Rome 2- Vatican

For Dinner, the night I had posted the blog Rome 1, we had the best meal of the trip... figures it was the last. The guys name was Mario, he owned the restaurant we were eating at, and absolutely loved us. He originally came up and put his arm around me and shouted, IRELAND? I told him no, we were from America, and he then told us he was born and raised in NY, so when I told him we were from NJ, he smiled from ear to ear. He immediately told us how much he loved Springstein, and that he had be to so many concerts in Europe and America, then says, "Barack may be the president, but he will always be the Boss" That was amazing, and before we could blink, we had appetizers in front of us, to be honest, they were to our liking, but it was the gesture that counted. Then he proceeds to run to the stereo, turn off the traditional Italian music, and put on Springstein, and let everyone know that we were his friends from NJ, and he was listening to Springstein. The gifts did not stop there, we were treated to a bottle of wine, and free dessert because of being from NJ. We also got the most amazing lasagna I had in Rome at this place. Just nice to see how happy people get, and how nice they can be.
The last day here we get to the Vatican, the Museum, and all that good stuff. The lines were extremely short because we got there very early, but when we were leaving it was clear how true it is to get there early. We started in the museum which was cool, but after 100 rooms, and two hours I just wanted it to be over. We got to the Sistine Chapel, and that was as amazing as I thought it would be, we spent about 30-45min in there, but could have been there all day studying the paintings. From there we went to St. Peter's Basilica, which was one of the most impressive buildings I have ever seen, which is a phrase that was repeated numerous times, but I am running out of ways to describe the things I am seeing. We climbed the stairs, which felt like a million of them to the top, up narrow, winding, and slanted staircases, so needless to say, being claustrophobic didn't help. However, the view from up there made it more than worth it, one of those moments you just look and don't talk. We then went from the very top, to the very bottom, to the tombs. I got to see where Pope John Paul II is buried, which was pretty intense, and the shrine to St. Peter was equally as impressive, but less attractive because of the recent death of Pope John Paul II, and I mean recent as being within 300 years.

So, the question is "How did you like Rome?"
My answer would be, it is the most amazing, yet disgusting city I have ever been in. When you are at the monuments, in Ancient Rome, at the Vatican, or on a tour, it is simply amazing. When you are walking around, seeing the graffiti on everything the 20 bums per block, the people selling the same 4 products (umbrellas, sunglasses, tripods, and bags) all day it makes you mad. I got scammed for 10 euro, but it was a cheap lesson that people are lazy scumbags. Every person you talk to on the street is real interested in you for two minutes, then wants money, and will follow you if you say no. The smells were disgusting, and yes, I understand that is what you get in a city, but Philly, NYC, London, and Edinburgh all fail in comparison to this city. So it is a must see city, but please do not expect everything to be as beautiful as what you see in pictures, you will be disappointed.