On day two we began our “Roman Holiday”. We started out the morning grabbing a quick breakfast at a nearby pastry shop. This breakfast was a refreshing change from our regular cafeteria food. After breakfast we hopped on the metro and headed to the Vatican. A giant brick wall surrounds the outside of the city, and about half way around we found the entrance. When we got inside we started going through the “miles” of museum.

The artifacts were breath taking and honestly there is not enough room on this blog to even begin to describe them. At the end of the museum tour is the Sistine Chapel and speaking for myself the highlight of the tour. The paintings covered every inch of the room and we stood there for fifteen minutes just soaking it all in. After leaving the Vatican we headed off to Saint Peter’s Basilica. The courtyard in front was gigantic and completely surrounded by columns. Like everything else in Rome, it is hard to even begin to explain. We entered Saint Peter’s Basilica, where the Pope gives mass, and roamed its endless corridors. The church was also filled with all of the past popes and their respective tombs. It had to have been the biggest church I have ever been in.

By the time we got done seeing the church the whole group was starving. So we stopped by a local ristorante and had pizza and calzones while sitting at an outside table. After lunch we stopped by The Old Bridge gelato shop. One of Jacob’s friends had said it was the best gelato in Rome and I must say it was very good. We also decided to do a little Roman shopping and Cody was able to find himself some authentic Roman scarves. Rachel also found a Roman Holiday calendar. After shopping we made a quick trip to the Spanish steps and posed for some pictures like Audrey Hepburn.

Once we were done there we headed over to Trevi fountain and took out some coins to make a wish. Everyone had to turn around and throw their coin behind their backs for a small photo shoot. By this point in the evening we were exhausted and decided to head back to the hostel before enjoying some Roman nightlife.