We got off to a rough start in Rome. We most likely got off the wrong train station, and as a result, ended up in a suburb of Rome where very few locals spoke any English. There were also no places to change money nor people willing to break the money we had.
We finally got to Roma Termino and tried to find a place Suhad had noted in our Lonely Planet guidebook. It was completely full, but the owner pointed us out to a friend across the street. The place was the Soggiorno Emanuela on Via Calatafimi. It was nice and was our home for the rest of our stay in Roma.
After resting for a bit, we headed to St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. The piazza and the basilica were relatively quiet, with less tourists than I imagined. None of the photographs really do justice to the basilica, as it is truly beautiful, especially the inside. Of course, the outside, like most of Rome, was under "restoration" and so was covered with beautiful scaffolding.
The basilica is very large inside, in the typical cross layout, with the altar at the top of the cross. There are various side-wings that connect to several chapels. There is also a passageway to underneath the basilica where many of the popes are buried. Some of the tombs of the popes were very beautiful.
One of the most beautiful objects of art in the basilica is La Pieta by Michelangelo. One of his most famous sculptures, the greater-than-life marble masterpiece is located far behind bullet-proof glass after a deranged man attacked the sculpture. Because of this incident, it is very difficult to appreciate the full beauty of Michelangelo's artform as the lighting in the basilica is also not so great.
After St. Peter's Basilica, we decided to visit some other Roman sites with the help of Nick Regas's well-worn McDonald's map of Rome (thanks, Nick!). We first went to the Spanish Steps, where nearly everyone was sitting in the shade because it was such a warm day. (Play "Find Suhad" in the photo to the right). We hung out there for awhile because there are many shops in that area (hmm, women...) and we also enjoyed our first gelati there (Italian ice cream).
The last stop on our journey was to visit the Trevi fountain. It was a beautiful day to visit and the sun was starting to set. The fountain is unusual in that it is built into the back of a building. There is also a story that if you throw a coin over your shoulder, you will definitely return to Rome. So, as in the movies, we threw our genuine U.S. pennies over our shoulders.
We then headed home to our pension where we crashed because we were so tired from the night before. So ended our first day in Roma.
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