When In Rome

  Hello everybody! Sorry again about the amount of time between my last blog and this one.  I hope its worth the wait.  So this past weekend the whole group took off for Roma, our international excursion through the program.  We left Friday morning, and arrived at the airport around 4:30.  By the time we collected our bags, rode into the city, and checked into our hotel it was about 6:30.  My friends and I headed for a walk around the city.  Our first stop was the Spanish steps, and although I don't actually know the significance of the steps, I still enjoyed seeing them.  There were a lot of people there, and we stayed a while and people watched and took some pictures.  Then we took off again, this time for the Trevi Fountain.  This was what I was really excited about.  I had been thinking about what I was going to wish for when I threw in my coin since the beginning of the week.  (I can't tell you, you know how it works.)  The Trevi was amazing at night, and looked especially impressive all lit up.  There were also a lot of people there, even though it was pretty late.  We all made our wishes and enjoyed the area for while and then took off to find Piazza Nevona, and food. After that we just went back to the hotel and went to bed early; we were all pretty tired after the day of traveling, and had big plans for the next day.

  On Saturday we met up early, and headed off for the Vatican.  I could barely believe where I was going, and could not wait to see something with so much historical significance.  After a ten minute walk we hit the hour long line to get into the Vatican.  The line actually moved much faster than we had been expecting, and we were inside the Vatican in what felt like very little time.  Walking through the Vatican is indescribable, I feel like there is no way I can do it justice.  The first few rooms were very interesting. The first was an exhibit on Egyptian history.  Pretty soon it stops feeling like a museum, and you are surrounded by art and history, to a point where it is almost overwhelming.  Every room I walked into I thought, "There is no way it gets more impressive than this." And then you go into the next room, and it takes your breath away again.  I wish I could describe it better.  The rooms painted by Raphael were so beautiful, and I could have spent the whole day in those alone.  After going through most of the rooms, I was so ready to get to the Sistine Chapel, which is one of the last things you see when you go through the Museums.  The Sistine Chapel was not what I was expecting at all.  It was far smaller than I had imagined, and twice as overwhelming.  I have seen countless pictures, and hear numerous descriptions of the chapel and none of them do it justice.  We spent a lot of time just trying to take everything in.  The Chapel is so overwhelming because first you experience the amazing frescoes, and the artwork in the room.  Then, you remember the history of the room, and realize that Michaelangelo and other artists had spent years in the very place you were standing, and you are completely overwhelmed again.

  After the Vatican Museums we had planned to go into St. Peters Basilica.  The way I understood it, you are supposed to be able to get into the basilica from the Vatican, and therefore avoid waiting in a two or three hour line.  However, when I asked the security guard how to get to the basilica from where we were, apparently he misunderstood.  We ended up at the end of a line, and it would have been at least two hours before we saw the inside of the basilica.  My friends and I were torn, and unsure of what to do.  By the time we got inside, we really would not have much time at all to actually experience the it at all.  We left very disappointed without seeing the basilica.  After lunch, we had another disappointment.  We went to the Pantheon, and upon arriving found that we would not be able to go inside because there was a service going on.  So once again, we took in the outside, and I left feeling a bit defeated.  The rest of the day Saturday we just walked around more, and observed the Roman way of life. We checked out the Travestere neighborhood and did a bit of shopping.

  Sunday we headed out early again.  This time my friends and I took the Metro to the Colosseo stop.  It would have been a long walk, and we all had some serious blisters from the day before.  The Colosseo stop is probably the greatest Metro stop in the world.  You literally walk out and the Colosseum is in front of you.  We were all very excited.  We went inside and wandered around and I tried to read every informational sign I came across.  We had decided not to buy the audio tour, just because we knew the general history of the Colosseum, and because we are poor college students who cared way more about buying gelato later on than the audio tour.  We also walked around the Roman Forum, which is right across the street from the Colosseum.  It is cool to be around buildings and ruins that are so old.  I tried to imagine what it all must have looked like when it was first built, and how impressive it must have been.  The rest of the day Sunday (there wasn't really much left) we just walked around some more.

  I can't finish this post without devoting at least a paragraph to the food.  I think I gained at least five pounds over the course of the weekend.  My friends and I had decided before we even left that we would have pizza or pasta or both at every meal.  We also pledged to have gelato at least once a day.  Don't worry, we upheld our promises.  The first night I ordered my first authentic Italian pizza.  It was so good.  It has really thin crust, and fresh cheese and was amazing.  After finishing the entire pizza, I helped my friends Jennie and Anna finish their plates of pasta, which was also very tasty.  Then we headed back towards the hotel searching for a gelato place.  We found one about two minutes from our hotel, and we ended up going there every night we were in Rome.  My favorite gelato flavor is Nutella.  Saturday and Sunday we actually got gelato twice.  When in Rome, right?  Saturday we found a great little pizza place a little ways down from the Vatican.  The waiter was older, and a complete flirt.  We had a blast talking to him, and he posed for pictures with us before we left.  The rest of our food experiences were just as great as the first, but my favorite part was absolutely the gelato.  I think it might be a good thing I am not studying Italian.  If I had spent a whole semester there, I would have been in trouble.

  Over all the trip was a great experience.  Although there were disappointments along the way, and I didn't get to do nearly as much as I wanted, I still got to see Rome.  Besides, legend has it that once you throw a coin in the Trevi, you will return to Rome someday.  So now I just know what I absolutely have to do when I am next in Rome.