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Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Weekend trip to Rome!!

First of all.. get ready..this may be a long post because I have SO much to tell you!!!

So our flight was to leave was at 6:20am Friday morning. Kenzie and I had found a very nice cab driver that offered to pick us up and take us to the airport at 4 in the morning.. cabs do not normally run until 6. So for this we were oh so grateful! With that being said, we had a sleepover!!! Kenzie stayed with me because I live closer to the school and that was easier for the cab driver. That night we had a yet another American craving.. guess what it was... Domino's pizza.. So yes we googled the closest Domino's to where we live and then were on our way. We took a metro to what we thought was the correct place, but not quite. We ended up having to ask inside a pharmacy..which the guy working was so super nice and looked up the address and then showed us exactly where to go on a map. So after he said we had to walk 12 blocks.. we were then on our way and determined to find this place. Well 10 blocks later, we found it!!! The pizza wasn't like it is in Kentucky, but it was still VERY good and well worth the walk.  So we get back to the house, get packed, and shower, and then catch a few hours of sleep. We wake up around 3:15am to get ready and catch the cab. Remember, I live like 3 minutes from the school so we left at like 10 till 4. Rafi (the cab driver) is there waiting for us and sees us walking from a distance, waving us down to make sure we see him. It was the funniest thing! So we are now on our way to the airport...So exciting! 

We made it, got checked in, through security, and then looking for some breakfast. We had this yummy crescent with chocolate and then found our way to our gate. About an hour and a half later we finally board the plane. You better believe I slept almost the entire trip. From the airport in Rome we took a bus to Rome City Center which was supposed to be about 30-45 minutes from the airport.. but was over an hour. It was a miserable bus ride and this lady was speaking Spanish the entire time so loud that I can still hear her now.. So we get to the city center and I did enough research to know that we were to take the metro to stop to Cipro which was where the Vatican Museum. So we navigate our way through the metro..which was SO crowded and where we met some guys that were studying abroad in Madrid from Boston. It's always so refreshing to hear American voices. When we get off at Cipro we then have no idea of where to go, so we try to just walk to figure it out. We made our way to the Vatican Museum, but had a specific meeting spot for our tour which started at 11:45. We found our way to the address of where this meeting spot was, but it was a building under construction and nobody was there at all.. So we began to wonder and worry a little as it was already about 11:15 and they suggest to get to the tour early. So we walk back down the other way and end up going in another tour company place to ask. The lady here was SUPER nice and actually walked us down back to the building where we were at earlier and thankfully there was someone on the street who worked with the company and she said that the tour guide was not there yet and to wait a few minutes. So that is what we did. At first, we were a little worried about this tour and if it was legit, but it turned out to be a great tour and I learned SO much! There was only a total of 5 people in our group, so it was great and our tour guide was very interesting and fun! I cannot even begin to explain everything that we saw. It was all so incredible and amazing! Here's what we saw..

- Gallery of the maps- Gian Lorenzo Bernini
- Map Gallery- Michelangelo Buonarroti
- Michelangelo Last Judgement- Museum Pio Clementino
- Pinecone courtyard- Raffaelo
- San Peter Square- Sistine Chapel
- Spiral Staircase- St. Peters Basilica
- Tapestries Gallery- Vatican


Unfortunately we were not able to take pictures inside of the Sistine Chapel, but it was still amazing and an image that will remain in my mind forever. It was just simply amazing! So after visiting the Sistine Chapel we then arrived at St. Peter's Basilica.. this too was just simply amazing x10. It was massive and so so beautiful as well as much much history of course. 
                    


After the tour we went to get some lunch. I won't go into details, but let's just say we definitely fell for being tourists. The waiter was super nice, however we definitely fell for his game. He was speaking to us in Italian knowing we didn't understand and would keep offering us new things to try. We ended up ordering some kind of appetizer with tomatoes, salad, and cheese.. Kenzie and I both got an order without even knowing.. Also when we thought we were asking for our checks, he really asked if we wanted dessert, so here comes two more desserts. Needless to say the bill was a bit high...a lot high..but hey we learned our lesson to never fall for that again. When we got our checks, we were vert surprised, but payed and snuck out because our waiter kept coming back to our table to ask for a tip.. no...you do not tip in Italy!!

We then encountered our next conflict...finding our hostel. We really had no idea where the hostel was and needed wifi to get a connection to our email to look for the address. The next 2 or so hours was the worst part of the wknd... We were desperate and asking literally almost every single person or store we came in contact with. No one would help us and I feel like being kind of rude.. but hey we're Americans, I'm sure they get enough of people being lost and asking questions every day... so we finally just walked into an internet place that charged 50cents for like 5 minutes of internet use and then walked to just sit down right in the Termini station (huge train station) and spread out our huge map to look for the street name. Well of course we were just 1 street away the entire time.. We walked down the street, found the sign, and was so relieved, after almost just giving up! It was the greatest feeling.. to know that we actually figured it out on our own.. I may be over dramatic.. but this part was scary.. seriously! So yes we now are checked into the hostel and of course do not want to go out anywhere else with the chance of being lost. We meet one of our roommates... turns out she's from Canada and she is traveling for a month on her own.. crazy I know.. But she was very nice and gave us some tips of things to do that were close by. So we took a small nap and then went right across the street for some yummy pasta and drinks! The hostel had a bar on the main floor and that is where we spent our Friday night drinking (Italian beer is gross) and dancing (yes we taught some Italians how to Wobble). So Friday night was great. We then got up early Saturday morning to see everything we could. We bought tickets for a city bust tour that was hop on hop off. The first stop was The Coliseum and of course we got off. Of course we had to take a tour of this incredible place which included three different monuments to view.. The Coliseum, Palantine Hill, and The Roman Forum. After the tour and learning more than my head could take in.. we went to this cute little cafe for lunch where I ordered an entire pizza and of course Coca Cola! I didn't eat the whole thing, but we were starving and gulped down some food. After lunch we then got back on the tour bus and found our way to The Spanish Steps and The Trevi Fountain..which was amazing and of course, so beautiful! We got gellato, once again which was muy bien! We then found our way back to the hostel and took another small nap, as we were exhausted!! After our naps we found yet another cute little cafe for dinner where I ate spaghetti. We then went to hang out at the bar for a little bit and then back upstairs to go to bed. 


Sunday... our last day in Rome.. Let me tell you.. We walked and walked and walked!!! We walked all day and I swear we were so so close to seeing the Pope.. We supposedly comes out on Sundays to say hello and give a blessing, well we sure saw the crowd but didn't want to think about getting jumbled up in the mess.. We walked back toward that way about an hour later and saw people with flags of the Pope, so we were pretty sure we had missed him. We came across a lot of little shops/markets on the streets where we got a few things for ourselves and family/friends. It was a beautiful day, but SO tiring and so much walking. So we made it back to the airport, which was SUPER crowded and then our flight left around 8:40 arriving back in Barcelona around 10pm. It took us forever to get back to our houses because of trains and metros. But thank goodness we made it and all got a good night's sleep. 

Rome was simply incredible and it's so hard to explain.. I'm sorry I didn't go in much detail, but I hope you can tell from my pictures and actions that it was Amazing! Definitely a place everyone should visit once in their lives.!

Sorry this took me so long to post.. it's been very busy in Barcelona and I can't wait for you to hear about my next post!! 

Love to all!

2 comments:

  1. The experience has finished. A great experience. You have just gone away and we miss you. We know that your parents, sisters and family are waiting for you with illusion and desire. We want that you know, that you have a family in Europe. Here have your house, you and your family. God blesses you and your family. Ane, Jordi jr, Naroa Jordi

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  2. Thank you SO much. I really cannot thank you and your family enough for having me to stay in your home. Also, for making me feel so welcome and comfortable while I was there, so far away from my home. Definitely a second home and a second family that I think the world of!! Take care!

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