I feel like most people love the opportunity to be in first class, but I was terrified. It must be my down-to-earth nature, because I felt so out of place as I sat down in my seat. The cabin was practically empty, with only three other people present. It was quite hard for me to relax, but I took this picture before the train started heading to Rome. Don't be fooled by my smile--those are eyes of fear:
Despite my discomfort, I ended up dozing off. Initially, I had tried to stay awake because I was waiting for my ticket to be checked. But after 20 minutes of nobody showing up, my sleepiness won. Of course, sometime during my snooze, the ticket checker came around and had to wake me up. Let's just say I woke up very jumpy. And then, a lady came around asking people if they wanted any refreshments. I didn't want to be charged for any beverages, so I tried to ask her if I would be charged for it. But, being in Italy, she didn't understand what I was trying to ask her. After a couple of attempts, I ended up just saying no. She looked really confused that I had turned down having refreshments, which made me think that it was, in fact, complimentary. Oh well. Better safe than sorry, I always say.
Shortly after, we arrived at the train station, and it was time to find our hostel. We started walking in the wrong direction but quickly righted our mistake. It was quite scary walking the streets of Rome so late, as there was hardly anyone around, and the area our hostel was in wasn't the greatest. Thankfully, the hostel was only a five minute walk from the station (not including our mistake we made earlier). We had to ring the reception in order to get inside the building (I liked the extra security) and then climb up to the second floor. The hostel was nicely decorated and quite lively. Alyssa and I were placed in a room with four other girls, a couple of them already trying to sleep. We quickly got ready for bed and agreed to sleep in a little so we'd have enough energy for the next day.
It felt nice to sleep in, even through all of the noise from our roommates getting ready for the day. Once everyone had left, we figured it was time to get up and start our day. We ate breakfast at the hostel, paying four euros. It wasn't too bad of a deal, considering we could have as much food as we wanted. We made some meat and cheese sandwiches, in addition to some juice, cereal, and toast. It was much more convenient (and filling) than trying to find breakfast which would cost us way more.
Afterwards, we set off to see the Roman Colosseum. It was a beautiful morning for a walk, and despite my already exhausted feet, I was excited to see the Colosseum:
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| Beautiful morning light |
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| Our first view of the Colosseum |
It took a while to get into the Colosseum, and we were sandwiched between people on either side of us. We knew we weren't in England anymore by the sorry excuse for a line we were standing in and the lack of personal space. Alyssa and I were trying to help shield each other from the people who were breathing down our necks and poking our ribs. Eventually, we got to the counter to pay for our tickets. Unfortunately, our U.S. passports didn't give us any discounts, but we still excitedly climbed the steep stairs up to see the Colosseum from the upper level.
It was very crowded, since the Colosseum had already been open for a couple hours, but we still got to see everything just fine:
After taking these pictures, we walked around the Colosseum to see more:
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| We found a cat! |
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| I wish I could have pet it :( |
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| That would be one scary maze to be stuck in. Especially with a lion chasing you. |
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| I did not want Alyssa taking a picture of me. |
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| Me with the Colosseum behind me. |
The Colosseum must have been an impressive building back in its day, as it certainly is spectacular now. The more monuments I see, the more I wonder what they would have looked like during their time, and even more so wish I could travel back in time to see them at their peak. It's even more amazing to realize that these buildings were made without the technologies we have today. So much persistent labor and dedication were put into these structures that just don't translate in most of the buildings we see today.
After the Colosseum, we made our way up to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, which were also included in our tickets.
It was a lot to take in when we first entered the area, as there were so many ruins and buildings. Not to mention that you could tell how important this space was for the people using it back then:
The Roman Forum was the main hub for Rome's citizens, holding many important government buildings, serving as a marketplace, and public affairs. It reminds me of the downtown of any city, the place where all the action is. The Palatine Hill, overlooking the Roman Forum, was where many Romans lived for many years.
We hadn't realized how expansive the area was, so we didn't get to explore the whole thing, but we did cover quite a bit of it:
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| People were drinking out of this fountain. Even though I was thirsty, I couldn't get myself to try it. |
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| Part of the Roman Forum |
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| This was on our hike up to Palatine Hill. |
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| The Stadium of Domitian, located on the Palatine Hill, used mainly for athletic contests. |
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| I loved these tall trees! |
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| Ruins in the Roman Forum |
After seeing the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, we were pretty much dragging our feet because of our fatigue and hunger, not to mention the heat. We decided it would be best to quickly find some food, so we picked a restaurant that we hoped would give us some good pasta. Unfortunately, our experience was sub par. The first indicator of a poor meal coming our way was the fact that the bread basket they gave us held burnt bread. And not just normal, blackened bread that you can tell is burnt. This bread seemed to have a normal color, but after we looked at it more closely, it seemed to be slightly off. We decided to try it anyway, and found out that it was burnt. How they were able to burn it and have it look almost normal is beyond me. Thankfully, my raviolis were good (although not exceptional or distinct from other ravioli I've had before), but Alyssa wasn't as lucky. The noodles in her pasta dish weren't even al dente......Our impression, being in Italy, was that we would have pasta cooked to perfection and better than any other Italian food we've ever had. After this meal, Alyssa and I realized that those expectations were not going to be met on our trip, at least with our budget. At least my meal looked very appetizing (and tasted good as well):
After a disappointing meal and paying a bill that charged us for the pitcher of water they provided us (we were surprised they didn't charge us for the burnt bread), we decided to get some gelato to cheer us up. I had been wanting to try some fruity flavors, so I took the risk and got some. Unfortunately, I learned that I liked the dessert flavors much better and from that point on only got dessert gelato flavors:
Once we were done with our gelato, we went to find the Trevi Fountain. By the time we got there, it was already the afternoon, so the place was absolutely packed. But is sure was beautiful, despite the crowds of people trying to take pictures and toss coins behind their shoulders. We managed to get our pictures and even make our wishes as we tossed our coins into the fountain:
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| Unfortunately, this girl did not move the entire time I was trying to take this picture. :( |
We went from one crowded area to another by going from the Trevi Fountain to the Spanish Steps. We could tell that we were in the right spot once we saw all of the people:
I was quite disappointed with the Spanish Steps, because it was really difficult to admire the view and then climb them, trying to avoid all of the people lounging and sunbathing.
After climbing up and back down the steps, we took a breather and sat down on the curb of the street and people-watched. As we sat, we witnessed three teenage kids bully one of the people on the streets trying to sell some of his toys. His toy happened to be a gooey ball that, when thrown on the ground, made an obnoxious, high-pitched squeal. He wasn't being pushy and trying to force people to buy his products, so I felt so bad for him as I saw the guys take one of his merchandise and start to walk away with it. The man started toward them, trying to get it back. The boys, being taller than the man, taunted him with it as they hovered it high over his head. They eventually started running off with it, the man having to chase after them for it, before they threw it down on the street and dashed away. The man slowly returned back to his spot and dejectedly stood there, demonstrating how the product worked as he had before, but you could tell that he was really hurt by the incident. It made me want to buy one of his toys from him to try to make him feel better. I almost got up and tried to help him halfway through the whole ordeal, but I didn't know if I would have helped or made things worse. I wish I had at least tried, though, because to this day I still feel guilty not helping him, especially since he picked up his things and left after a few minutes.
After sitting there for a few minutes feeling sorry for the poor man, Alyssa and I got up and walked around the area for a little bit before deciding to head back to the hostel to rest until dinner. Once we were getting hungry, we found a restaurant on TripAdvisor that sounded good, so we explored the streets to find it. It was a little tucked away, but we managed to find it alright:
I decided on a calzone, which was pretty tasty. However, it was also very large, and since I wasn't feeling too hungry, I had a difficult time even finishing half of it. But I managed to eat most of it:
After dinner, it was time to head back and get some rest for our last day in Rome.
To start off our last day, we decided to see the Vatican City. We thought it would be cool to see the Sistine Chapel as well, but the line was so long we decided to skip it. When we entered the main plaza of the Vatican, we were very confused as to why there were so many people seemingly waiting for something. We only had to wait around for a few minutes, because we discovered they were waiting for the Pope:
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| The Pope in his popemobile! |
More specifically, most of the people were probably there for the catechesis, as I later found out online. We had just so happened to stumble on one of his papal audiences that day. After staying and listening for a while, we left before it was over to avoid the crowd. We took a couple of pictures on the way back to the main shopping center in Rome:
Our last day in Rome, besides seeing the Vatican City, was very easy-going as we wandered in the shops and did some last minute souvenir shopping. Alyssa and I found an outdoor market full of artists selling their work. We went a little crazy purchasing paintings from one artist, but they were all so beautiful it was hard to choose the paintings we wanted for ourselves, family, and friends. I just wanted to buy all of his paintings, but that would have been way too expensive and impossible to get back home.
After buying our paintings, we wandered around some of the main shops for more potential souvenirs. While we were shopping, we happened to find the Ferrari store, so I had to take a picture for my dad:
After spending the afternoon shopping and walking, we headed back to our hostel to stash our souvenirs and get some dinner. It was at this last dinner that we were finally able to try some tiramisu. I had never had any before, but it was absolutely amazing! I can't to have some more in the future:
After dinner, we went back to the hostel to pack up our things for our flight the next day. We had an amazing, week-long trip, but our legs and feet were ready to go home and relax by the end of the trip. Our departure from Italy was bittersweet, but we left with a week of great memories and our bodies ready to sleep in our own beds.
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