I think a car outside must be allergic to pictures because as soon as I took this, an alarm started blaring for about 3 minutes. Thankfully it stopped!
Italy was beautiful, stressful, amazing, fun, and full of surprises…but I have a feeling that's exactly how I'll describe most cities I'll visit. It's my last day here in Rome, and I'm headed for Florence next. I'll break down my visit by days.
DAY 1: I pulled into the Rome airport and had to ask multiple people for directions on how to get to my hostel. Thank goodness for Information booths! 22 euro later, I pulled into Zagarolo, a little town about a half hour train ride out of Rome, and where my hostel was located. I had taken a sleeping pill on the plane from Boston to Madrid, so I wasn't too jet lagged…yet. That hit a few hours later, when I decided to read in my bed around 8, and passed out around 8:30. By the time I reached the hostel, it was around 4:00, and I felt too tired to go all the way back to the city, so I ran to the market next door and grabbed some tortellini and pesto (for less than 3 euro!). If you know me personally, you know I can be very clumsy. Rome is no exception. I dropped the first jar of pesto I picked up, but didn't know how to communicate my clumsiness in Italian, so I put a box over it and hoped they'd find the mess eventually.
DAY 2: I met some people from the hostel that morning at breakfast. Aspen (from Minnesota) invited me along to the Vatican with her, Tom, and Youenn (from France). We had a grand time. We first visited the the church in which the Sistine Chapel is located. It was really amazing and beautiful, but so crowded, and try as they might, the guards just weren't able to keep it very quiet. Then there was a gift shop, which just seems a little tacky to me. We thought we'd go through St. Peter's Basilica, but the line was so long, we settled for taking pictures in front of it. We were starving by this time, so we went to a nearby Pizzeria, and I had my first Italian pizza. It wasn't that great, but no worries, I had some amazing pizza yesterday. After lunch we found a few more churches (which were practically empty and much more reverent), visited the cat sanctuary, and the key hole. The key hole took us forever to find. It's literally a key hole in a green door that you can look through at see St. Peter's, which is amazing because it's so far away and nothing obstructs the view.
DAY 3: I decided to find the Mormons on Day 3. After relocating my things to the convent, and relying on my phone to help me with the Roman bus transit system, I headed out to find the Rome Mission home. After a few long train and bus rides, sometimes in the wrong direction, I eventually found it. It was so nice to talk with Mormons my age from America. They asked me to play the piano for them. They gave me directions to the temple construction site, which was very difficult for me to find! But I finally found it! I stayed just long enough to snap a couple pictures, then left. When I got back to the Roma Termini (the main Rome train station), I bought a camera and a universal adapter (which my wallet was not too happy with).
DAY 4: As stressful as Day 3 was, Day 4 more than made up for it. I woke up early and took the bus to the Roman Forum. I had heard a few times to go to the Roman Forum before the Colosseum, because your ticket admits you to both, and then you don't have to wait in line at the Colosseum. The Roman Forum was really cool, because you get to walk around the ruins. When I walked toward the Colosseum, I saw a girl doing the ice bucket challenge and her friend filming it. It reminded me that I had promised my niece I would do it in Europe. I approached them and asked if they could help me do it, too? They asked where I was from, and when I answered, I found out they're from Utah, also! Juliette filmed me while Stephanie dumped bottled water on my head. We chatted a bit and I added them on Facebook. While I walked towards the Colosseum, a beautiful Italian man stopped me and invited me to a party. He also invited me to an "after party"…in his apartment. Don't worry, I didn't go! But it was flattering all the same :) After the Colosseum, I just decided to wander and get lost in Rome. I saw fountains, the Pantheon, a charming street with shops, and took a nap in the shade of the Castel D'Angelo. Juliette messaged me on Facebook, inviting me to dinner with them that night. We ate at a little cafe right by the Trevi Fountain, which is under construction…boo! Then we walked the streets of Rome. Well…really, we went to find the hot guy that had invited me to the party. I just wanted a picture with him for evidence of his attractiveness. I never did find him, but as we passed a cafe by the Pantheon, Juliette said to me, "Too bad it's not one of those waiters, because they're really hot." I turned around and one immediately struck up a conversation…asking where I'm from, what my name is, if I can wait for him to get off in an hour. He was so disappointed when I told him I was leaving Rome the next morning. I got a picture with him and he took one with his phone, too.
There have been a few things that have surprised me about Rome and Europe.
1. The mosquitoes. Oh my goodness, I stopped counting the bites I got after the first ten!
2. Smoking is so common here!
3. There are gelato shops EVERYWHERE.
4. The water supply…Big fountains and drinking fountains that are consistently running like broken fire hydrants.
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