All roads do lead to Roma

At last, the weather turned back for the best as we left Coldigioco. Today, we were heading to Rome! Now, this has been a huge build up moment for many of us. As we were driving through the countryside of Italy throughout our trip, there would always be a highway sign leading to Rome. Yes, all roads do lead to Rome. And now we were going there!

We dropped our luggage at the hotel near the airport and took the train into Rome. A group of us headed straight for the Vatican in hopes of getting to the Sistine Chapel before it closed for the day. Today, in fact, was Holy Thursday, leading up to Good Friday tomorrow and Easter on Sunday, so the Vatican shortened its hours in observation of the celebration. 

We did get into St. Peter's Square with no problems, and all I could think about was Dan Brown's Angels and Demons (Tom Hanks and Ewan McGregor were fantastic!). It was mostly the visual of having seen the movie and now standing where much of the action was filmed. Back to real life--I was struck by the realization that I was in the Vatican. Pope Francis is somewhere here, and he's pretty chill. It feels weird to use slang when talking about the Pope, but I think it fits his style. 

St. Peter's Square, with St. Peter's Basilica in the background.

The line for the Sistene Chapel was too long to get in before closing, so we decided to go into St. Peter's Basilica. I was not prepared for what I saw. As we walked in, immediately our eyes went to the floors. Look at those rocks! Back marbles? No way. Then we looked up. The entire place was ornate and really impressive. Words do not do it justice. We casually strolled by Michelangelo's Pietà, which would put us at 2 out of 3 for Michelangelo's major works (The David, The Pietà, Sistene Chapel). Finally, as we were walking around inside, they had clergy process in with the cross, I'm guessing for mass, and then choirs sang and organs sounded. The acoustics amplified the sound so it surrounded each person. Everyone stopped. It was surreal.

Of course, geologists look at the floors.

Michelangelo's Pietà.

After the Vatican, we conquered Rome in about 4 hours. We walked along the Tiber River, had dinner, and then saw the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. My friend, JoRee, and I sprinted across Rome to meet up with a group at the Colosseum before we all left on the last train of the night. As we were running, we would pass ruins, stop, take a picture, and then continue. It was quite comical.

Sunset over the Tiber River.

The Colosseum

We made it back to the hotel safe and sound, with wild memories of the last 9 days. Most of us fly home tomorrow. Now, I will say that it was a little tense in Rome as we had heard of the attacks in Brussels earlier this week. So Rome, during Holy Week/Easter, lots of people, Christians during the most important week of the year, surely might be a target. I hope and pray that everything and everyone would stay safe.

Increased security all through Rome because of the Brussels attack earlier this week.