Saturday, June 7, 2008

After breakfast and an Architecture lecture, we were off to the Vatican! I was split up from the group this morning and I was a little freaked out. Luckily, I was with two boys, so I felt safe and we were able to figure out how to get there. We went to the wrong train station, but finally got there. I was worried because the professors made a big deal about going in right at our reservation time. We had gotten to the Vatican a little late, but after talking to a security guard, he kindly let us in free of charge to find our group. Luckily, they were still standing very close to the entrance and we had plenty of time.
We had a special tour guide who was very nice and very knowledgeable. We walked around the museum and saw many very famous sculptures, paintings, and tapestries. We were also able to look at the gardens (which make up a very large area of the Vatican) and also one of the Pope’s former apartments. Next, was the Sistine Chapel! It was much much smaller than I had imagined but still very beautiful. IIt was jammed packed tight and you are not allowed to take pictures or talk. It was a little stressful, but it was a great thing to see. We also were able to go into St. Peter’s cathedral and his tomb.
After the Vatican, Hannah, Amanda, and I went to grab some lunch before heading back to the hotel to get ready for the concert. We sat at an outdoor café and I had the best four cheese penne pasta that I think I have ever had! I then was able to haggle for a very cute t-shirt and some much-needed sunglasses.
We went back to the hotel, and got ready for the concert. The concert was in a very beautiful hall where we listened to an orchestra and a world-renowned Spanish guitarist. It was a very nice concert and very different than everything that I have ever been to. Our teacher said the concert would not last more than 1.5 hours, which it didn’t. While the concert was only 45 minutes, the encore was almost 2 hours! It was a little crazy but good.
After the concert, we walked over to the coliseum to go to a pub-crawl, something that has been recommended to us by pretty much everyone. The group that went was almost 35 people from our oxford program. We also ran into people visiting Rome from the Greece/Italy trip as well as GT Lorraine, which was absolutely crazy. I did not know anyone on those trips, but it was pretty cool to run into people’s friends in Rome!
The pub-crawl was pretty fun. The place were we met had unlimited beer/wine for an hour. Also, at the next four bars that we went to had a shot as you came through the door. I didn’t buy any drinks so it ended up being a pretty cheap way to walk around the city at night in a large group. I thought that it was very cool the people leading the trip. They were mostly UGA graduates! It is such a small world. One guy even said that he knew Carol Forehand! The pub-crawl ended in apparently a pretty exclusive nightclub whose cover was more expensive than the cost of the whole pub-crawl. (So I felt like I definitely got my money’s worth and I got a t-shirt)! It was a very interesting place and was different from places in the US. We caught a cab back pretty early and got a great deal on it. I feel like we are finally getting a really good handle on getting around the city.