When in Rome...

Right when I got back from Rome I was beating myself up because I didn't say that phrase once while I was there, so I'm making up for it now!

First things first - have you read part one from this trip? If not, click here!

I got up bright and early on Tuesday to take the train to Rome. I was pretty impressed (and a little surprised) that it left exactly on time, but in the end the train arrived 30 or 45 minutes late. When I got off the train I was supposed to find a place to put my bag and then I had the whole day to explore. Unfortunately, and I didn't realize this for a while, I was dropped off at a different train station than I thought I was going to be. I was at Tiburtina and I needed to be at Termini. Understandably, I think, the two t-names confused me. It was an easy fix. I hopped on the metro and then I was finally at Termini. I dropped my bag after running around the station for a good 10 minutes trying to follow the confusing signs. The next errand was to find a map. 

I ended up finding a nice laminated map for 3 euros, which was a great investment. I don't think I put it down the whole trip. Map in hand and free of my backpack, I made a beeline for the one thing in Rome I have wanted to see for 4 years - the Arch of Constantine. I know a lot of people go there to see the Colosseum or the Forum, but I walked past all of that was was so excited to see it! When I was in the 9th grade I made a model of that arch, and I worked really hard on it, which is why I wanted to see the real thing. It was one of those things that I had learned about in school and wanted to see with my own eyes. Let me tell you, that has happened over and over and over since I've been in Europe and it still hasn't gotten old!

I found a picture of the project deep in the recesses of my hard drive!

Wow I can't even tell the real thing apart from my project!

Me with the Arch of Constantine!

After my Latin nerd moment was over (or at least I calmed down), I did take a moment to appreciate the Colosseum and my proximity to the Roman Forum.  Then I headed over to the Pantheon. One thing I didn't know about the Pantheon was that apparently Raphael is buried there. 

I would like to stop at this point and talk about the weather. As you can see from the pictures above, the sky was blue, but what you can't see is that it was 18 degrees (Celcius, duh)! It was too warm for a coat! This was one of the top three aspects of this trip. The only thing was I forgot my sunglasses! What a shame!

Anyway, the next stop was the Spanish Steps! This actually turned out to be one of my favorite places. I came back the next day to sit on the steps and soak up the sun. Can't you tell how warm it was from these pictures? And can't you tell it's been a while since I've seen the sun?

After the Spanish Steps, I had seen everything I wanted to see that day, so I took the metro back to Termini and picked up my backpack. The next task was to figure out the bus system and make my way over to Marcia's house. Marcia is a friend of my mom who most graciously let me stay with her. Unfortunately, I had to take a bus to get to her house, and I really hate trying to figure out bus systems. I asked the bus driver in my best attempt at Italian if he stopped where Marcia told me to get off, and I think he misheard me. He told me to get a different bus. When I read the sign for the other bus and realized he misheard Marcello when I said Vascello, I went back to wait for the next bus. I asked the driver again to make sure the bus was not going to drop me off in the wrong place and he said he didn't stop there. Luckily, the woman behind me told me the bus did in fact stop there. I think the issue was I was asking about a landmark, not the name of the stop. Anyway, I did eventually make it there. I guess it was a good thing I had some Italian under my belt, otherwise I may have never found my way!

When I got to Marcia's I was in need of some lying down time. While I was resting, I got to watch one of many beautiful Italian sunsets. 

Then we ate dinner and headed out to a dance therapy presentation. That probably sounds really out there, but Marcia and my mom are both dance-movement therapists, which is how they know each other. I was excited to go, not because I know anything about the field really, but I figured it would be good Italian practice. Yeah, Italian. I have only been dabbling in Italian for 3 months and I went to a 2-hour presentation in an unfamiliar field in Italian. I actually had trouble staying awake because it started at 9 and I had woken up at 6 to catch the train that morning. But I followed a lot more than I thought I would! It ended up being a really good experience. 

By the end of the day I felt like I had actually learned or practiced some Italian because I was having more interactions in Italian. That was a really good feeling, even if they were only the most basic interactions. And I could still understand pretty much everything that was going on, so that was also a huge help.

The next day, I headed out bright and early again to go to the Vatican! When I got there, there were thousands of people in the piazza and there were a bunch of people that looked like they were having some sort of ceremony. Yeah, I picked a great day to visit - Ash Wednesday! In the end, this meant I couldn't go into St. Peter's, but I still got to go to the Vatican Museum. 

When I got there the line was really long, but I didn't wait much longer than 25 or 30 minutes. I did have to spend the whole wait ignoring all the people who were trying to convince people to pay absurd amounts of money to sip the line. My advice to anyone going to the Vatican is to just wait it out, because the wait wasn't really that bad (nowhere near as long as the line for the Duomo!).

Obviously there is some incredible and famous artwork at the Vatican, so I was really excited to see it. Here are the highlights.

I knew the School of Athens was in the Vatican, but I didn't know where. After three rooms of Raphael's work, I figured it would be soon, and I kind of had this feeling that it would sneak up on me and all of a sudden just be right in front of me. Sure enough, that's what happened. 

Me having way too much fun taking selfies in front of famous things

I also got the forbidden picture inside the Sistine Chapel, because I'm a rebel

I included this because it's a depiction of Achilles dragging Hector's body around Troy, which is in the Aeneid and therefore excited me greatly. Btw, not cool, Achilles.

In the end, I wish there had been more to read in the Vatican. I felt like there could have been more informative signs. For all of Raphael's work, there were signs in at least 5 languages giving a little history, but after the Sistine Chapel, there wasn't as much to read. 

After seeing the expansive art collection at the Vatican, I headed for the other side of the Tevere to do more exploring. I walked past Castel Sant'Angelo the Bridge of Angels. I found the sculptures to be very impressive, but this was only the beginning of the sculptures I would see in Rome.

The first thing I really wanted to see across the Tevere was Piazza Navona. Most of the plans I had made for the day were recommendations from friends who have been to Rome. Piazza Navona turned out to be so lovely. First, the fountains were made by Bernini, whose sculptures I LOVE. So I stared at the fountain for a while. Then I went to the other end of the piazza and watched kids play with bubbles, which was just a really nice moment. 

Next, I made my way to Caffe sant'Eustachio, which my friend who used to live in Rome assured me was the best place to get coffee in Rome. I didn't used to like coffee, but I got a moretto there and am now a converted coffee lover! It's just a little hole in the wall between Piazza Navona and the Pantheon, but it certainly did impress me! I also got a blackberry tart, which was another favorite food from Italy, even though I don't necessarily think of it as a typical Italian food. 

Like I mentioned earlier, I went back to the Spanish steps to just sit in the sun and rest.

Then I made my way across town to the Trastevere area. I think this was such a cute neighborhood (another recommendation) and I really enjoyed walking around. I did get a little turned around, but eventually made my way back to Marcia's. I was so tired by the time I made it back, I headed straight for the bed again. No wonder, since it turns out I walked over 7.3 miles or 11.8km! 

After a little rest and Marcia finished doing some work, we studied some Chinese. It turns out Marcia is studying Chinese so we went over some characters and had a nice little study session!

Finally, once it was late enough and a socially acceptable time to eat dinner, we went to Trattoria il Vascetto, which is an authentic Italian restaurant. I had spaghetti with seafood, a Roman artichoke, and a ricotta and chocolate torta. Oh man, it was so good!

The next day, my final day in Rome, I got up even earlier! I had to take a taxi to Termini to drop my bag off again so that I could catch a bus and be at the Galleria Borghese at 9. I ended up getting off at the wrong stop for the bus and was 45 minutes late. The thing about this museum is that you have to tell them when you're going to be there and my reservation only lasted until 11. In the end, I only really needed an hour there anyway. It's a small museum, but it's got some really impressive sculptures! Probably most notably, the Rape of Persephone. I was astounded by Bernini's skill. It looks like he turned the marble into clay!

After the museum I walked around the Villa Borghese, which is a massive park. For the third day in a row, the weather was amazing, so I really enjoyed just walking around. 

At the edge of the park, near the Villa Medici I got a really lovely view!

Then I headed over to get some gelato at a place a friend recommended. When I went in, the guy was sort of laughing at me because I couldn't make up my mind. There were so many options! I eventually decided on pistachio, coffee, and Nutella. I swear the Nutella gelato was just Nutella - it was so creamy!

I sat in the sun in a nearby piazza and ate my gelato and read my book for a while, and I realized I still had 4 hours until I had to be at the train station to go back to Florence, so I decided to go to the Forum. It wasn't originally on my list, but I decided to go since I had more time than I thought!

It was really fun to walk around and see Roman ruins, again because I took Latin and am the biggest Latin nerd there ever was.

And, as an added bonus, I found out when you pay to get into the Forum, you also get into the Colosseum. So I got to do two more things that I didn't think I would get to do! The Colosseum hadn't been on my list because I wasn't really that interested in it. I'm glad I went, but I'm also really glad I didn't pay just to get into the Colosseum.

Though there was a really funny moment in the Colosseum when I saw a guy taking a picture of the afternoon sun coming through the arches and as he took the camera away from his face, he looked at me and said, "the sun never sets on the Roman Empire."

On my way to the train station, I said my goodbye to the Arch of Constantine and then was on my way back to Florence.

I didn't really know what to expect from Rome. I honestly didn't think I would like it as much as I did, but I would go back in a heartbeat!

Read about what I did next - click here!