Have you ever tossed money into a "lucky" fountain and wondered where it went? Well everyone, I have finally solved this mystery of life. I was sitting at Trevi Fountain taking a break from a monsterous walk. I'm not sure of the entire story behind Trevi Fountain, but supposedly you throw money in for good luck. Anyways, while sitting there, I noticed that there was a sketchy looking guy scouting the the water. Of course, being a nosy bastard with nothing to do, I zone in on him and pay attention to what he is doing. First, it wasn't very exciting, but then, he starts pulling out a spool of fishing line with some sort of contraption on the end. When people aren't noticing (he doesn't know I'm behind him playing Big Brother), he tosses the contraption in and starts fishing, but for CASH. You can fill in the rest of the blanks, BUT basically, some thief steals all our money we toss in!!
I visited the Vatican Museum yesterday. Turned out yesterday, being the last Sunday of the month, was free to go. In order to make it through the crowds though, I had to get up (at what I thought was 6:30AM - this comes into play later on, just keep reading), and head out and wait along with them. The museum was great and I saw the Sistine Chapel and Raphael's frescos, but the best part about the museum was jockeying for position among the 10,473 people ahead of me (yes, I counted). It was a VERY slow motion race for the best position, and everyone was playing the game. Some were getting mad, others were slipping through the cracks and getting...a whole 2 feet ahead...while others were waiting accordingly and passing the time by reading, etc. I was playing the sleek, silent, sneaky...but shithead who kept on trying to get ahead. Being that I was alone, it was super easy to sneak through the cracks that developed! Anyways, got into the museum and planned to get out by 11:30AM and go to St.Peter's square where the Pope blesses the crowd. Anyways, I get out of the museum by 11AM and stop quickly into St.Peters church. Instead of looking around, I figure I'll head out early and get a decent spot to hopefully catch a glimpse of the Pope. Well, somehow, its slightly past 11AM but the Pope is already speaking. Not to mention, there is roughly 1.5 million people gathered in the square. MUCH MUCH later in the day, I understood what happened. Day light Savings took place the night before! Luckily I wasn't traveling on the switchover day, I would have been confused and pissed off.
Going back, I rode the bus. With bus tickets in Rome, you buy the ticket, and when you get onto the bus, you don't pay the driver or anything...just walk to the middle where there is a machine that validates your ticket. For me though, I felt like being a rebel, so I didn't validate my ticket. This, if caught, garners you a sweet 100 Euro fine. To be honest, I was going to validate my ticket, but it was too packed, and I couldn't reach the machine. The entire trip, I was sweating bullets...not worth it, by far!
In total, I think traveling is starting to take its toll on my body. First of all, I got a cold. It wasn't particually bad, but it was nice enough that I had a sore throat, then a cough, then thick, disgusting snot. Now thats over, but from all the walking, my knee hurts (I think I had a drunken accident maybe), and I have two blisters on my foot. I sat in the middle of Rome with my shoe off, and popped one! I bet that creates a great visual image doesn't it?
Tomorrow, I head off to Cinque Terre. I'm not sure I'll have internet access, and I'll be out and about exploring the outdoors life of the area. Don't have a hostel booked, I'm sort of going to "wing it" and pray for the best. Just in case you are wondering, yes, there should be availability and I shouldn't have to sleep outside. I'll check in soon!
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