When in Rome!

No big deal, I went to Rome for a weekend. That’s normal right? I mean seriously though, who does that? Oh wait, I do! Okay, so Rome is everything it is cracked up to be and more. I would almost go as far as to say that Rome is underrated because I can’t possibly put this city into words, but for your sake I will try.

Friday everyone was gearing up to leave for their weekend adventure. Some went to Florence and others went to Interlaken to go skiing/canyon jumping! I was traveling with a smaller group this time of only 6 which was really nice. Friday we took the bus to Castle Franco and then caught a train to Padova where we ran into one of the Florence groups.  They took a bus to Bassano and then a train to Padova. Turns out our train to Rome was making a stop in Florence to we all got to sit together for about an hour and a half. The train ride was super nice and fast, but we still didn’t get into Rome until around 11. Once we got an idea of where we were in relation to our hostel we realized it was about an 8 minute walk so off we went into the streets of Rome! By the time we got settled into our 6 bed private room it was almost 12. Oh, and the entire 4^th floor was CIMBA students. Totally unplanned but that’s CIMBA for ya! Some of the boys went out and found clubs but Alexa and I decided to go ahead and get some sleep so we could wake up early for our first day in Rome.

Rome Day 1: It was monsooning all day. I forgot to bring an umbrella but luckily there are hundreds of really annoying people standing on the side of every street trying to sell you an umbrella so I talked him down from 5 euro to 2 euro for an umbrella. Then we went to get breakfast across the street and I devoured some Nutella pancakes! So nutritious, I know. We decided that our first stop would be the Coliseum but along the way we stopped in some MAGNIFICENT churches. Absolutely breathtaking! So despite the rain the walk to the Coliseum was really cool. Roman streets are just picturesque! We were just walking down this one street and I was in the back of the group so everyone took a right turn before I did and all I heard was “Oh my gosh!” so I put a little pep in my step, took a sharp right and there it was! Walking up to the Coliseum is indescribable. Just imagine standing at the base of it looking up at this iconic piece of history, in the rain. Naturally we paid to go in and walk around. It’s exactly what you see in the pictures but to stand on the inside and look down and out from what used to be the stands is really just something else! After we had taken our fair share of pictures we headed across the street, pass the Arco di Costantino to the Roman Forum. Even though our Coliseum ticket would have gotten us into the forum I am embarrassed to admit that we were too wet and cold by this point to go in. Instead we walked around it and to this viewing point where you could look down and over the forum. Oh, and we ran into Jay and Jack from CIMBA who were in Rome seeing a friend. Shocker that in the eternal city our group of 6 manages to bump into that pair. Once we decided that we had observed the forum for a sufficient enough amount of time we strolled across the street for lunch and a chance to take our shoes off to dump the standing water out of them. At this point we were soaked all the way through. We had a delicious pasta lunch accompanied by hot chocolate. By that time it was almost three, we were still soaked and it was still storming so we decided take the tram back to the hostel for nap time.  When we got up it was about 6 and it had stopped raining for the night so we decided that we would wait for the rest of CIMBA to come back to the hostel and we would all go out to dinner as a group then head over to Trevi Fountain because we heard it’s prettier at night (truth)! Well that almost worked. We had everyone together and headed out around 8:30 to a restaurant someone had heard of only to be turned away because we were a group of 12 American college students. So we regrouped and decided to split up and try to meet at Trevi around 11:30. Our group headed off in the direction of the fountain to look for a restaurant around there. Wondering the streets of Rome at night is beautiful! We “stumbled” across so many iconic land marks and ruins with every turn we made. Eventually we decided to stop in a shop that sold little Rome memorabilia and ask the owners for dinner recommendations. They were exceptional people! They drew us a map to a nearby restaurant they love that was so incredible and inexpensive (my dinner was cheaper than my lunch!). They also called ahead to the restaurant to let them know that a group of 8 American students were on their way to a table would be ready when we got there. However, when we got there the table was not quite yet ready, we had to wait about 6 minutes, but in the mean time they brought us complimentary glasses of hot wine cider drink which tastes like Christmas in a cup aka really good. We sat outside under the heat lamps so we were comfortably warm. No matter the weather or the time of year almost every restaurant that is on a street in Europe has outdoor seating. Our table split an antipasti and I had a spicy olive oil based spaghetti for dinner. Two of the boys got a tiramisu and it was probably the best tiramisu I have ever tried but instead of ordering one for myself I got a Kinder Bar flavored gelato on our way to the Trevi Fountain. The best part about dinner was that half way through our dinner the store owners showed up with some friends to have dinner there as well and we greeted warmly by the wait staff. That says a lot when someone who recommends you to a restaurant also comes there to eat.

On to the best part of the night… So we had planned to meet up with the second half of the group at 11:30pm at the fountain but that didn’t work because it was almost midnight before we were done with dinner. On our way to the fountain we were winding through small streets and all of the sudden BOOM, there’s the Pantheon! Everyone was looking at it like “Hmm, that looks famous” and thanks to 4 years of Latin with Cober I was able to identify it as the Pantheon. We admired it and decided to come back the next day when it was open so we kept on walking to the fountain.

 Let’s just take a moment to soak this all in: I am spending an evening in Rome after a 5 star dining experience walking the streets eating gelato and accidentally finding the Pantheon on my way to the Trevi Fountain. Let that sink in….Okay, moving on.

Of course, as we got closer to the fountain we could hear it before we could see it. All of the sudden, after winding through more small streets we round the corner and BAM, Trevi Fountain! It’s everything it is in the pictures and more and I am so happy we saw it at night first. The first thought that popped into my head: Lizze McGuire Movie. The second: what the heck am I going to wish for? After about 30 minutes of picture taking and admiring with the lively crowds I turned my back to the fountain, tossed in a coin and made a wish! Then we took the tram home for the night: End of day one.

The Crowds for the Blessing!

Rome Day 2: Once again, Nutella pancakes and a cappuccino for breakfast. I am so spoiled! Today we decided that we were pretty much going to do Rome all over again because the sun we finally out, but first we were going to the Vatican. One of the guys had heard that the Pope was making an appearance at 12 so we defiantly wanted to be there for that. Plus, on the last Sunday of each month it is free to tour the Vatican museum which is only open from 9-12 so we did that first. I was shocked by  the collection of artwork and architecture in the museum. I’m not entirely sure as to what is all was or the significance of it but I took a picture of everything that intrigued me. The museum tour finished at the Sistine Chapel which is absolutely remarkable. To look up and see the iconic ceiling that I have heard about for years is unreal. You do not have to be an art fanatic to appreciate the time and detail that went into the Chapel’s ceiling. The colors are still so vibrant and it is so well preserved it looks as though it was painted just yesterday! After the museum we headed over to St. Peter's Square for the Pope’s final blessing. There were so many people that by the time we got in we caught the tail end of the blessing and could hardly even see him on the jumbo screens, but we were still there! After much pushing, shoving and waiting we finally made it into St. Petersburg.  Absolutely Magnificent! I caught the tail end of Sunday Mass and even though I could not understand a word it was still a great experience. Walking around the inside of that church is something I will hold onto forever.

The Spanish Steps

We went to lunch around 2 and I had the best spaghetti all a carbonara, the pasta noodles were so fresh! We then headed back toward the Pantheon which again, was such a cool sight to see. Then we headed back over to the Trevi Fountain so see it during the day and to get some more gelato. We also went to the Spanish Steps which were really pretty! The view from the top was amazing, and so was the Ashton Martin that was parked on the side of the street. Our train didn’t leave until 10:30 that night to so we decided to walk into a few more churches before finding a place to eat. We took a 2 hour dinner at a small restaurant and went through 3 bottles for regional red wine. Again, the service was awesome and so was the food. Before they gave us the check we got complimentary limoncello shots. Rome is awesome. We kind of lost track of time and we were still half way across the city at 9pm and we needed to go back to the hostel first to pick up our luggage. Picture this 8 Americans sprinting through the streets of Rome past the Coliseum, the Forum and other iconic places in order to make the train. People were literally cheering us on, it was like a scene out of a movie but luckily we made it. The train ride was terrible though, I didn’t sleep a bit and we didn’t get into Padova until around 4:30am. Our next train left at 5:55am and arrived in Castle Franco at 6:25am. Again we had to run almost a mile through the streets of Castle Franco with our travel packs in order to catch the 6:55 bus to PDG. Keep in mind that I was still in my dress from the Vatican when we showed up to campus! We got to campus at 7:40am, breakfast by 8 and class at 8:25. 

Veni Vidi Vici!