We were checking into our hostel in Rome at the same time as this guy. The manager only spoke Italian and the other guy, Dave was American but also fluent in Italian. He had to translate for us. All of a sudden the manager was pointing at our paperwork saying "Vriggata! Vriggita!" and we were completely confused. Dave looked at Becky and was like "You're last name is Wright, too? That's what he's trying to say. We have the same last name." lol It was pretty weird. After that we all crammed into the world's smallest elevator and made our way to our floor.

We hung out with a bunch of people in the living room for a while. There was a Spanish man, a guy from Singapore and a girl from Cleveland. This was a lot of fun. We drank Argentinian liquor, watched Italian music videos and swapped backpacking stories.

The next morning we had to check out and switch to this guesthouse because we hadn't made reservations. We dropped off our stuff and went to see the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. Then we went to Trevi Fountain and took pictures. Some weird Asian guy had his wife take a picture of us with him. It was soooo weird. lol

We went back to the hostel to take a nap around 8pm. I woke up at 8:30 ... the next morning!! lol, I guess I was still a little tired.

So we spent pretty much the entire next day at the Vatican. The line for the museums and the Sistine Chapel was soooo long. I think it took about 2 hours. We got lost and had to go through all the museums to get to the chapel. But when we got there, it was absolutely amazing. It is definitely at the top of my list. The ceiling of the chapel was so much higher up than I had imagined. There was just so much going on, it was really overwhelming.

After that we got food and gelato and went to St. Peter's Cathedral. It was sooo huge. We took the elevator to what we thought was the top, but then we had to climb a million stairs to get to the very top ... on the outside. It was killer! The stair case was actuallys haped like a dome and very narrow. It was so small, I thought I was halucinating about the way it tilted. The view was great though. We also saw the tomb of all the Popes, including Pope John Paul II. We also saw Michelangelo's Pieta.

That night, we went to the Spanish Steps and met all sorts of amusing characters, many with mullets. This guy ran up to us and made his eyes pop out of his head like that girl on the Guiness Book of World Records does. It was nuts!

The next morning we got up and headed to the train station. So here's what I learned from Rome:

-A lot of sights are closer than you think. Walking in Rome is not too bad.

-The Spanish Steps really are where guys go to pick up girls.

- The cheap water is usually carbonated.

-The Sistine Chapel is at the very end of a long maize of museums. But it's one of the most beautiful man-made creations in the world.

-Always ask the bus driver to let you know when your stop is coming up on a night bus.

-Buying a lift ticket is a rip-off at St. Peters. You still have to climb the dome.

-A guesthouse is nice, but nothing beats a hostel for socializing.

-Break up the big touristy attractions with other things like outdoor activities: kayaking, going to the beach, hiking, etc. Europe doesn't have to be one huge museum.