Rome 1, 2, 3

28/05-30/05

We woke up in Barcelona at 9am and packed, ate, and left our amazing hostel; it was sad to leave. We got on the train and got to the airport where I had a terrible hotdog and onion ring combo for way too much money. We flew to Rome on a discount airliner called Vueling; it served its purpose and I was able to sprawl out over 3 seats and slept most of the flight. We made some awesome friends in Barcelona and I am glad to have met them all. * Jorge, Joe, Kathrine, and Jessica* When we got to Rome we had a little delay at the gate because of electrical problems, so we sat on the plane for an extra twenty minutes... We shuffled through the airport and did the regular airport routine of getting baggage and walking throw customs that was almost non existent. Apparently the Italians do not care who comes into the country, but they saved us time. From there we took the express train into the Roma Termini and then took the metro to our Hostel at the southern outskirt of the city. We got off the train and up to the street and had trouble finding the Hostel so we did the smart thing and asked about it's where abouts. We lucked out that the vender spoke english and we quickly found it soon after; unlike the many that arrived in the past few days. The hostel is in a little ghetto area but very close to the metro. It is a nice clean place and the keeper, Justin, is very helpful and nice. The first night I had to sleep with Jed, as there was only one bunk and a queen. I'd rather sleep with a guy than be crammed into a bunk bed that I can not stretch out in. Since we arrived late we did little that night. We went down the street to see St. Palos monument, which was nothing special. We took some pictures and continued to walk around until the restaurant that was recommended to us opened. We ate at Pastarito and I had maccharoni noodles with peas, mushrooms, and sausage... it was delicious. We went on a search for laundry but it was closed so we headed back to the hostel' my cloths and towel were beginning to stink. When we got back we strategically planned out our Roma Tour and what each of us wanted to see. We went to bed early but were woken by someone staying in our hostel who was locked out. He was throwing corks and rocks through our window, so we woke Justin and shut our window'soon passing out.

We woke up the 29th at 9am after sleeping like crap because of the noise and the allergic reaction I am having to something in this place. We had breakfast and headed out to the metro which we took to the Colusseum. The sight of all the ancient ruins was so surreal, and it was so cool to see everything we had learned about in history classes in real life. We decided to take the audio tour of the Colusseum for only 4 euro, which proved worth it by the end our 2 hour walk-thru. I took so many pictures and learned a great deal about ancient Rome and the history of the emperors. After departing from the Colusseum we had Panini’s under a tree. We then walked over to Palatine Hill where the palace of the emperors was located a long with many other ancient ruins. There is so much history in this city, it is unbelievable that we were able to come and visit this place. We walked through the gardens and walked to the top of the hill to see the panoramic view of the city, over looking the Roman Forum. The Roman Forum was next on our list of things to do, and was included in our ticket. The Roman Forum was made up of buildings/ruins that each emperor since Augustus build. After completing the walk of all three previous sites, we walked over to see Trajan's column. It was erected to memorialize the work and battles won bye Trajan in Rome. Each war was depicted in carvings all the way to the top of the column which was quiet large. Since this day was packed with things we then headed over to the Pantheon for a quick visit, which was once a shrine to Jupiter/Zeus (we think) but was taken over by the Catholic's.. go figure. Since it had been a long day we walked over to Campo de Fiori where Nick and I got gelato. I had chocolate and it was amazing. After alllll of that we came back and di laundry at the hostel, ate some left over’s, and got ready for the night. We went out to the Spanish steps bar crawl with about 200 hundred other people, who were mostly American, sadly. The deal was that we paid 20 euro and got a shirt (which is so sweet), free hour of drinks at the first bar, and one free shot at every bar we went too (3) along with free entry at each all ending at the club. We got to the first bar and I immediately began downing as many Carlsberg's as possible (they are not as bad as Belter made them out to be! haha) I actually did not end up paying for the crawl since the lady gave me back my 20 euro, so I ended up buying drinks at the second back, since that was only fair. The night continued and I really did not have anything real special happen. Nick and I walked with some guys from Spain for a good 45 minutes on our walk to the 2nd bar.. they knew a tiny English and we knew a tiny Spanish so it was a lot of fun and we actually had a good conversation. I grew tired as the night went on and I eventually ended up leaving with Dan around 1am. We walked back and looked for the Fountain of Trevi which we did not end up finding. We walked for about 2 and a half hours before I got fed up and wanted to take a cab. On the walk we passed thousands of soldiers and guards; we had no idea what was happening so we quickly walked south, afraid that marshal law may go into effect haha. Once we got in the cab we paid 25 euro to go on a 5 minute ride, which was a bunch of crap, but I am glad we got back. The cab I initially wanted to take would have cost 12 euro and would have saved me 2 and a half ours of walking. One I got back I used the computer and chatted with our hostel mates about the night and the bar crawl. Around 4 or 5am I eventually passed out and got a decent amount of quality sleep, although I am allergic to something in here...

We slept till 10am and did the usually routine of breakfast, get ready, and head out. We were all fairly tired and cranky from the night before. We took the metro to Vatican City, but before we got there we stopped at a bakery and I had a ham and cheese calzone. Of course there was a gelato store next door so Nick and I got more. We went directly to St. Peter's square and took a bunch of pictures. We waited in a long, but quick moving line to view the Basilica. Once we got in I marvelled the view of all the sculptures, paintings, and detail. We saw statues sculpted by Michelangelo and also some architecture inspired by him. We have a good amount of pictures from the inside and I was so amazed of all that we learned and saw while inside. It was crazy to be in the place where the Pope lives! After we made our way through the Basilica which took about an hour, we went over the the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. At this point we were soooo exhausted so we did little standing and appreciating of the many sculptures. We had our eyes on one sight and that was the painting done by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Halfway through the Museum I ran into a famous painting that I had studied in my Visual Rhetoric class known as "The School of Athens." Seeing this painting made my day and made it worth the 8 euro we paid to view the museum. There were many tapestries’, sculptures, and painting that were a great sight, but we continued onward. Once we got to the Chapel we marvelled at the sight of Michelangelo’s painting. We sat there for about 15 minutes and looked around, soaking it all up. You were not allowed to take pictures, so I decided to take some, along with some video! Go me! Since we were so tired we came back to the hostel and took a siesta (nap) since it is the thing to do here in Europe. Gotta love it. I slept for about two hours on and off as I choke on my snot while I sleep since something irritates me here. I got up took a shower, and was starving so Jed and I went out while Nick and Dan stayed behind. Jed and I made our way to the Fountain of Trevi and had dinner at a sit down cafe in a nice area. The sight of the eating on the street under the stars was so cool. We both had spaghetti and got some more gelato right after. We went down to the fountain which was absolutely amazing at night. The fountain is HUGE and gorgeous. At the fountain you are suppose to make a wish and throw the coin over your shoulder into the fountain, so we did. When we completed our wish, we saw the two girls from our hostel room and we ran up to talk/hang out with them. We continued to walk and talk for sometime and headed to the Spanish steps. The area is so beautiful and especially at night. We were all a little tired from the night before so we headed back to the hostel. We own the metro system here, so we used that once again and got back in no time. When we got back we played cards with people in our hostel and now I am writing this! I am wrapping this up and getting in bed. Hopefully I sleep better tonight, although the club next door is extremely loud.

Hopefully I can blog again soon!

Ciao!