Grazie- Day Two

We are currently sipping on some Prosecco and reflecting on our day...

So last night I (Miya) decided to sleep instead of going out to eat dinner.  Which backfired later the next morning when we both woke up at 6am very hungry.  Unfortunately it was also a Sunday so we had to wait for breakfast because Italy is a Catholic country.  We watched episodes of the Office in order to pass the time which worked very well.  When it seemed like an appropriate time to go out we we to a corner cafe and got cornetti (croissants filled with chocolate or cream) and lattes.  Then we headed for the nearest metro which we took to the main train station in Rome.  The metro station was kinda sketchy but inside the metro was pretty nice with TV's in every car.  Once we got to the train station we bought tickets to Venice for Carnevale (a huge celebration festival before lent).  Then we began to wander around the city.  We brought a map with us but tried to use it as little as we could, instead finding our own way and discovering monuments and churches as we went.  

We first stumbled across a huge piazza with a fountain in the middle and a basilica on the side.  The doors to the basilica were really interesting looking, check out the picture to see.  On the inside it looked like a church but it had art exhibits in different sections of the building.  We wandered around and took pictures.  Afterwards we kept walking in the general direction of our hotel although we were very far away from it.  We eventually came to the Trevi Fountain which was surprisingly crowded for a Sunday in January.  We tried taking pictures but the lighting was bad, so we ended up admiring it in person and decided we'd go back at a better time.  There were a ton of people taking pictures and vendors trying to sell things no one but a stupid tourist would buy (for example, guns that made really annoying sounds and produced bubbles).  Next we walked down to the Pantheon.  It also was crowded, so we decided to go to lunch.  We tried to get away from the tourist traps near the Pantheon but we had to wander around for awhile before we found anything decent looking.  The restaurants we encountered were either crowded with tourists or were places where even tourists wouldn't go(we figured it was because it sucks).  We ended up finding a place to eat and had a cheaper lunch than the day before.  There were a lot of Italians in the restaurant as well, so that was a good sign.

After lunch we went back to check out the Pantheon.  It was rather anti-climactic, although luckily it was free.  It is basically a round building with a hole in the ceiling.  There was some art in nooks around the dome but nothing spectacular.   Next we found the Piazza Navona, which had a great fountain (Fountain of the 4 Rivers) and some interesting art set up for sale.  I (Miya) didn't enjoy it because i didn't feel comfortable around some of the people there, they were kinda sketchy.  Jason enjoyed it because of the different art being sold, each showing a different feel of Italian culture.  We moved on and in a round-about way made it back to St.Peters Basilica which is near our hotel.  We eventually made it back to our hotel, and watched some more Office episodes.  Finally when it was around dinner time, we went out to a restaurant recommended by the hotel concierge.  We had pizza and it was excellent.  Jason got pizza with salmon (pizza al salmone) and Miya got pizza with salami.  Surprisingly our first pizza in Rome.  Afterwards we walked back home and now we're here!  We just saw a bloopers show on TV which was pretty hilarious.  Oh and Will Smith can speak Italian (we watched parts of Wild Wild West and it was dubbed).

We had a very eventful day. Enjoy our pictures

Pictures: The old lady with the accordion was at the Pantheon. The flower beds was at the Piazza Navona (the one Miya didn't enjoy, but Jason did). The columns were at St. Peter's Square, the statue that is stuck in the door is at the basilica. And there's Miya with her Margarita Pizza con salami.