We had left things with our hostel hosts open ended about whether or not we could stay Saturday night. By 11 (end of the checkout period) they were no where to be seen so we presumed they had arranged another night for us. We had another date with Jack & Ashley to go see the Vatican so we hustled to meet them at a nearby McDonalds. Most people would take a bus or train over to the Vatican city, but these 4 amici were going to soak up all the sunshine we could. About an hour later we were approaching Saint Peters Square, which is quite a site on Saturday afternoons (or ever). We knew we had a long wait and day ahead of us so we popped in a pizza place... Yes more pizza and no we aren't sick of it yet. Something in the air here strips away the need for all food that isn't Italian... Or maybe were just on a ravenous carb binge and our bodies now refuse to desire foods that aren't white. The busy pizzeria gave us way too much food as we stood in the packed room chowing down. We were barely into the city limits before tour guides bombarded us from every direction. We listened to one woman for a while but decided to just wait in the line and wander through on our own. Luckily another guide approached us and decided to cut us a deal since Kelly and Ashley had student IDs (traveler tip: NEVER get rid of your student ID...you can get discounts everywhere, plus cheaper movies at home. duh). As we spoke with him the first woman came back yelling at all of us and trying to bargain her deals over his... The guy was calm and starred at lady #1 like the looney toon she seemed to be so we left with him, listening to her angry but compelling sales skills behind us. While it was a bit stressful getting there and going, buying a tour was the smartest thing ever! We would have probably never even found the Sistine chapel on our own (seriously, that happens to people). Our extremely knowledgeable guide dragged us through the dangerously crowded Vatican museums. Our first stop was the courtyard where parties were held for popes back in the renaissance, and she explained all the insane details behind Michelangelo's famous ceiling. We also learned about fresco paintings and artists like Raphael who have left their marks. We listened to our guide via one eared headphones, so naturally we played secret agent while trying to follow her red umbrella around. Maturity.
After a lot of narrow corridors full of frescos, ornate ceilings, tapestries and ancient statues, we had finally made it to the Sistine chapel. The ceiling has been restored fairly recently and they left a patch of what it looked like before... The difference was insane! Michelangelo used really bright colors and they say he painted for himself based on details found during the restoration. His self portrait is said to be in the de-skinned saint within The Last Judgement. We sat in the quiet chapel as long as we were allowed. You have to really take it in to be in the sheer awe of what he did. It's overwhelming. Stiff necks and all, we wound our way out and into St. Peters basilica. Another overwhelming site; the basilica is beyond ornate and enormous. We snapped a few pictures in St. Peters Square, which was roped off with thousands of chairs for Palm Sunday tomorrow. Crazy to think that the Pope would stand right there the next day! We stumbled around like idiots before realizing we all had terrible "museum legs". So we walked back to their hotel (across town) because Jack decided we had wine to finish off! Gotta love his style. While crossing over the river into Rome, Jenny heard someone..."Jenny? JENNY!"... then out of NOWHERE, squeals were let out as Jenny ran into a friend from home who is studying abroad in Florence, Carly. It was SO random but awesome. Funny how those things happen. Our tired legs made it to the hotel, passing by the Pantheon, Spanish steps, and other amazing sights. Ashley tucked in for a nap while the three of us took our wine to the neighboring park to play cards. We played games, went through our wine stash, and had life chats with 20 year old Jack. He is an amazing person, as is Ashley. Sightseeing is so incredible, but sometimes nothing beats making new friends with such awesome people around this world and hearing their story and thoughts. New bestys in whales? Check!
When the bottles were empty and out bladders were too full, we ran back to the hotel to wake up sleepy Ashley. Our friend in Florence, Sam, suggested a restaurant to us in Rome with a student menu. It was in Trastevere, where we had been wanting to go, so the 4 of us hopped in a cab and on we went. La Fate was perfect! Italian, cute, and 3 courses for 10 euros!! What a killer deal for Rome. Red wine included of course (keep it coming with this quartet). We all knew we wanted an early night, so we shared an awesome dinner and headed back towards home. It was the perfect end to an amazing few days together. Jack & Ashley are our travel bffs. We were sad bunnies to say goodbye but we know we will see them again :)
As we walked up stairs to our apartment room, we joked about our stuff being gone because the room wasn't ours anymore. Then around the corner there was Johncarlo and Maki, our hosts. Up so late? Oh no! They informed us they had to give the room to new people with reservations so they moved ALL OF OUR STUFF to another hostel they own. We will admit that we had stuff everywhere, personal, important and a lot of it. Our combination of being grateful and mortified left us shell shocked. They laughed and said it wasn't our fault and it was no problem. Maki walked us about 10 minutes away to another nice apartment where our backpacks and a bag full of every lose item we own sat. All our valuables, panties, lost socks, trash... ALL of it. It's official these people are amazing! Totally shocked and humiliated, we paid maki and said goodnight. This was definitely a first (and a last). Bed time... Somewhere above a Chinese restaurant in Rome....
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