Day 19 St Peter's Basilica, St Peter and our last full day in Rome

We woke up early this morning because, in my times coming to Rome in the past, I would always try and get to St Peters as early as possible to beat the crowds. In the past I've had the place all to myself and gotten to enjoy the amazing things like Michelangelo's Pieta practically by myself, which is a very special moment!  We got there 10 minutes after it opened, but HUGE tour groups were already on their way!😡 we did get through security with no line, which is a huge plus!  But, it wasn't near as empty as it had been the last few times I used this strategy!  And to make matters worse, apparently, the Pope is performing the Mass tomorrow morning so almost 2/3 of the inside was blocked off to visitors. I mean, we couldn't get closer than about 50 feet from the glass that protects Michelangelo's Pieta!  And you couldn't get near the altar so you couldn't get a the million dollar view of the dome and you couldn't see any part of the Bernini Canopy over the altar except for the bronze pillars. Outside of that, there really wasn't much else that the public could see. What a bummer!!  I just kept thinking of Pilgrims, who saved money their whole life to see this truly amazing place and that was all they got when they got there!  It just doesn't seem right. So, Emily and I walked out and got in line for our special "Scavi" tour that I booked about 4 months ago online. It's a tour under St Peters to the old Necropolis where St Peter is believed to be buried. We got to see a whole bunch of amazing family tombs,  ancient mosaics and ancient frescoes that haven't seen the sunlight in over 1700 years!  Then, at the end, we get to see the actual tomb that ancient Christians made for St Peters bones as well as the marble box that Constantine the Great, who built the original St Peters Basilica surrounded the tomb with and the plexiglass box that the US Army made and sent to the Vatican to hermetically seal his bones in hopefully forever!  It was very interesting, cool and powerful!  We also saw the many layers that make up the Basilica and the huge foundations that held up the old church from the 4th century as well as the ones built during the Renaissance in the 1500s when Michelangelo designed the rebuilt church. That was one of the real highlights of the trip, so far. After we left there, we were so exhausted from all the walking we have been doing and the lack of sleep that we just CRASHED!  I took a 3 hour nap, and I let Emily sleep for 5 hours!  We really needed it, apparently!  There is so much more we wanted to see in Rome, but, another piece of travel advice, don't ever travel thinking it's the only time you will ever be in a place!  That's too much pressure and there's just too much to see, especially in cities like Rome and Paris!  Always assume you'll be back one day!  Anyway, a customer recommended a restaurant on the Piazza Navona, an area I usually would never eat at because it's so touristy! That usually means bad food, bad service and high prices!  I was assured this place was different!  It is one of the most beautiful squares in Rome, so I decided to make a reservation for an outdoor table at Bernini Restaurante. If nothing else, we will have a romantic dinner, but hopefully, the advice will be right. Well, it was right on the money!  We had amazing service from very warm, nice people. The food was amazing!  A family from Sterling Heights, Michigan sat at the table right next to us and we had a great time talking with them!  But back to the food, It seriously was the best lasagna I've ever had in my life!  I never thought I'd actually order lasagna in Italy, I always thought of it as more of an American thing.  But, the waiter told another table that his Nona is back there in the kitchen and that's one of the only things she still makes herself and that it's the best you'll ever have, we were intrigued. Amazing!!!!  So glad we got that!  If we hadn't already had appetizers and another pasta dish, we would've ordered another order, it was that good!!  Check out the picture, it even looks amazing!  After that, we took a nice evening walk to walk off that great meal, grab some gelato and to visit the last two sights we are gonna see in Rome, the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. It was a great walk, they aren't my favorite spots, but, I will say, I've thrown a coin in the Trevi Fountain each time I've been to Rome, and if you include the times when I've started my trip in Rome and then came back to Rome to finish the trip, I've been back to Rome 5 times so far the legend that if you throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain you are guaranteed to come back here has always worked!!  We also got to go to my favorite gelato place in Rome that's a block or so away from the fountain, it's still amazing!  Nothing brightens my mood like good food, good wine, good ice cream/gelato and sharing it all with Emily!  So, all in all, We are going to sleep happy tonight!  We have another cooking class tomorrow, a pasta making class, then we leave right after for our next city on our journey. A little town called Orvieto for a day. We will have some cool pics for you tomorrow. Thanks for caring about us enough to follow this journey with its ups and downs!  Fortunately, it's mostly ups!  We love you all!