Pizza and the Colosseum

I don't really like riding Italian trains. Somehow, they're always packed and they always make me pay an 18 Euro "supplement" to ride them even though I have a Eurail pass (Kelley's leftover one, as mine was stolen). Austrian trains however, are the shit. They always have compartment cars, which I love and they're far less crowded. The dining areas are also very reasonably priced and the staff usually aren't rude.

The only redeeming quality of Italian trains? This:

If you don't get it, go play more video games. And sorry about the lack of quality; I don't have my camera or my laptop with photoshop anymore. I'll fix up the pictures when I get home.

So, after a couple train rides, I arrived in Rome pretty late at night. Arriving in a new city is always the most difficult part for me because I don't have a map yet, I don't have hostel reservations, and I'm carrying a pretty heavy backpack. So, on average, when I get to a new city, I spend about 2-4 hours wandering until I find somewhere to stay. It's usually pretty scary too. Once I find a hostel though, I'm fine. They give you free maps, wifi, somewhere to lock up your stuff, options for food, etc.

So I settled in at the Alessandro Downtown hostel. It wasn't bad, just a few minor annoyances like advertising free pizza and then telling everyone at the last minute that it's over at their other uptown hostel. Whatevs, bro.

So I went to bed after some peanut butter crackers, and had a Clif bar for breakfast the next morning. Then I went for a walk, because I prefer it to public transit, to the Colosseum.

So so cool. I learned a lot from the museum area inside too. I'm sure it's all on Wikipedia or something but it's more fun to learn when you're there I guess. Oh, and there's this:

Someone had to ruin it for everyone, Ezio. I guess one too many guards were pulled to their deaths.

After that, I basically just wandered Rome for the rest of the day.

All day it was nice and sunny and warm and good; until I got to the Vatican. As soon as I could see it, the sun went behind the clouds and everything got dreary and darkish.

(Static noise inc)



I think that sun thing is a bad sign right? I waited a while to see if the sun would come out and got some pizza and a beer from one of the wheeled vendors right outside the gate to the Vatican.

It was weird. More like a fried panini than a pizza, but it was pretty good. I do love mushrooms and pizza on all occasions.

Then I went and stood in line to go into the Sistine Chapel and all that, but oh, bummer, I couldn't go in. Apparently the Pope is on high alert for pocket knife wielding assassins, so I was denied entry. Just one more thing Ezio has ruined for me this week, but he's still my favorite Italian.

So of course after I left the Vatican, it was suddenly sunny and warm again. Whatevs. Oh, and at pretty much every major tourist attraction in Rome, there are guys dressed as Gladiators hanging around and charging you a few Euros for pictures.

After wandering for a while, getting lost for a bit, and eating a delicious hazlenut candy bar from a vending machine, I went back to the hostel and went to bed.