Sunday afternoon we arrived at the MSP airport excited and ready to rock. After four hours our mindset changed a bit as nine slap-happy and uncomfortable eighteen year olds were definitely ready to land. We got to the Amsterdam airport and the confusion of Holland set in. At about 6am Amsterdam time we were going on thirty six hours with little shut-eye. The next flight (to Rome) was surprisingly short and we were all very thankful for that. After a quick description of the trains, Tim, our tall tour guide, left the rest up to us (mistakenly trusting eighteen year old American girls). We got off the metro on the ‘Spagna’ stop (the Spanish Steps), and visited the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain. After roaming in Rome a bit, we were offered flowers by some guys that fooled us to think we were getting a gift. Shortly after, we were chased down hearing “2 Euros!” We learned quickly that nothing is free in Italy! The architecture was like nothing we've ever seen before and it will only get better. Can't wait for tomorrow to continue our search for a moped ride with an Italian Stallion...
Today our morning started early. We got up at 6:30 and headed to the Vatican. The line had about 15 people in it. The Vatican Museum didn't open until 9:00am and by the time 9:00 came around, the line was backed up about a mile.. We entered through security smoothly and began our historical journey. As we walked in to the first hallway our jaws dropped. The paintings and artwork were beyond anything that we could ever imagined. The first room was beyond amazing and each room after that kept exceeding our expectations. Our last stop in that building was the Sistine Chapel. We were unable to capture the artwork in pictures (b/c cameras were not allowed) but the artwork will forever be in our memories. The detail and 3D nature was so cool and pretty.
After this experience we toured around Vatican City and went to St. Peter's Square. St. Peter's was pretty full and we took a bunch of team pictures. All of this sight seeing had made us hungry so we found a cafe and ordered plates of spaghetti. The food was very authentic. At 2:00pm we met back at the hotel and went to the Coliseum and walked around the Ancient World Wonder. After, we headed to the Roman Forum (Ancient Rome, where it all began). Many pictures were taken and our feet started to hurt. We all decided that we needed some gelato - so we got some. Next, we split up into groups of three and went our separate ways. At 8:00pm we all met back at the hotel for dinner, enjoying some caprese salad (mozarella!), pizza, pasta, and bread. We had a very exciting and eventful day and we are all looking forward to sleeping and starting day number three tomorrow.
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