Aftermath: The Vatican

Il Vaticano is one of my favorite places in the world! Before Jerusalem, it was top three. Post-Jerusalem, I have no idea where anything stands. All I can think about is how much I miss shwarma's and Shapiro wheat beer. 

Walking to Vatican City - my first glimpse of my beloved St. Peter's dome! Peek a boo: 

Oh hey girl:

Inside the Vatican: 

I totally turned into a fresco JUNKIE inside the Vatican:

Saw a fresco of the Last Supper at the Vatican, just DAYS after I walked by the building where the Last Supper actually occurred in Jerusalem. CANT MAKE THIS STUFF UP:

BIG DUDES CARVED IN STONE:

The Vatican could build an army of statues that would take any world force down:

View of Rome from a balcony in St. Peter's

A hall lined with awesome fresco's, a few meters before entering the Sistene Chapel (and the 'no photo' zone); also note the myriad of official tour-participants, many of which I pretended to be a part of to glean touristy facts when my free audio book of the Vatican got stale.

Michelangelo's Pietà:

The inside of St. Peter's basilica is SO RAD. I snuck in with a tour group, as it's hard to get a ticket to get into the actual basilica just as a single person. I made a sizeable donation to the basilica at an offering station to make up for it, and I tried to awkwardly drop a euro into the pocket of one of the tour-goer's that I pretended to be a part of, but it ended up falling to the floor and making a loud noise, thus making me THAT GIRL that is clattering around a sacred place. The path to St. Peter's basilica is paved with good intentions?

Ugh I love this church:

Feetsies shot!

St. Peter's Square!!! I dream of one day camping out here, in a tent with just my scruples and a well-stocked cooler with Italian wine, waiting for a new pope to be elected:

Vatican selfie. LOOK MOM, I AM HOLY:

Aftermath: Rome

Veni, vidi vici! Or something like that. Caesar!?

My first night in Rome, I went to the Colosseum (back to. I love you, 15 yr old Italian crazy self). Looked and felt exactly the way I left it:

The Colosseum and the Roman Forum:

What I will show my children when they someday ask to see pictures of my backpacking days (like those days will ever end, but you get the idea): 

#LOVE

My first Italian meal this year! And subsequently what I ate for every meal thereafter. Thanks for the tight-fitting pants, Rome:

 

 The Colo at night (obviously):

BRUSCHETTI aka FOOOOOD

In my original, pre-trip monologue (the one that was painfully long), I wrote about how I would get back to the restaurant where I had my first international meal. HUZZAH GUESS WHO FREAKING FOUND IT WITHOUT A MAP:

Which begs for the original pic, which I lovingly dug up from the graves of my high school photo albums:

SEE??? EXACTLY THE SAME. Omg. This was way funner for me than it should have been.

 Get at me, Pantheon.

Had to:

I have this exact picture from 11 years ago. LOOKS THE SAME (go figure): 

  

Looking out at da people:

Inside Rome's oldest Church (still the Pantheon, keep up):

PEEK-A-BOO PANTHEEEE:

How you get ebola in Rome?

Il Steps di Espagna (Spanish Steps in fake Italian): 

Piazza Navona, where Tom Hanks pulled a fake pope out of a fountain!

Castel San Angelo! Another Tom Hanks (and subsequently, ME) favorite:

Piazza del Popolo:

Piazza....de.... oh my god. church overload.

SOMETHING, I DONT EVEN KNOW:

MORE STUFF:

WHERE AM I?