ROME- We arrived in Rome and met back up with the other 4 and headed off to St. Peter's Basilica. It was gigantic, with lots of paintings and sculptures, including Michaelangelo's "La Pieta". Since I tend to go at a slower pace, I got separated from the guys and ended up not being able to find them after searching for quite a while. I then tried to go see the Sistine Chapel but it was closed. It was kind of a bummer because I was staying at a place by myself (their places were booked up) and wasn't sure when I was going to meet up with them again. I decided to make the best of it so later on that day I went and saw Circus Maximus, the Mouth of Truth (by accident), and then ate at a little ristorante where I had some great penne pasta. By this time it was dark so I went on a night walk through the city where I saw a few interesting things. I saw some old temple ruins where Julius Caesar as supposedly killed, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish steps before heading home.

The next day I headed straight for the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. After wandering my way through all the different courtyards and mini-museums, I finally reached the chapel. After so much buildup, it truly was amazing. The colors were vivid and the figures almost leapt out towards you. After that I just hung out for a while until I randomly saw Ryan and Wes across the subway tracks and then ended up meeting back up with the guys for dinner.

Matt, Wes, and Ryan left in the morning for Florence, and Brett and Scotty headed to Cinque Terre, while I stayed back to see a few more sites and meet up with Joe finally. We were supposed to meet up in Cinque Terre on the 24th, but I was still sick and wanted to just chill out for a few days, and by the time we contacted each other, today ended up being the soonest we could meet up. I went to the Catacombs in the morning. It was a little ways outside of the city, but well worth it. The tour took us down underground to see where the early Christians were buried starting at the end of the 2nd Century. After that, I headed back and went to the Colosseum. It was awesome. I can't even describe how cool it was and I probably took about a hundred pictures when I was there. It made me want to see the movie Gladiator. Next was the Roman Forum, and it was cool to see all the ruins but it was nothing next to the Colosseum. After the Forum I finally met up with Joe. It was great to see him and get to share stories of our adventures so far. We had dinner and walked around a little bit (also with his brother and sister-in-law and sister) and eventually headed back. I am leaving for Cinque Terre tomorrow for 2 days and then I will get to meet up with him again later.