Rome Is Where The Gelati Is

The next morning was like heaven to us. We not only had breakfast (from the weird underground supermarket), but some managed to get wonderfully hot showers! Unfortunately, I was not one of these lucky people, because the power had gone out in our bungalow after we got into it the night before, and for future reference, it's really, really cold at night if you're not in a bed with two other people.

Ahem.

A bus ride, metro ride, and a bit of walking later, we had our Second Breakfast in the Piazza del Risorgimento. But let me briefly explain the seemingly random nod to Master Tolkien: you see, while our breakfast was filling and wonderfully good, a teenager's metabolism in Rome is significantly higher than in the States. We literally became temporary Hobbits; we'd have breakfast, (and after the terrors of public transit) buy Second Breakfast from street vendors, have lunch about 1:00 or 2:00, buy an afternoon Gelati stop, and finally have dinner sometime after 6:00 or 7:00. I consumed a lot of food on that trip and ended up losing weight instead from all the walking we did.

Hobbitsses...

Around noon, we headed to the Piazza del St. Pietro (of which Patrick found a wonderful online picture here), where crowds bustled with tension; though we hadn't planned it, we were there in the middle of the election of the Pope. Talk about history in the making... ^^ In any case, we looked around for our guide, who was going to take us through the Vatican and St. Peter's. At the foot of the obelisk, we found American-born Mike -- he definitely didn't look the part of a tour guide, but thankfully he erased all doubt from our minds. He was dressed as casually as we all were, and he had such a relatable way of talking that you knew exactly what he'd said and could spout it off to him, even if you didn't know what it meant.

We liked Mike.

The man knew more about the history and art of the Vatican than I know about my own house. He led us around mesmerized for four hours, telling us everything there was to know about Michelangelo and Raphael, to name just a few. When we went to St. Peter's, which was congested with only so many tour groups, he continued with stories of the statues, the church, and the last Pope. We couldn't go to the top, however; with the election of the Pope, we weren't even allowed near the stairs. Hmph.

We left Mike to join Russ at the Spanish Steps. Russ was a tour guide from the same company as Mike, but he was a little newer -- he didn't speak as loud, and he fumbled through a lot of his information... but he had a thick Scottish accent, which kept me happy. ^//^ I'm a sucker for a good Scottish accent.

The best I remember of Russ's tour was the Trevi Fountain (ha. How could I forget that?). Throwing in coins, of course, is tradition... throw in one coin, you'll come back to Rome one day; throw in two coins, you'll come back to Rome and meet your lover; throw in three, and you'll come back, meet your lover, and marry them. I only threw in one, but it was with a wish that I could return to Greece instead of Rome. Hee hee.

By the way, Nutella Gelati with chocolate Gelati is fantastic. XD And if you've never had Nutella before, it's a thick, RICH chocolate-hazelnut spread that goes really well on bread, Saltine crackers, pretzels, or just straight out of the jar in small amounts.

Random note there. Sorry.

We trekked back to Camping Fabulous and, after a long day, we fell blissfully into bed. After all, tomorrow would be our tour of Pompei...