Sex and the Vatican City

(Preliminary note: This computer isnt being very cooperative when it comes to punctuation, so bear with us. Thank you~Kari and Kati)

On with the post! We are just finishing up our time in Rome, and seeing as it is raining and we are rather tired, we are going to see Sex and the City finally! We have been seeing posters in every city and we actually found a place that screens it in English (with Italian subtitles, we hope). But Im sure many of you would rather hear what it is that we have been up to these past few days.

Part One: Venezia!

After Munich we took a train into Italy and started our romance country tour with Venice, which was, of course, very romantic for the two of us. We camped at Plus DAlba Oro and shared a little love nest, which was a small shack which basically had us at armslength. We arrived late in the afternoon so we headed straight for the pool, it took us about 2 minutes to get out there and we were PUMPED. Unfortunately, it closed at six so we had to pack up again and move on to dinner and bed.

The next day we woke up on the later side, which left us refreshed and ready to explore the city of Venice. We took the bus to town and were immediately hit by waves of tourists and souvenir stands that were reminiscent of Chinatown. Kari and I headed straight for one of the side streets, deciding to forgo the attractive Grand Canal route for a less crowded, more intimate look at the city. First note, it is impossible to not get lost in Venice. It is a basically a labyrinth made up of winding streets that slant inwards and little bridges, complete with their fair share of gondolas. Second note, yes, the gondola men do wear those funny outfits (complete with nikes) and the rides are ridiculously overpriced. We would highly recommend just doing what we did and getting lost because it is a pretty small place and its pretty great to get a sense of what it is like to live there without the masses of people. Somehow we made our way to the other side of Venice (fun fact: which is made up of over 100 small islands!) We went to St. Marks square and played with some pigeons, well Kari did at least. I told her they are filthy creatues but she wouldnt have any of it and dove right in. We were able to sit by the square and look out at the Adriatic Sea. There were a ton of people, waiting for gondolas, waiting to get inside the church, and just waiting, so we headed back into the wilderness. We soon found ourselves a nice little restaurant named Vini Scelli alla Rivella, where we got pizza and pasta, and continued our ritual of writing in our journals. We are both very proud that we are now halfway through our trip and have not given up writing yet! That is basically it for Venice, besides some late night laundry, cardgames and wine back at the campsite. Overall, we had a great time and found a way to stay out of the tourist trap that surrounds the city. It was truly one of the more beautiful places we have seen yet and only gave us more to look forward to in Italy.

Part Two: Roma!

We got to Rome yesterday in the afternoon and were elated to find that M and J Hostel was right around the corner. After getting lost in Munich and having to take two buses to our campsite in Venice, we were very relieved. We decided to do the Colosseum and the Forum, which is basically a bunch of ruins that have now been turned into an outdoor museum. Apparently a couple of years ago, when Kari was last in Rome, the Forum was free but you will all be appalled to hear that they now charge (a lot) to get inside. We didnt go inside the Colosseum because it is pretty fantastic to see from the outside alone but Kari sucked it up for my sake and we went into see the ruins. I have to give a shoutout and thank her for bearing with me these past two days and going to really crowded, touristy areas so that I could see all these things for the first time. Thanks! Anywho, we walked through the ruins, which, by itself, is basically a bunch of old stones knocked around, but I kept thinking about the history that surrounds the place and it kind of blew me away. People lived in these old huts and gladiators fought and died for sport in the Colosseum. Ill be rewatching Gladiator as soon as I get home (along with The Sound of Music). After this we did the same old thing, got food, read and went to bed early. Had to get up early for the Pope!

We were told by people in our hostel and all the guidebooks to get to Vatican City early, so as to avoid the ridiculous lines. We arrived at 10am and waited for 2 hours...in the rain... We then came to the conclusion that people think that early is better but, trust us, early is the new late and we found out the hard way. We finally got inside the Vatican Museum and followed the wave of people through each room, passing by the old masks and sculptures and opting for the Sistine Chapel instead. Besides all of the people, it was pretty impressive. As I learned from Dan Brown, this is the site of where every Pope has been elected. Basically, all the Cardinals stay in that room until they have made a decision, or so I think, we got no tour so I am going on a whim. Either way, each Pope has stood in that room, not to mention Michaelangelo when he painted the whole thing. The security guards freaked us out a little, practically flying across the room if a flash was seen or a phone went off, so we left for the cafeteria and post office.

We then found the entrance for the Basilica St. Pietro and got in yet another huge line. Kari and I discovered that we spent more time in line today than in the actual places that we were trying to see. Cest la vie. St. Peters was very impressive, decorated with massive collages and statues of past saints. We also went into the Tomb of the Popes and saw all of their graves, including Pope John Pauls. By that time we had had enough religion for a lifetime and decided that it was time for ice cream. We went on a hunt for the movie theater and in about four hours our Sex and the City relationship will have completed its final chapter. Good couple days: Venice, check. Costumed Gondola Men, check. Pope, check. Russel Crowe in Colosseum, not yet. Sex and the City in a foreign country, almost! Peace out friends and family.