EUROPE
The End of a Grand Adventure

After a restless night at the airport our flight didn't leave until the afternoon so we waited. If we didn't make it on that flight we were going to be stuck until the next flight which was on Tuesday. We made it on the last two spots and we were even able to sit by each other. I thought we would sleep but we were still excited about everything we had just done so we watched movies and ate. We weren't so lucky at JFK where we didn't make it on the last flight of the night. Around 9pm we along with about 10 other standby passengers knew we wouldn't make it so we all became friends and searched for other options. Dan and I decided to try to make the first flight out straight to SLC and if we didn't make it we were going to try to get to Portland, then SLC. It was a freezing very restless night but luckily we were able to make the 7am flight home.

After walking an average of 14 miles a day, getting little sleep in train stations, hostels and airports, in desperate need of a shower and clean clothes we were home, with the memories of a lifetime! The time we spent together sometimes hungry and cold, never knowing where we would sleep but it didn't matter because we were together and it was an adventure.

Crossing our fingers we would make the next flight

POMPEII

We were only going to make the trip to Pompeii if we had time and we ended up having an extra day. The hostel we stayed at the night before definitely felt like someone was going to get murdered. The whole door frame was coming off and our roommate walked around in his very small underwear and stood at the window by my bed saying and doing nothing so when he woke up at 6am slamming doors we decided there was no better time to get out of there and head off to Pompeii. So we took a few trains and though we got off on the wrong stop and had to backtrack it was well worth it. We met some fun girls from Australia and together we were finally able to get there. Right when we did the rain came and it down-poured. It was hard since we couldn't read our book on Pompeii to know what we were seeing but it cleared just enough to be able to quickly take a look, dry off and warm up a bit. It was still very much worth being able to see the ruins of Pompeii. We then had a 20 minute walk to the train station and rode back to Rome sopping wet. We had only 5 minutes to make the last bus out of Rome to the airport and by some miracle (the train was delayed) we barely made it. An hour later we were settling in at the airport where we slept and waited 14 hours to see if we would make the flight back to the States.

They had the biggest lemons!

 I kept tripping everywhere we went

 Mt. Vesuvius!

 It was raining so hard!

 Hurry Dan :)

 Can't let rain stop us

 Can't hide the baby bump anymore

 King Daniel

 Victims of the volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius

VATICAN CITY

I had read that getting there early saves you from the lines so we were there by 9am. When we left the lines were shorter so now I'm wondering about that advice we read haha. We waited in line for 2 hours before getting in but it was worth being able to see it all. We even climbed the dome at St. Peters Basilica, all 550 steps one way. It was crazy busy in St. Peters due to the canonization. We were able to see them set things up, test the mikes and see cardinals from all over the world so even though it was incredibly packed, it was worth being able to see it during this time. That night we went out for our final big meal and we went all out. We ordered pizza, pasta, drinks, and gelato and it was well worth it! 

Vatican Museum

 Vatican City square

 The Torso

 The hallway leading to to the Sistine Chapel

 St. Peter's Basilica

 It is a HUGE church!

 So ornate

 Starting to climb the 550 stairs up to the dome

 Getting tight!

 We made it to the top

 Not a bad view

 

On top of the Basilica

 The Swiss Guard

 In St. Peter's Square

A clergyman there for the cannonization of the two popes

 In the square

 

 Our last dinner and our last gelato...

ROME

Once again we arrive at our destination early and with little sleep but we never felt the tiredness, it felt like such a grand adventure! We got into Rome and tried to find a hostel, it turned out that it was not only the weekend of Italy's Independence day but that Sunday 2 popes were going to be cannonized into Sainthood, which has not happened in over 2,000 years. Needless to say it was a pretty packed city and prices went way up on hotels. We were able to find a cool hostel for a decent price but they were only available for one night so we snagged another hostel for the next night. Then we walked, and walked and walked all around Rome, seeing everything we possibly could! We had only planned for one full day for Rome and one full day for the Vatican so we had to get it all in.

Palentine Hill

 The Colosseum in the distance

 This is where Julius Caesar was stabbed, at the Roman Forum

 

The one and only Roman Colosseum

 

I will keep him... 

 Ready for Battle

 Our little warrior...or warriorette :)

 St. Peter's Chains

 Pantheon

 Spanish Steps

 

 Trevi Fountain

 Making a Wish

 

Luckily we were still addicted to gelato and pizza and ate it as we walked. After days of walking on average 14 miles a day my feet were starting to really feel it and I barely made it back to the hostel that night where I got the best foot massage of my life.

The elevator at our hostel...pretty small ha ha