Pizza, Pasta, and Gelato...My Weekend in Rome

Buonasera! Even though I'm not in Italy anymore and now have to get back into attempting to understand French :) The last few days have been some of the most amazing and exhausting of my life. So, here's a day by day synopsis of my trip:

Thursday: I got to the airport in Rome around 4. And then I had to wait for my bag, since according to the website of the airline I flew on (Blue Panorama), I could only bring something weighing less than 5 kilos (about 11 pounds) on the plane with me. I waited almost an hour for my bag...I wasn't too happy at that point. Then I bought a ticket and hopped on a train headed for Termini station. Once I got to Termini, I got kind of lost, since it's really big and I obviously had no idea where anything was. When I got onto the right street, I started walking toward the hostel. Again, I almost got lost, but eventually I found it. I checked in and put my stuff in my room. Then I went downstairs to use my iPad for a little while (since the WiFi signal wasn't very good in my room). Around 7-7:30, I went to find somewhere to eat. I found a nice little restaurant on a side street. I ordered a four cheese pizza and also had some bread. The pizza was good, except I didn't like one of the cheeses, which really started to bother me when I was about halfway done. So I had the waiter take the pizza away and I ordered tiramisu for dessert. This tiramisu wasn't like the kind that you see at the store. It was in a big glass, that was kind of wine glassy-shaped, and was mostly the pudding or custard or whatever it is that's in tiramisu with espresso-soaked ladyfingers in the middle. It was one of the best desserts I've ever had. After I finished dinner, I went back to my hostel and just hung out for a while until I went to bed.

Friday: I woke up a little later than I wanted to, so I got ready and ate breakfast fast, and then headed out. I walked to Termini to find a tour bus that I had seen online, but I didn't know where it was. So I walked around near the city busses and ended up talking to a guy who worked for a tour bus company. He didn't try to sell me the tour or anything, we just had a conversation about my shoes and what I was doing in Rome. Then he told me how to get to the Colosseum by walking. So I walked for about 20 minutes, and was trying to figure out which street I was supposed to keep walking on when I turned to my left, and BAM. There was the Colosseum. I couldn't believe it. I walked up that street and then down some steps until I was right in front of the Colosseum. I was walking around it when some guys dressed up as Roman gladiators told me to take a picture with them. So I got 3 pictures taken with them, and then one of the guys dressed up handed me my camera and said, "20 Euros, please." I literally looked at him and said, "Are you serious?" He ended up telling me that I could pay 15 Euros because I'm a student. But I was really upset after that. I guess it was my fault for assuming I could take pictures with them for free. So I continued around the Colosseum and was getting to the entrance, when I was persuaded into taking a tour. I didn't mind paying extra for the tour though, since I would have had to wait at least an hour in line just to buy a ticket. We did the tour around the Colosseum and the guide explained some of the history and stuff. The tour was shorter than I wanted it to be, but we had to meet another guide who was giving a tour of the Roman Forum. We met up with him and walked to the Roman Forum. This was one of my favorite parts of Rome. After the tour, I walked around the Forum itself for about 45 minutes and then walked up the Palatine Hill to the Palatine Museum, which I believe Mussolini built when he was in power. The view from the Palatine Hill is absolutely gorgeous. And seeing all of the remains of the buildings was amazing. It blew my mind that these buildings were constructed thousands of years ago. I think I also really enjoyed it because I took Latin. And I don't care if that makes me sound like a nerd. :) After I walked back down, I got a panini for lunch and bought some souveniers. Then I walked to the Circus Maximus. I was kind of disappointed though, because there isn't really anything left. From there, I hopped on the Metro (which kind of creeped me out the first time I rode it), and went back to Termini station. I finally decided on a tour bus I wanted to take and rode around the city, which was so beautiful. I got off at the last stop before going back to Termini, which was the Trevi fountain. I walked down a side street and found a gelateria. I ordered coffee and stracciatella (chocolate chip). It was soooo delicious. I found the Trevi fountain and was again, amazed. It was interesting to see such a famous fountain in the middle of a bunch of small streets. I took some pictures, and like a true tourist, threw a coin over my shoulder in the fountain so that I'll go back to Rome again. :) After the Trevi fountain, I walked to the Pantheon. I think my favorite part of this was the big hole in the roof, and whenever it rains, it falls onto the floor. It was pretty cool. I stayed there for a few minutes and then walked to Piazza Navona. There wasn't too much there, except a nice fountain and of course, weird guys trying to sell you stuff. Then I saw a building across the street that was open, so I walked in. It turned out to be a church, which was gorgeous. The art in Roman churches is simply amazing. After staying there for a little while, I headed back toward the Trevi fountain. I ended up stopping at a bar, and ordering a glass of Italian sparkling wine. Because you have to order wine when you're in Italy. Then I went back to where the tour bus dropped me off. By this time, it was 7 pm and the bus service stops at 7:30. I waited there until 7:25 and realized that the bus wasn't coming. I found my way to a Metro station and took it to Termini. I went back to my hostel for a few minutes, and then went to have dinner. I went to a different restaurant and ordered lasagna. It was of course, delicious. For dessert, I had a cannoli. I never had one in the US before, but I really really enjoyed the one I had in Rome. After dinner, I went back to the hostel and surfed the web on my iPad until I decided to go to sleep.

Saturday: I woke up early (7:15) and got ready/ate breakfast and left for Vatican City. I walked to a different Metro stop, which I think is actually closer to my hostel, called Repubblica. On my way there, I passed what used to be a church. I was amazed that the ruins are just in the middle of the city. I took the train to Cipro station and when I got off I realized I had no idea where I was going. I had a map, but Vatican City was on the very edge of it. Somehow I ended up wandering in the right direction (partially by following a large group of students) and got to the Vatican Museum around 8:45. The museum opened at 9 and I was in by 9:30. I'm glad I got there early! I spent close to 5 hours just walking around the Vatican Museum. I could have done a tour, but I wanted to take my time and really look at everything. So I made sure that I did. After a while I got to the Sistine Chapel. I couldn't believe where I was. I stood and just looked at the ceiling for about 15 minutes, until my neck started to hurt. I will never be able to understand how Michelangelo painted such beautiful work on a ceiling. After I finally convinced myself that I had to leave the chapel, I continued through the rest of the museum. I had a huge slice of pizza for lunch (it wasn't that good, but it was really big and cheap for the price). After I finished the museum, I started my journey to find St. Peter's Basilica. On my way there, I stopped for gelato. I found it after asking several people which way I was supposed to go. I got in line for the security checkpoint to get into the basilica. I decided first that I would walk around inside the church for a little while. I can honestly say that St. Peter's Basilica is the most beautiful place that I have ever seen. I don't consider myself to be religious in any way, but I actually started to cry when I walked inside. It's just that overwhelmingly gorgeous. I walked around for a while, but my camera died while I was in the museum, so I couldn't take any pictures. Then I left the church and went to climb to the top of  the dome. I decided to take the elevator, which lets you skip 230 steps. I had to walk up 320 steps after the elevator. When I thought the stairs were never going to end, I finally reached the top. I could see almost the whole city from up there. It was again, another amazing experience that I will never forget. I stayed up there for about 20 minutes and walked around the dome about 5 times. Then I began the long trek back down. When I got to the same level I got off of the elevator from, I stopped at the souvenir shop and bought a postcard and a stamp. I wrote a postcard to my family and sent it from there, so it will have the mark of the Vatican City post office. I thought that was pretty cool :) I walked down the stairs the whole way down, instead of taking the elevator again. I was going to go into the crypt with the tombs of the previous popes, but it was closing as I was walking toward it. It was still somewhat early, so I decided to walk to Piazza del Popolo. This ended up being a lot longer walk than I had originally thought it would be. It didn't help that my legs and feet were already in extreme pain. There wasn't much there, besides a fountain, an obelisk, and tons of teenagers. So I continued walking until I reached Piazza di Spagna. There was a really cool fountain here and the Spanish steps. I walked to the top of the Spanish steps and had a really good view of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica. I stood up there for a little bit and then walked down and took the metro back to Termini. I went back to my hostel to rest my feet for a bit and then went to get dinner. I ordered spaghetti with tomato sauce, since I thought it was necessary to have at least one plate of spaghetti while in Italy. I should have picked a different restaurant though, because my waiter was a creep. After I finished eating, he came up and in broken English asked me if I wanted to go to the disco (club) with him. I politely declined, saying that I was really tired since I had been walking around all day. Which was the truth. But he was also not attractive and I got a creepy vibe from him. So I went back to my hostel, took a shower, and went to bed.

Today: I got up around 8 and then had breakfast. After breakfast, I went back up to my room to pack. The two guys I shared a room with had already checked out. I think they were from Dubai...at least that's what the airport code on their luggage said. I checked out of the hostel, but they let me leave my bag in the lobby, so I went back to St. Peter's to take pictures. I went inside the church while mass was going on. The echoing of the voices and singing was beautiful. I took a lot of pictures inside the church, and then went down to the tombs. When I passed the tomb of the last pope, I almost cried. I honestly couldn't tell you why. I'm getting chills now just thinking about being in the presence of someone who meant so much to so many people. After I saw the tombs, I went back up to the top of the basilica, since I had enough time. I took a lot of pictures up there too. By the time I got back down, it was about 12:15 and the pope was making his usual Sunday blessing from his apartment window. It was really really cool to see that. After that, I took the metro back, went to my hostel to pick up my luggage, and left for Termini to get the train to the airport. As I was walking down the street, I passed the restaurant that I went to last night. Except I was on the opposite side of the street. I heard someone yelling something, so instinctively, I turned around. It was the same waiter that invited me to the club, waving to me. I waved back and kept walking to the train station. Once I got there, I had gelato for the last time and got on a train to the airport. I got back to Monaco around 7. I definitely was not ready to leave Rome, but it was nice to be back in a place where I felt really safe.

Other random things from my trip:

1. SOOOO many people looked at my shoes like they were the weirdest things they had ever seen. Most people didn't even try to be discreet when talking about me...they pointed at my feet and showed whoever they were with. I usually just stared at them until they looked up and realized that I knew they were talking about me. And then I smiled. But seriously...I thought these shoes were supposed to be popular in Europe.

2. Italian men aren't that attractive. It was really sad. And a lot of them are also kinda creepy. Maybe that's just the way the Romans are.

I thought I had more that I wanted to say, but I'm really tired and can't remember. If there's anything else I think of, I'll update this post. I will say that this was one of the best weekends of my life, and by far one of my favorite vacations. I can't wait to go back. :)