Saturday Stroll in Rome

Saturday Sean and I relaxed and slept in til ten! woot woot! Then we made our way into Rome to see the Sistine Chapel. We had a reservation for admission at 12:30 but got there an hour early and it was a good thing we did because there was still a pretty long line for reservations. The normal line without reservations was probably about 8 blocks long. It just keep going and going..

In line I met a girl from Pennsylvania who studies at UNI an is studying in Spain for the fall semester. Her grandma had come over to visit her and they were traveling around for her 10 day easter break. She was a really nice girl and we had a good time chatting about how much we love and miss Iowa!

If you have never been to the Sistine Chapel you have to walk through tons of rooms before you even get to the chapel. To be honest some of the rooms before the chapel were more interesting to me. We werent supposed to take pictures in the chapel but I did anyway. I got one really good picture that is similar to a postcard that I got later in the day.

We then spent the rest of the night wandering around Rome and seeing the sights. We visited the basilica of St. Mary and inside there is a arch that has Regina ingraved on it. I immediately was filled with a warm feeling when I saw that. I know that Grandma Ryan is looking after me and making sure that my travels are safe. I dont think I know anyone else who would have wanted to be in Rome during holy week as much as she would have. She had a travelers heart and I am definitely following in her footsteps. If you look closely you can see Regina engraved on the arch in the picture. It was hard to get a good photo of it.

That night we continued to wander around and then decided to get on the internet at a internet caffe. As I was writing one of my blogs and was browsing facebook John got on and messaged me. The whole family was together having Easter lunch at Davids house so they quickly downloaded skype and I got to see and talk to my whole family on Easter while I was in Rome! It was so good to get to see everyone. Unfortunately their mic didnt work so I couldnt hear them so I was basically narrating my last few days to them and watching their reactions. Talking to all of them made my night and I couldnt stop smiling the whole ride home!