just roman around

I know what you're thinking I'm going to start with: running from class on Friday to the Montarina, grabbing our backpacks and sprinting to the train station. But luckily for us, this weekend was a little different. We didn't have class on Friday, so we were able to catch an early train at 6:30am, setting us up to arrive in Rome before noon!

Excited about our entire extra day in Rome, we checked in, grabbed a free map and headed toward the Spanish Steps to meet our free tour guide. We had some time to kill, so we stopped to get gelato and crepes with the intention of eating them on the steps. Of course, that didn't happen because within three minutes, everyone was scarping their little cardboard cups in desperation for more... which we knew we would get again later. We walked down the steps, taking pictures and soaking up the sun since we hadn't seen much of it on our other weekend trips. We also did some people watching, somewhat nervously keeping our hands on our satchels since we watched a few "Rome pickpocketer" videos on YouTube in class Thursday and were feeling extra alert. When the free tour guide didn't show up, we decided to put our faith in Bailey and let her lead us around since she had been to Rome a couple of times before. She studied her map and put together a walking plan that would stop at some of the major tourist sites. She rocks.

We started with the Pantheon. We did a quick walk through the tourist packed piazza and the Pantheon itself and then moved on to the Trevi fountain. The weekend was packed with walking, but it was so nice out that the thought of taking the metro was out of the question. Seeing these monuments was absolutely surreal, especially when I thought about how long I have dreamt of them and studied them in class. In fact, I couldn't get the song from the 4th grade program at Larchmont Elementary out of my head the entire time ("When in Roooome, doo as the Romans dooo").

On our way to the fountain, we walked down a street filled with designer stores and Mitch was brave enough to go into one. I guess we fooled the attendant into actually thinking we had money, because he made Mitch try on the "new style" Burberry scarf... which costs around 300 euro. We couldn't stop laughing and Mitch left wishing he could have actually gotten it.

Moving on, we noticed a large old looking church, which happen to exist on every corner. Curious, we crossed the street and walked inside, not believing our eyes when we walked in. The church, Sant'Ignazio, was complete with the standard baroque interior that you see in textbooks and in movies: wall to wall frescos and humungous marble side chapels. If this were just one of the random churches we decided to go into, I can not imagine the amount of beauty that exists in the hundreds of other churches and cathedrals scattered throughout Rome.

After a nice silent break, we left and stuck with our plan. The Trevi fountain was beautiful. I know that I am repetitive when I keep saying how amazing these places are, but I'm really not sure how else to say it. We all scrounged up some 1 cent euros and made wishes, throwing them over our backs into the fountain, which legend says will ensure good fortune and a fast return to Rome.

We continued our stroll by walking to the Roman Forum, stopping at the Altare della Patria, a giant rectangular white monument building that is famously nicknamed the wedding cake, on the way to snap a few pictures. We walked up to the Forum right as the sun was setting, leaving me with one of my favorite memories of the weekend. We looked downward at the ruins, attempting to fathom the history that occurred under our feet that affects so much of what we do and who we are today.

It started getting dark, so we headed back to our hostel on a photo-op filled, slightly hurried walk.

Excited for the night, we showered and headed downstairs in time for happy hour at the bar. We chose the right weekend to check out Rome, because we kept running into Virginia Tech students from other study abroad programs and got to hang out with them a little at the hostel. Our hostel was called the Yellow and was my favorite home away from home yet. Our rooms had chalkboards for walls, the bartenders became our best friends and they had the most amazing breakfast in the morning-- the only bacon egg and cheese sandwich(es) since I've been here provided the most perfect little slice of heaven. Plus, there was a beer pong room in the basement! So yeah, I guess you could say the place was a little americanized, but who doesn't love America?!

The bartenders made reservations for us at a nearby restaurant and we hung out in the bar area until it was finally time to walk over. We had a great dinner filled with wine, calamari (my fave!), and various pasta dishes scattered across the table. The menu was all in italian, and although the owner came over to help us order, we all weren't completely sure what to expect out of our meals. When the food did come, we all took stabs at each others plates, ensuring that we tried every last flavor. Doesn't get much better than 10 different homemade italian pasta dishes! We took our time eating and laughing in true italian fashion (and spilling wine everywhere... see video.. whoops!), so by the time we were all done, it was pretty late and we were all tired. We decided to head home and rest up for another full day of sightseeing.

We woke up the next morning and met our group down at breakfast. Connor, Sean and two guys from their program in Paderno del Grappa arrived late the night before and joined our group for the day. Jordan has done a pretty good job of planning out aligning weekends with Connor. I'm glad because it's always comforting to have a good friend from home around for a weekend while abroad. When everyone was finished, we took out to the streets with our sunglasses on and cameras in hand.

Bailey was our tour guide again and we started with all of the spots we weren't able to hit the first day. We knew the lines at the Colosseum would get longer throughout the day, so we started there. Since regular admission for us would be $12, we decided to jump the line and take a guided tour when we got there for $15. Although our tour guide was a little hard to hear, she was very knowledgable and did a great job answering our questions. The Colosseum is a very cool and mysterious place and we were all wishing we could go back in time and witness the crowds at the gladiator fights.

After the tour, we took some pictures and then walked to the markets in Campo de Fiori to grab lunch. Some people got sandwiches, but I held off determined to find some fresh italian pizza. Sure enough, I found the cutest little place where the weight of your slice determined it's price-- mine was less than a euro! I've never had better white pizza.. writing this is making me want to teleport there now. We shopped around a little bit more, bargaining our butts off and left an hour later with some great finds.

After a long walk along the river, we finally arrived at Vatican City around 3:45. We jumped in line to go inside St. Peter's Basilica before realizing that the Vatican Museum stopped letting people in at 4:30! We power walked out and around the corner to the museum, went through another set of metal detectors and jumped in line. It took some convincing to get the ticket guy to let us in with our student visas, but sure enough, two phone calls later, we were in.. with three minutes to spare! I should seriously consider going into sales.

This left us with two hours to explore the museum and we strolled through the rooms, making sure to see the Sistine Chapel and Raphael's rooms. The Sistine Chapel was my favorite. We spent a good thirty minutes in there marveling at the walls and ceilings and taking in the peace of it all. Soon enough, we realized that we were the only ones left in the museum and we made our way out, apologizing to the tired museum employees sitting in the corner of every room on the way.

We met back up with the whole group outside and walked back to St. Peter's square to hang out a bit before heading home. There we were, right in the middle of the square as the sun was setting the background. I can't help but basque in the beauty of these sunsets, which remind me every day of Emily Specchio's story and serve as my daily reminder of how fortunate I am. We asked a passing french teenager to take our group picture, and she did a great job. After hanging out a little longer, we began our long walk home and got ready for dinner.

We were excited to try this place famous for its apertivos, but when we got there, there was a crowd of at last 60 people out front waiting to get in. Acknowledging our large group, we decided to try another place and went back to the hostel for a recommendation. I'm so glad we did, because Mama Angela's, located right across the street from The Yellow, ended up serving me the best pasta I have ever had. Yet again, we had a great time at dinner and didn't want it to end. Knowing that we needed to venture away from the block of our hostel for the night, we started there then left and walked toward the Trevi Fountain. I highly recommend getting to the fountain at night, because there was barely anyone there and it takes on an entirely new beauty when it is lit up. We took more pictures, then headed to the famous Piazza Navona to check out the nightlife.

We ended up spending most of our time at an American college student bar called Sloppy Sam's, meeting other study abroaders from all over the country. After a little while, we grabbed some late night gelato from our favorite gelato place (Blue Ice!) and hailed a cab home.

Sunday morning, we woke up, ate our amazing breakfast and found out that Italy's largest outdoor market was only open Sundays and that we HAD to check it out. The Porta Partese was basically a sea of white tents with small passageways that formed a giant maze. We ended up getting split up, but luckily we made a meeting spot and were able to meet back up as a group after a couple of hours of shopping. The market had everything! Early 20th century antiques, furniture, clothing, fresh food, jewelry and more fake Ray Bans than I have ever seen... We got out with again, a few good finds and then left in search of yet another recommended restaurant called ______. It was kind of hidden, but we managed to find the restaurant and sat down outside where we had yet another amazing pasta meal. It's a good thing I don't study in Rome, because I don't have enough self control to limit my gelato and pasta intake.

After our late lunch, we walked over to Piazza Navona and walked around checking out the street artists and performers and of course the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, or the fountain of four rivers. Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the hostel to get our bags and then take off toward the train station.

It is safe to say that this weekend will be difficult to top. The food, the art, the architecture and the people around me created the perfect few days and I already can't wait to go back.

Friday we leave for our second 10 day break to Valencia, Barcelona and Spain. I can not wait for the warm weather to continue and to spend my 21st birthday in Tuscan wine country. Ahh my life is NOT real!

Until then,

Linds