Roman Holiday
My first weekend vacation was to Rome. It was interesting to say the least and I do not really know how to begin so I will start from the very beginning. I went with Zena, Ashley and Mackenzie. I think they will be my steady travel companions throughout the semester, or at least for now. We started off from the Florence train station on Friday morning at 11am. We took a regional train, which means it stops several times in little towns, but costs less. When we first got on the train a guy on the train next to us tried to get our attention by knocking on the window, etc. For the next 10 or 15 minutes he faced us and was, ummm, jacking off. It was disgusting. We just sat there laughing and making sure not to look. It was a very interesting and disgusting way to start off an adventure to Rome. This guy was like 50 or 60 they said. I made sure to read a book...ugh! Crazy Italian men!
The train ride lasted four hours, which wasnt that bad at all. We forgot to stamp our tickets at the train station because we didnt know we had to, but they didnt charge us and now we know better. Ashleys book had talked about getting bus tours around the city so we bought tickets for one and staring on an audio tour on the double-decker after checking into our hostel. We stayed at a hostel close to the train station. It was actually a pretty nice hostel, but the bathrooms were pretty nasty and other than the four of us there was one other person...a random guy. Ashley and I met him once when he randomly came into the room with a friend and he seemed pretty nice and spoke English. Zena and Mackenzie never even got to see him...at least not with the lights on and fully clothed (I will get back to that.)
The first stop on the bus tour that we exited on was the colisseum. We took several pictures with a man dressed up as a centurion outside of it. We took several pictures and as Zena would say, he was "all up in my business." One picture I sat in his lap, one I had my arm around him and for my individual he picked me up. You get so used to the Italian men acting like that that you hardly notice after awhile. The men in Rome were actually a lot better about cat-calling than the men in Florence. I was not expecting that at all. Anyway, we took several pictures around the colisseum and went on the bus again to see more of the city. I highly reccommend taking at least a bus tour when you first get to Rome just to get acquainted with the city. The bus tour was quick and easy and the line that we chose was a stop-and-go so if nothing else it was free transportation for 24 hours.
Our next stop was the Trevi fountain. We took pictures of us throwing coins in and admired it for awhile. It is a beautiful fountain (with too many tourists) and it is randomly situated in the middle of a few side streets. We also visited the parthenon where bones of martyred Christians were once kept, several leaders are buried and a temple to many roman gods was once held. It was smaller than I thought it would be. Then we walked to the Spanish Steps. Apparently this is the "tourist center." There definately were a lot of tourists here! I loved it because it reminded me of Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn. I could pick out exactly where she had sat in the movie. It was gorgeous. After that we walked for a verrry long time. Apparently renovations had been made since the map had been published and we ended up going way north and away from our hostel. We climbed a ton of stairs and were starving the entire time. We finally did find our way and saw a lot of Rome on the way. We stopped for gelato at one point because we were all lagging. For once I got a medium and was so full that when we went to a really good pizza place on our way back i could only get a salad. We were exhausted at the end of the day but because the random man staying in our hostel wasnt back yet i couldnt sleep until he came home (around 3 or 4.) I was sleeping the closest to him and I felt responsible for taking care of the other girls. Silly I know, but I did not sleep much that night.
The next morning Ashley and I woke up at 8 to get ready to go to the Vatican. I loved the breakfast there. They had free coffees and bread with jelly and a form of nutella. I was excited at least...when I went to Berlin they had the same sort of thing. I usually just have espresso and a digestive cracker for breakfast here. Then we hopped on the same tourbus to go to the Vatican. First we went to Saint Peters cathedral. It was gorgeous! I got separated from the other girls just walking around and marveling at everything. There is gold everywhere and the floors are even beautiful. There was a mass going on and a small prayer room to the side. The statues are gorgeous as is the huge wooden altar in the center above the bones of the apostle. We also went underneath the the crypt where the bones of the popes are kept. Several people were kneeling by the bones of the late pope and the shrine of Saint was beautiful. They made you keep silent as you went through and it had a holy air that stirred the soul. There is so much rich history and religion at the same time that it makes me wonder how Catholics could go a lifetime without visiting at least once. Then on the way out one of the Swiss guards that guard the Vatican checked me out and my holy reverence was destroyed with annoyance. I guess life goes on.
We then went through the Vatican Museums where there were rooms of frescos, maps and ancient sculptures. At the end was the Sistine chapel. It was breathtaking and was full of people gazing up at the ceiling and walls. I stood there for a long time trying to put each picture with the Bible story. The largest picture shows a young Jesus on the day of the final judgement as the trumpet calls go out. It was a very powerful picture and each person in any one of the drawings was very expressive and detaileed. It is amazing that one man could have ever painted so much, and apparently not even for very much money! It took several hours to get through the Vatican and we slowly shuffled the entire way. We shopped on the way back to the hostel but didnt have any luck. We ate at a place near the Trevi fountain. Apparently the calzones here are made with turkey and cheese traditionally. It was good! We were exhausted from walking the past couple days so we went back to the hostel. After we took a break we went to a pizzaria near the hostel. It was the best dinner we have had yet. My throat was starting to hurt a lot so I had minestrone soup. It was amazing!! So much better than Olive Garden i cannot even begin to say. It was hard to sleep because I had a lot of drainage and if I do not have the same thing Zena had, I am still worried because I am still feeling sick.
The next morning was Sunday. We woke up at 7 to shower and ate our last breakfast (sad) to go to the Sunday Market. It goes from 7am to 2pm and was crazy. There are vendors everywhere selling anything you can think of. Everything is cheap. There were shirs for one euro and espresso machines for 5. Zena and I got completely lost. I did not think it was possible for a market to be so large. It was all locals there so I had to translate a lot to bargain for Zena and myself. Thank goodness I had studied the numbers! It is fun bartering in the first place and even though I did not buy a lot it was fun just to see and the different vendors and the way people interacted to get cheaper prices. The only downside to the market are the pickpockets which are apparently really bad there. My friend Alanas mom sewed pockets into my jeans to put my wallet in, but I was clutching my purse for dear life. I was afraid of being grabbed, but it wasnt a problem at all. After the market we ate near the hostel again where we had left our backpacks. I am all about randomly trying new things. I have already had artichokes on pizza here and this time I ordered some random meat. Turns out that it was octopus!! I had never had it before and it was just covered in tomato paste, but I ate some of it just to try it. The texture is really weird and the other girls wanted to throw up just knowing it was there, but if the Italian can eat it then I can too. It really wasnt all that bad, just different.
We finally headed back to the train station and bought tickets to go home. We left on an IC, which is faster than the regional trains because it has less stops. In these trains you can buy assigned seats and if not you have to sit on aisle seats outside of the compartments. We ended up near the bathrooms in an unairconditioned compartment. It was hilarious. I didnt care because of the beautiful scenery as we passed through the countryside. There would be random villages, castles and of course green trees, vineyards and mountains everywhere. A man who at first had stared at us from afar came to sit by us. Ends up he is now living in California and knew English very well. He is from Bolognia and is the son of the prime minister of Italys right-hand man. That was interesting and the other three girls giggled as we casually talked. He told me of several places to go out in Florence and I wish I had given him my number when he asked because I already forgot them. He was actually really nice too...all I have been used to so far is the Italian men calling out Shakira (dont ask why, I am baffled still) and bella all the time. At least normal Italian men exist and not all of them treat women like objects (except their mamas, of course.) We got off at a train station in Florence we didnt know so we took a cab back to the Santa Croce and wearily walked home.
Rome was a wonderful first trip to have and was definately a full experience. I cannot believe I saw so much in just a weekend. I have the feeling that I will be living from weekend to weekend from now on. Instead of backpacking for a month after graduating, i can do it now. I love planning out all of our trips and choosing where we want to go. Next weekend we are going on a bus tour to the coast to take it easy after this past weekend. I will be able to see Pompeii! We are still trying to work out Oktoberfest, but travel alone will probably turn out to be very expensive if at all possible. If that doesnt work out, we can just go somewhere else. Who cares? I am studying abroad in Europe!
The train ride lasted four hours, which wasnt that bad at all. We forgot to stamp our tickets at the train station because we didnt know we had to, but they didnt charge us and now we know better. Ashleys book had talked about getting bus tours around the city so we bought tickets for one and staring on an audio tour on the double-decker after checking into our hostel. We stayed at a hostel close to the train station. It was actually a pretty nice hostel, but the bathrooms were pretty nasty and other than the four of us there was one other person...a random guy. Ashley and I met him once when he randomly came into the room with a friend and he seemed pretty nice and spoke English. Zena and Mackenzie never even got to see him...at least not with the lights on and fully clothed (I will get back to that.)
The first stop on the bus tour that we exited on was the colisseum. We took several pictures with a man dressed up as a centurion outside of it. We took several pictures and as Zena would say, he was "all up in my business." One picture I sat in his lap, one I had my arm around him and for my individual he picked me up. You get so used to the Italian men acting like that that you hardly notice after awhile. The men in Rome were actually a lot better about cat-calling than the men in Florence. I was not expecting that at all. Anyway, we took several pictures around the colisseum and went on the bus again to see more of the city. I highly reccommend taking at least a bus tour when you first get to Rome just to get acquainted with the city. The bus tour was quick and easy and the line that we chose was a stop-and-go so if nothing else it was free transportation for 24 hours.
Our next stop was the Trevi fountain. We took pictures of us throwing coins in and admired it for awhile. It is a beautiful fountain (with too many tourists) and it is randomly situated in the middle of a few side streets. We also visited the parthenon where bones of martyred Christians were once kept, several leaders are buried and a temple to many roman gods was once held. It was smaller than I thought it would be. Then we walked to the Spanish Steps. Apparently this is the "tourist center." There definately were a lot of tourists here! I loved it because it reminded me of Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn. I could pick out exactly where she had sat in the movie. It was gorgeous. After that we walked for a verrry long time. Apparently renovations had been made since the map had been published and we ended up going way north and away from our hostel. We climbed a ton of stairs and were starving the entire time. We finally did find our way and saw a lot of Rome on the way. We stopped for gelato at one point because we were all lagging. For once I got a medium and was so full that when we went to a really good pizza place on our way back i could only get a salad. We were exhausted at the end of the day but because the random man staying in our hostel wasnt back yet i couldnt sleep until he came home (around 3 or 4.) I was sleeping the closest to him and I felt responsible for taking care of the other girls. Silly I know, but I did not sleep much that night.
The next morning Ashley and I woke up at 8 to get ready to go to the Vatican. I loved the breakfast there. They had free coffees and bread with jelly and a form of nutella. I was excited at least...when I went to Berlin they had the same sort of thing. I usually just have espresso and a digestive cracker for breakfast here. Then we hopped on the same tourbus to go to the Vatican. First we went to Saint Peters cathedral. It was gorgeous! I got separated from the other girls just walking around and marveling at everything. There is gold everywhere and the floors are even beautiful. There was a mass going on and a small prayer room to the side. The statues are gorgeous as is the huge wooden altar in the center above the bones of the apostle. We also went underneath the the crypt where the bones of the popes are kept. Several people were kneeling by the bones of the late pope and the shrine of Saint was beautiful. They made you keep silent as you went through and it had a holy air that stirred the soul. There is so much rich history and religion at the same time that it makes me wonder how Catholics could go a lifetime without visiting at least once. Then on the way out one of the Swiss guards that guard the Vatican checked me out and my holy reverence was destroyed with annoyance. I guess life goes on.
We then went through the Vatican Museums where there were rooms of frescos, maps and ancient sculptures. At the end was the Sistine chapel. It was breathtaking and was full of people gazing up at the ceiling and walls. I stood there for a long time trying to put each picture with the Bible story. The largest picture shows a young Jesus on the day of the final judgement as the trumpet calls go out. It was a very powerful picture and each person in any one of the drawings was very expressive and detaileed. It is amazing that one man could have ever painted so much, and apparently not even for very much money! It took several hours to get through the Vatican and we slowly shuffled the entire way. We shopped on the way back to the hostel but didnt have any luck. We ate at a place near the Trevi fountain. Apparently the calzones here are made with turkey and cheese traditionally. It was good! We were exhausted from walking the past couple days so we went back to the hostel. After we took a break we went to a pizzaria near the hostel. It was the best dinner we have had yet. My throat was starting to hurt a lot so I had minestrone soup. It was amazing!! So much better than Olive Garden i cannot even begin to say. It was hard to sleep because I had a lot of drainage and if I do not have the same thing Zena had, I am still worried because I am still feeling sick.
The next morning was Sunday. We woke up at 7 to shower and ate our last breakfast (sad) to go to the Sunday Market. It goes from 7am to 2pm and was crazy. There are vendors everywhere selling anything you can think of. Everything is cheap. There were shirs for one euro and espresso machines for 5. Zena and I got completely lost. I did not think it was possible for a market to be so large. It was all locals there so I had to translate a lot to bargain for Zena and myself. Thank goodness I had studied the numbers! It is fun bartering in the first place and even though I did not buy a lot it was fun just to see and the different vendors and the way people interacted to get cheaper prices. The only downside to the market are the pickpockets which are apparently really bad there. My friend Alanas mom sewed pockets into my jeans to put my wallet in, but I was clutching my purse for dear life. I was afraid of being grabbed, but it wasnt a problem at all. After the market we ate near the hostel again where we had left our backpacks. I am all about randomly trying new things. I have already had artichokes on pizza here and this time I ordered some random meat. Turns out that it was octopus!! I had never had it before and it was just covered in tomato paste, but I ate some of it just to try it. The texture is really weird and the other girls wanted to throw up just knowing it was there, but if the Italian can eat it then I can too. It really wasnt all that bad, just different.
We finally headed back to the train station and bought tickets to go home. We left on an IC, which is faster than the regional trains because it has less stops. In these trains you can buy assigned seats and if not you have to sit on aisle seats outside of the compartments. We ended up near the bathrooms in an unairconditioned compartment. It was hilarious. I didnt care because of the beautiful scenery as we passed through the countryside. There would be random villages, castles and of course green trees, vineyards and mountains everywhere. A man who at first had stared at us from afar came to sit by us. Ends up he is now living in California and knew English very well. He is from Bolognia and is the son of the prime minister of Italys right-hand man. That was interesting and the other three girls giggled as we casually talked. He told me of several places to go out in Florence and I wish I had given him my number when he asked because I already forgot them. He was actually really nice too...all I have been used to so far is the Italian men calling out Shakira (dont ask why, I am baffled still) and bella all the time. At least normal Italian men exist and not all of them treat women like objects (except their mamas, of course.) We got off at a train station in Florence we didnt know so we took a cab back to the Santa Croce and wearily walked home.
Rome was a wonderful first trip to have and was definately a full experience. I cannot believe I saw so much in just a weekend. I have the feeling that I will be living from weekend to weekend from now on. Instead of backpacking for a month after graduating, i can do it now. I love planning out all of our trips and choosing where we want to go. Next weekend we are going on a bus tour to the coast to take it easy after this past weekend. I will be able to see Pompeii! We are still trying to work out Oktoberfest, but travel alone will probably turn out to be very expensive if at all possible. If that doesnt work out, we can just go somewhere else. Who cares? I am studying abroad in Europe!
posted by Alyssa at 1:28 PM
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