Holy and Unholy

So its about time I tell you about the nightlife here. Italians don't go out until way later; restaurants don't really start serving until 7 and if you're there at 7 you are clearly a tourist, so naturally we're there around 7. But we really are starting to get to hang of things here, but I still don't think I have adjusted to the time change fully. So we eat dinner pretty late we have gone to many restaurants but are trying really hard to eat at home to save money. I've had fresh salad from the market the last two nights, with prosciutto and such. Its amazing but going out is just as fun! So after dinner, we come back to get dressed. My roommate Chrissy, I'm not sure if I have introduced you to her yet, but she is my equivalent in the fact we have all these weird habits in common, its funny. Anyways! so we get ready to go out, and because its been rainy and kind of cold, we have been wearing jeans but hopefully I'll get to wear a dress tonight! We have to go across the Tiber River to go to the good bars and clubs, so we usually take the tram (like a above ground T) or the bus. Most Americans go to Campo De Fiori, which is a piazza (plaza) that has a bunch of bars. We go to The Drunken Ship which is clearly american oriented because of the name and that they have beer pong tournaments advertised. We also like Giaganti which is more italian but everyone speaks english. The bartenders here love us for some reason and always end up giving us free drinks. I have noticed that the more italian the bartenders are, the more they love americans, so the more free drinks. Drinks are pretty expensive because a beer can be 4 euro which is about 6 dollars and thats the cheapest, so free is good. Giganti is more of a dance bar and the other one more of a hang out bar, but both still fun. A lot of the bars at Campo which we affectionately call it, close around two, so we head over to Scholars which is like an irish pub/american bar. Last night was Beatles night so they had a band that played Beatles songs and then the music switched to 90s hits like the Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys. Needless to say our night ended with a HUGE sing-a-long. But, because the nights start so late, they end late and because I think I am still on American time me and no one gets tired til around 4 or 5 and we don't get home til soooo late. This can be kinda of a day killer because we need to sleep alot, but we haven't yet made our days productive. So the late nights and partying had to be counteracted by some holiness...hence our visit to the Vatican today.

We got back kind of late last night so we slept a lot of the day, but we left and headed for the Vatican around 2. I am soooo glad I brought multiple pairs of comfortable shoes because I have never walked so much in my life these last 5 days. We took a bus to the Vatican and got lost a little by walking around this huge fortress which I have yet to the now the name of but will find it out soon enough. We finally made it to the Vatican/St. Peters and it is one of the most humbling things you can see. It is absolutely huge, and even when you're in it you can't fathom how large it is. The letters around the dome on the inside are 12ft high, and looking up they don't seem that large at all but they are! There is this big wooden thing (I know, very unprofessional but I am still reading/learning about all these historical things), in the middle that is supposedly 10 stories high! and it doesn't even come close to hitting the dome part. It is so ornate and every detail is immaculate from the gold everything to the tiny toenail on the statues. The Pieta is there and it was absolutely unreal. Its so unbelievable because I've learned about it in almost every history class that covers ancient history as well as Italian class and Latin so seeing it for real was crazy. I do wish that I had read more about it and the other parts of the Vatican so I knew what I was seeing and knew the exciting and mesmerizing history to it all. Then we went to the Adoration of Christ in the Vatican and it was one of the most humbling experiences. Its in a side cove thing that you have to be silent in and there are curtains blocking it off from the rest of St. Peters. The host is on display and you kneel and pray and its soo humbling, its hte only way to describe it. Then we paid to go to the top of the dome. The best 7 euro you can spend. You go to the top of the dome on the inside and its crazy to see everything from so high and then we took the stairs to the top of the dome and it was a very scary hike. They should really warn you that if you're overweight you won't fit on the staircase. You go up two spiral staircases that are claustrophobic and way too small. I felt like I was in alice and wonderland and if my roommate wasn't in front of me I would have freaked out because you can't tell when it will end and if there is a way out. Then it starts slanting because of the dome shape, so if you were larger, you would get stuck here let alone probly pass out from asthma because we almost did because there were so many stairs! and we took the elevator halfway!!! you could walk! At the top, you can see alll of Rome and its breathtaking!! I will post pictures later and leave you with the thoughts of that view!