You'd Think the Pope would have a Finished Basement

As we commenced day 2 in the beautiful ancient city of Rome, the sun finally graced us with its presence for what seemed like the first time since I've been in Europe! Invigorated by this strange feeling called warmth, Rachel and I made our way towards Termini station for the second day in a row to catch the metro to San Pietro for our Scavi Tour. I was still in awe of everything around me and found myself trying to learn how to pronounce things by listening to the stops announced on the subway. We were doing pretty well on time when we pulled into the Ottaviano stop just outside the Vatican walls so we decided to get some food. Fun fact: panino is the Italian word for sandwich. If you say panini you are asking for multiple sandwiches. This was good to know as I placed my order and began enjoying my first Italian Italian sub in the shade of the colonnade of St. Peter's Square.

When it was time for us to check in for our tour we went over to the special permission security line where a Swiss Guard directed us along the side of the basilica. The whole time I was in Rome I could never get over how impressively beautiful it all is. Unfortunately we were once again the only people who read our tickets in the email, but this time it didn't work in our favor as we didn't bring our cameras past the security checkpoint while everyone else was taking pictures of the statues embedded in the side of St. Peter's. As our tour guide started on the route down under the basilica, we saw several ancient tombs that had been incredibly well preserved with mosaics on the ground and ceilings to depict who all was buried there. We also saw what probably would have been administrative offices for the circus that was built just to the side of where St. Peter's now sits. Our guide started explaining to us how these excavations were done so carefully seeing as a rather heavy basilica still needed to be supported above it and that many of the walls of these tombs help support the building we see from the square. We continued along on our tour until we finally came to the tomb of St. Peter. Due to the tight spaces we had to stay about 7-8 feet away where we could see a light (electric, not celestial, people. don't get too excited) emanating from where the bones of the first Pope lie. As we went around the tomb, we came to a small chapel that had once been blocked off exclusively for papal use, but recently opened up for Scavi Tours. This chapel was absolutely breathtaking. Nearly everything from the ceiling to the walls was artistically gilded in gold and the altar stood a mere 10 feet from the tomb. Through another door was a small viewing room where you could actually see the jaw bone of St. Peter! Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures, but just being able to be in the presence of all this was pretty amazing to say the least. After saying a quick prayer, we exited the chapel and walked along yet another beautiful corridor that had chapels dedicated to countries all over the world branching off left and right. Normally this is where the tour would end but seeing as our guide didn't have anything better to do, he continued on to show us more tombs of deceased popes and explained how and why their tombs would be moved about.

When we finally exited the lower levels of St. Peter's, our guide informed us that it was almost 5 o'clock and mass would be starting soon in the basilica. How convenient. Seeing as we were already past security we just wandered on in and went up to a barrier that was keeping most people back and told the guy we were here for mass. He allowed us right through and we had seats about 15 rows back from the altar at St. Peter's! Mass was all in Italian, but I was able to follow along with Rachel only having to translate the homily for me. After mass most people just left, but Rachel and I decided to take advantage of having the place to ourselves before it was opened up to the public again to take some pictures

As we exited the basilica and started thinking about where we would be going for dinner, there was music playing throughout the square and a crowd had gathered in front of one of the large screens placed near the steps to the basilica. Apparently Papa Francesco was having his mass for the cardinals in the Sistine Chapel and he was just genuflecting to kiss the altar when I made it to the screen.

When we finally left San Pietro, we started making our way towards Pizzaria Da Remo. Regarded by both Rachel and our friend Cameron as "the most amazing pizza you will ever eat." We took some twists and turns on our way to finding the place but after stopping inside a random church with a beautiful courtyard and slowly circling in on our target we made it. We arrived at around 7:20 and were immediately seated. We had a whole room to ourselves and I gave Rachel a look like "Really? I thought you said we'd be lucky to get a table." I should have just waited 30 seconds to make my judgement as that was all the time it took for the place to be filled wall to wall with hungry locals. When we were handed our menus, I was bamboozled. I couldn't even manage to make out which section was the drinks despite knowing which words to look for. Fortunately Rachel was on top of it so I didn't have to resort to miming. It didn't take long for me to look like a fool tho as I picked up my bruschetta to take a bite and all the tomatoes came tumbling down. I quickly ate them all up as I was starving, but after our dinner Rachel informed me the couple next to us was talking about us in Italian for a decent part of the night trying to figure out if we were foreign. My eating habits managed to confirm it for them but I have no shame! When our pizza came I could tell just by looking at it that it was going to be delicious. Using a fork and knife I tried to move as quickly as I could to get a piece in my mouth and when I finally did I couldn't believe what I was tasting. There's a reason the Italians are famous for their pizza and I'm so glad I was able to discover it for myself at Da Remo!

Our night was only beginning with the pizza tho as we made our way out to several other favorite spots Rachel had come across in her time abroad. One of my favorite things about Rome is how the old and the new fit so well together side by side. I also thoroughly enjoy how things can exist there simply because they look nice and they don't have to have any sort of monetary purpose. This was the case at Piazza Del Popolo as it was a large open space right in the middle of the street that served as the center of a roundabout. Since it was night we were able to have most of the place for ourselves to marvel at the statues and fountains on either end of the piazza.

As we proceeded eastward our next stop was the Spanish Steps. We managed to arrive right around the same time the cops did as there appeared to be some sort of demonstration going on at the base of the steps. Fortunately most of the deviants scattered and we were able to move about unobstructed. That is except for the Italian rose peddler (shout out to Cameron the Pun Master Pywell) who came up to Rachel and offered "a flower for his love." Upon finding out I wasn't holding her hand because I was too nervous to cross the street without a grown up, he tried to spin it off like he was providing the flower as a favor to me and of course wanted compensation. Nice try sir! My woman already has Fr. Garrett, the Great Bambini and Bamboozled as plants to keep her company back home! She doesn't need to be over vegetated! Upon reaching the top, we were greeted with quite the pleasant view of which I shall provide photographic evidence.

Finally we were able to make it over to one of the most beautiful attractions in Roma, Fontana di Trevi. As we walked around, we decided to get some gelato and grab some seats off to the side of the fountain due to the crowds. We quickly found out it was middle school date night at the fountain and I couldn't help but judge all of them. In a culture that is known for making things pleasing to the eye, it was a lot more clear why the younger generation is disliked here than it is anywhere else. These kids roll up in sweat pants and mohawks with the girls thinking that for some reason it is cute to shave a random bald spot in their hair. This may all have been fine if they had not decided to crowd around us and eventually almost sit in our laps as they continued loudly blabbering about what I'm sure must have been a bunch of things similar to what I thought was just the coolest back when I was an ass of a seventh grader. At one point I turned to Rachel and said "Where is a random pop star when you need one? I really wish there could just be a distraction so all these people would clear out for a bit." Wish granted. A few minutes later a bit of an uproar from the other side of the fountain grabbed everyone's attention as a man was proposing to his girl friend. Everyone ran over there to get a better view of the proceedings. Guess who the two people were at the fountain that only saw this as an opportunity for private fountain pics?

We returned yet again to our hostel after a long night of culinary brilliance and artistic beauty. Part of me was even beginning to wish I had picked Rome to study in seeing as it was almost impossible to be bored. With the great weather it was easy to just walk about and find new hidden gems scattered throughout the city. I know I already said it but it never ceases to amaze me how you can see things like Fontana di Trevi right next to modern clothing stores and other 21st century locales. I could only hope the next day would be as fruitful.

Einstein, Snow, Conclaves and Ancient Rome

Yet another early morning would have awaited Lady Rachel and I had we decided to sleep at all the night before our departure to Rome. Our bus was scheduled to leave at 3:45 am to get us to the airport in time for Rachel's 5:50 am flight. We wearily wandered down to the Bus Eirran stop and were close to arriving at around 3:40 when we saw our bus pulling away. Spectacular. Fortunately there was another bus scheduled to get there at 4:15 so we were hopeful that it wouldn't end up being a big deal. THAT bus then decided to be roughly 20 minutes late and all of a sudden we are in panic mode. When we get to the airport we are dropped off at the wrong terminal and have to sprint to the other one. We don't see Lufthansa's check in desk anywhere and soon find out that Rachel's flight had been moved to 5:30 am! It was 5:15 and I was sprinting all over trying to find anyone that could help. After explaining my plight to someone who apparently was high ranking at the airport, she radios in with this "Dispatch Milan, hold that flight to Frankfurt, I have one female with no bags who needs an escort to the gate." Thank God. I then take her bag she was going to check with me and let the con-artists at Aer Lingus charge me 30 euro to take it to Rome. Oh well. At least we were both going to make our flights.

Upon arriving in Rome, I knew that Rachel's flight would be arriving a little later than mine so I waited around by the arrivals area and played some games on my phone. Being the inquisitive traveler that I am and having to micromanage everything, I check the status of her flight to see where she was. To my great displeasure I saw that her flight had been diverted to Stuttgart and that Frankfurt had been shut down due to winter weather. I quickly made my way over to the Lufthansa desk in Rome to see if she would need to be rebooked. I wasn't the only one who was having issues apparently tho because the line was quickly wrapping itself all through the terminal while 2 poor Lufthansa workers attempted to sift through the mess that was their airline's central hub airport closing down. Rachel was able to borrow a cell phone twice during the 10 hours she was stuck to let me know she was ok and give me updates so at least I knew where she was. However after a long day for both of us at the airport it was evident she was going to be staying the night in Stuttgart. Fortunately she was able to find a hotel and be rebooked on the earliest flight the next day.

The hotel Rachel was booked to stay at was one that I personally would have loved. When she messaged me that night she informed me that "It's a German old man hotel! The guy who checked me in looked like Einstein!" I on the other hand made my way into Rome and wandered around with my bag for nearly a half hour before finally finding the hostel I was supposed to stay at. I was so exhausted that I just took one look at my bed and crashed. I was still asleep when I heard a commotion outside that was Rachel trying to convince the hostel owner, Mario, that she needed to get in my room. I was still a bit groggy when the door opened but I sat up just in time to see Rachel exclaim "How the hell are YOU tired?!" Can't say I shouldn't have seen that one coming!

The first day in Rome was a whirlwind. I'm definitely thankful Rachel informed me of the unofficial dress code for Rome because my usual garb of a hoodie and baggy jeans would have stuck out horribly here. Thankfully I got the heads up and despite my grumbling adhered to the advice and was definitely glad to have done so. By trying to blend in with the locals, we avoided many of the problems a lot of tourists face and also hopefully spared some Italians from problems they get from most tourists. I was also definitely glad Lady Rachel had previously studied there and was able to show me about because I never would have seen most of the stuff she showed me without her gracious assistance. After we left the hostel we headed for the Vatican to try and make the noon voting. We got there just a bit late however but did manage to bump into my friend Emily from St. Joe who was studying at the Loyola Rome Center. She was just leaving the black smoke on her way to class so it was just a quick meet and greet. Rachel and I then proceeded to check out San Pietro and to simply say it was amazing would be an understatement.

Afterwards we went over to Trestevere for lunch. This is the part of town where Rachel went to school and it is gorgeous! Pizza bars, gelatarias and restaurants line the streets as the area is a utopia of culinary delights. We stopped in at a pizza bar and it was the most delicious and inexpensive food I had tasted! I would soon find out that my taste buds would only get happier with the longer I stayed in this incredible city!

Once we finished our lunch we took the tram to Largo di Torre Argentina. This was the site of the ruins of 3 different temples that is now used as a cat sanctuary. I love how they have all these ancient sites so well preserved and right in the heart of the city! Unfortunately it was raining that day so we didn't get to see many cats perusing their sanctioned area.

We eventually made our way over to the pantheon which I hadn't realized had been converted into a Catholic church. It amazes me how architecturally brilliant the Ancient Romans were when I see how incredibly durable and beautiful their structures remain today. The pantheon was filled with various tombs and side altars around the edges so we enjoyed walking around and taking time to examine each one. After we exited to the plaza, Rachel told me about how when the Ancient Romans would get mad at the Egyptians about something, they would go steal these obelisks from them and prominently display them in the middle of Rome! Well played ancient Romans. Well played.

After our pantheon visit we wandered down Via Del Corso towards what Romans now refer to as the Wedding Cake. I still don't understand why, but they refer to it as the ugliest building in Rome because it doesn't seem to go with any of the surrounding architecture. I began to see how it didn't really match anything, but didn't quite come to the conclusion of seeing it as ugly. Perhaps some more time in Rome and Italy in general sometime in the future will aid my understanding

 

Eventually we found a cafe that was kind of a one stop shop anything you could want. They had real pizza (not pizza bar pizza) and I also had my first gelato experience and a Peroni! I can't even begin to tell you how perfect this meal was. I'll start with the pizza though. I never thought just a basic cheese pizza could taste so good, but pizza margherita was incredible! Their pizza is really thin and they don't cut it so you have to eat it with a fork and knife rather than with your hands (even though i'm being a barbarian in the photo), but that only makes you slow down and savor each bite a little more. Then there's gelato. Oh. My God. Why has this not caught on anywhere else?! Each bite was the most flavor packed spoonful of desert-goodness I had ever experienced and I knew I had found a weakness for my spending while abroad. Never had I tasted a chocolate so chocolate or a strawberry flavor so delicious. Since they allowed three different flavors I also got an amazing dose of vanilla as well. I was in heaven. Not to mention that Peroni has probably risen up to one of my top 3 preferred beers! 

After our dinner it was back to St. Peter's for the third in a series of conclaves to attempt to elect a new Pope. It was raining and everyone had their umbrellas out so it was difficult to see, but we still managed to get a pretty good view of the chimney on the screen. I'll let these clips do most of the talking :)

After the announcement of (as Rachel would call him) Popey we headed back past the Tiber river towards our hostel. As we walked we were even able to see Trajan's Forum, Caesar's Forum, and the Roman Forum before finally topping our night off at the Colosseum. It was an incredible start to my 12 days in Rome and getting to share it with Rachel just made it even more spectacular.

 

Cliffs of Moher and More!

As the crack of dawn arrived all too quickly once more, Rachel and I groggily made our way to Maynooth Station so we could catch a train to connect with a bus that would take us to Galway (opposite coast of Dublin). Now for those of you who have traveled via bus before, what I'm about to say may sound all too familiar. Our bus was nearly full, and some girl about my age was sprawled across 5 seats in the back. They were literally the only seats left. So we go back and the woman in front of us who also needed a seat kindly nudged her and asked her if she could sit down. Apparently that annoyed the Queen of the Back Seat as she rolled her eyes and slid over to the corner to commiserate with her friend in the seat in front of her. As we took our seats we noticed a smell emanating from the Queen's nest. Apparently her highness' feet were just too sore for shoes as her odorous feet began permeating the confined air space of our chosen method of transport. As you could imagine it was a long drive to Galway. However by the time we arrived our fortunes began to turn.

When we got off the bus to transfer to yet another bus for our tour of western Ireland, we found that there were only 6-8 other people on our bus. We quickly grabbed a seat towards the back and departed towards Ailwee Caves. I started loving the guy who had originally found the caves right away because when he found them, he didn't bother to tell anybody for almost 30 years! He just used them as a quiet get away for him and his dog. It was only once he was feeling too tired to explore them anymore that he passed the secret on to archaeologists who explored it and reinforced it so visitors such as ourselves could pass through safely. On to the cave itself, it had an indoor waterfall and is another one of the darkest places in the world! And this time it was not interrupted by the light of cell phones and cameras. Simply glorious.

Our next few stops were various sites in the Burren landscape. This is a very rural part of Ireland and it is gorgeous. We saw rolling fields of green grass and rock for as far as the eye could see. Animals were grazing and it was all moving at about my speed. As we watched the cows and sheep peacefully chew the cudd (shoutout to Fr. Bly!) we came across an ancient tomb that looked like a sort of smaller version of Stonehenge. Of course seeing all the stones scattered about the ground I was inclined to play a game of lava to get too and from the tomb in the middle!

Our next stop was the main attraction: The Cliffs of Moher. It was another cold windy day on the Irish coast, but that didn't stop us from exploring the gorgeous landscape in front of us. Not much else to say about it other than "Wow!" so here are the photos!

After the Cliffs our driver took us on a beautiful trip down the coastline. There were even more cliffs to be had and we had the opportunity once more to get out and explore. This time we were able to go right up to the edge and even climb down in to a few crevices our driver knew about in the rock. Yet another Irish treasure of breathtaking beauty! Oh and there was even a llama farm! Because when your girlfriend crosses an ocean to see you, what better place to see than a llama farm! Am I right?!

  

This would be our final attraction for the Irish portion of our journey. After a full weekend that left us exhausted and well traveled, by the time we arrived back in Dublin there were less than 6 hours before we were due to be on our flights to Roma! Plenty more to come so as they say in the business, "standby for news!"