, and were introduced the the little old man's friend Yasser who worked at the cafe where the old man ate every morning after reaching the top of Monte Mario.

It sounds like a cop out, but I'm finding it really difficult to explain the time we spent with this amazing little old man watching the sunrise. It was such a wonderful start to the day.

Gate where lovers go to lock a lock together symbolizing their eternal love for one another <3

Sunrise from our secret sunrise watching spot!

The hill we watched from is actually a park. We spent the next few hours exploring:

Secret sunrise spot bench!

By the time we were finished exploring the park it was about 10am, and we were at the bottom in some unfamiliar neighborhood. We had quite an experience trying to find our way to Campo Di Fiori which involved Teresa's giant map, some atac ticket people, and Teresa's giant maps again lol.

Eventually we found our way to the Campo Di Fiori market:

The market was pretty small, so we headed back up the hill to the Trionfale market. The bus dropped us off right in front of the market, but before we went in Teresa and I stopped into a small cafe/coffee shop/pasteria. We got a few pastries, and as we were leaving we ran into the little old man from the hill! I couldn't believe it! Rome isn't huge, but I couldn't believe our luck running into him again. We also met his wife who seemed just as cool as him. The pastries we had were some of the best I have ever had. This one was my favorite:

The filling was like Nutella, but more chocolatey!

Here are some pictures of the giant Tionfale market:

Craft Stall!

My FAVORITE!