"When in Rome," became a very common phrase as we embarked upon our nine day adventure through Italy and France. The trip officially began at 4:00 am and from there Molly, Tara, Meghan, Caroline and I headed to the Dublin airport to catch a flight to the beautiful city of Rome.
After arriving at the airport, we hit our first and only real obstacle of the entire journey: the Ryanair luggage restrictions. Now for five girls traveling for nine days, we had all packed pretty economically and each had only one small bag. This apparently was not good enough, and we were told at the gate that Meghan's bag would not fit and she was forced to check her backpack. (I mention this only because it continues to haunt us throughout the trip, and by the end merely became a laughing matter.)
After arriving in Rome, we took a shuttle bus to Anagnina and then a metro to the Termini stop. My first realization of language differences came when I was corrected with my very incorrect pronunciation of Anagnina. Overall, the language barrier throughout the trip was not a significant problem. Most people were able to speak English and Molly was a huge help with her impressive Italian skills.
We checked into our hostel and found that our room was beautiful, complete with our own bathroom! By this point we were all very hungry so we set out for some pizza and sightseeing. With map in hand, we headed to our first destination: the Colosseum. Stopping only to have my first taste of real Italian pizza and to double check the map, we managed to find our way, only getting lost for a short time.
As we made our way inside, it started to pour! After living in Ireland for two months now, you would have thought we would have been prepared for such weather, but the blue skies that had welcomed us to Rome had caught us off guard and we were soon soaked as we explored the Colosseum.
At this point, entrance to the Roman Forum was closed for the day and we were all soaked, so we decided to head back to the hostel to dry off and take a nap.
We did not leave without trying an interesting Italian pastry, what Molly and I referred to as "the brick." Not my favorite piece of Italian cuisine, but an interesting one nonetheless.
The rest of the night consisted of our first delicious Italian meal. We found a very cute restaurant, the Ristorante la Tavernetta, near the Trevi fountain and I enjoyed a meal of lasagna that literally melted in my mouth. With this meal behind us, we could not comprehend how the Italians were not all overweight, for we had instantly fallen in love with this food.
We visited the Trevi Fountain and threw in our three coins. Catherine informed us of the legend of the coins. One coin means you will come back to Rome, two means you will fall in love in Rome, and three means you will get married in Rome. Hopefully three is good luck, because we threw in these coins before the explanation, but I'll see how it all plays out.
The night ended on a sweet note with Gelato.
This Italian ice cream captured my heart and my stomach and provided extra incentive to take the stairs when at all possible for the rest of the week.Saturday, March 6
We were delighted to see the sun shining bright and early as we prepared for another busy day in Rome. We each grabbed a croissant (with nutella) from a corner bakery for breakfast and I had my first taste of cappuccino. Delicious. Now, I had been in Rome for almost 24 hours and was feeling completely out of place because I had not seen Catherine. (Catherine is my roommate at Pitt and is studying in Rome for the semester). Our internet place happened to be closed that day, so I had come to the conclusion that if I was meant to find her in this big city I would. It could not have worked out better. Five minutes outside the Vatican, I see a sign for an internet cafe! Long story short, I was able to get in contact with her and we reunited inside the Vatican Museum. My heart continued to pound after she arrived; I was just too excited.
With my great luck, I had the most informative Vatican tour guide that I could ask for. Catherine took us all through the museum into the Sistine Chapel. Words can not describe how beautiful the inside of the Chapel was, and with Catherine's help I was able to understand the beautiful Fresco style paintings that covered every inch of the room.
Outside the Museum.
One of the many beautiful hallways leading up to the Sistine Chapel.
We had a quick stop for Gelato at what Catherine deemed to be the best Gelato she has tried. I trust Catherine's judgment, and quickly realized why she had fallen in love so quickly.
Next stop was St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.
We then headed back to the Roman Forum in time to use our 24 hour tickets which we had bought the day before. We had just enough time to walk through and see the remains of some incredible ruins.
Slightly exhausted by this point, we climbed the Monumento a Vittorio Emanuel for a break and a fun view of Rome.
After, the group went back to the hostel and I followed Catherine back to her apartment to see where she has been living (because I just had to know!) and meet her roommates. It was so refreshing to catch up with her, even if it was just for a short time. When I returned to the hostel, we changed quickly and headed out to Trastevere, a very charming area of town that gave us a true sense of the Italian culture. We were lucky enough to meet up with Catherine, Mary and Daniel.
Sunday, March 7
We had quite the surprise on Sunday morning. I received a text from Catherine when we were inside St. Peters, informing us that the Pope was outside speaking to a huge crowd. We quickly ran to join and were able to hear him speak in English. It was quite the experience and I feel fortunate that the timing worked out so well. Following this excitement, we stayed for the Italian mass at St. Peters which was beautiful, even if I could only understand about five percent.
Our next adventure was climbing the 551 steps up to the top of St. Peter's. Quite out of breath by the time we reached the top, we stopped for a break as we took in the beautiful view from the top.
After a quick stop from Catherine's famous gelato stand, we headed off for some more sightseeing. Next stop was the Piazza del Popolo.
followed by the Spanish Steps...
and the Pantheon! (Which, by the way, I was able to find using the map! My first time with a map in Rome and I was successful.)
After such a jam packed day, we were all pretty exhausted and ready to relax. We decided to head back to the Trevi Fountain where we sat and chatted as the sun went down. A perfect ending to our time in Rome.
We all looked with excitement to our next adventure: Florence!
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