After finishing up with Chinqe Terra we were off to Rome, and deciding to be a little more adventurous had booked a 'camping' style accommodation. When we arrived in Rome and got to 'Roma Camping' it turned out to be more of a trailer park type setting, not what we expected and quite a contrast to the typical Italian accommodation. Either way we thought it might be alright for a few nights and gave it a shot. Our first day in Rome we headed into the city centre and went to check out the Vatican, and being the last Sunday of the month it was also free to enter the Basilica and the Museum. Once we got there the crowds were massive, as the Sunday mass had just ended. So after we made our way in through the madness and walked around for a while we jumped in line to get into the St. Peters Basilica. Once we got in we realized the wait in line was well worth the wait, it was quite an amazing Cathedral, and after seeing so many others around Europe we were still amazed. It had to have been the most impressive once we had been in before. Later we walked around again for a while and explored a little more of Rome on foot and then headed back to our 'trailer'.
On our second day in Rome it was time to switch to a more central hostel, so we made the move first thing that morning to a hostel called Yellow, a move that was well worth the hassle. After checking in we then headed to the Colosseum and the Ancient ruins for the afternoon. Again quite the impressive ruins, but seeing how me and Joel had both been before we really only stayed for two or three hours and then went and walked around the city until we were lost. (not planned, but the best way to get to know your way around the city) That night we met our new roommates and headed down to the hostel bar for a few drinks and then called it an early night.
Day three in Rome we woke up to on again off again rain, and extremely windy conditions. Not the best for trying to get out and see the sights. So after a late start trying to wait out the rain we eventually headed out and went back to the Vatican, this time to get into the Museum and see the Sistine Chapel. After getting a little wet on the way there we were able to get in with out waiting in line, and then spent a few hours exploring the museum. It is really impossible to see every thing there, as apparently it houses the largest art collection in the world, but we did our best and saw all the famous works there. That night we signed up for a pub crawl / night tour at our hostel with three others we met who were in our room. We went out and saw the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain at night while they were lit up, quite a cool time to see them. After this it was on to the pubs, a night which turned out to be quite a memorable one, both of us making lots of new friends.
The next day was a day off, as we had seen most of the main sights and had a bit of a late one the night before. However we still got out and went back to the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps to check them out in the day time again and explore the surrounding areas. That night we headed back to the hostel and packed up our things and get ready to head out to Naples.
The following morning when we headed out and got to the train station we ran into two Canadian girls who were trying to decide where to head next from Rome. After talking to us in line they decided they were going to tag along with us to Naples for a few days, so they bought two train tickets and jumped on the train. As it turned out they were only with us for about two days after that, as we were heading onto Greece, but a pretty random turn of events none the less.
