And Now, the Roman Adventure (Abridged)

Still Catching Up…
I had second thoughts as to whether or not it was a good idea to buy my train ticket at 16 €, as it would take about 4 hours (as opposed to the usual 1,5), due to there having to be more stops along the way. It turns out that it was a good deal after all, especially as Trevor, Joe and Kumar (Trevor’s BU roommate) didn’t arrive until my train came in (and even still they’d have about a 1,5-ish commute to get to the hostel. However, as I had not heard back from them since we had first split off in the beginning of the break, I thought it would be nearly impossible to find each other. I also couldn’t check us in until I had all of the necessary info. I went to two internet centres nearby (soon finding out that great internet service is hard to find in Rome) and as I was about to leave a message at the front desk for TJ&K, who would’ve thunk it… they arrived. After checking everything in, we went out without any hesitation in search of food. We ended up finding a great pizzeria, Pizzeria del Secolo, where we found out that pizza is actually sold by weight (instead of by slice), an idea that was immediately deemed as brilliant. We then went to an Irish pub, followed by an evening stroll and the start of our Roman tour with Joe as our leader. One of the best experiences on the trip was definitely seeing the remains of Roman history lit up at night or at some points slightly shadowed by a nearby lamp.

Thursday was our big Vatican City Day and I can say for sure before I write anymore that I will not do this particular day any justice, primarily because there were too many Italian and Latin names for everything that I decided to take everything in through pictures, rather than writing all of the names down. In any case, we began our day with brunch outside of the Vatican City walls, followed by some amazing gelato; the best flavour combination I tried in all of Italy was from this particular gelateria: mixed berry, lemon and nutella. We took our massive tour through the Vatican Museums, transitioning rather effortlessly from the amazingly chiselled Roman statues and figures to the Christian tapestries, all of which adorned the walls and rooms in what (in retrospect) seems to have been a historical progression. It was amazing to see how wonderfully preserved all of these pieces of artwork and artefacts continue to be, as well as to see the existing result of past pope’s saving these pieces throughout the centuries. One of the most memorable stops was in the Sistine Chapel; I didn’t quite know what to expect and eventually found Michelangelo’s ‘The Creation of Adam’. Leaving the museums, we stepped foot onto the Piazza San Pietro (St. Peter’s Square) and, shortly following the security line, made our way first to the site of many past popes’ tombstones (the most moving of which was John Paul II’s) before spending some time in St. Peter’s Basilica. With evening soon approaching, we headed out and, after a stop in a museum to see the Ara Pacis Augustae, eventually made our way to meet up with Joe’s friend from another study abroad programme, Alexandra. After we finally found her, she took us around to some of her favourite areas of Rome (she’s been studying there for nearly a year, I believe), including a cosy restaurant and capped off with a night tour through the city.

On Friday, we met up with Alexandra and headed over to the Colosseum. First, though, we went across the street to have some breakfast, where we met up with Christine, a French House resident, and her friend, Kate (currently studying in Florence). After breakfast and with Joe as our tour guide (symbolised by the use of Alexandra’s umbrella), we visited such monuments as the Arch of Constantine, as well as the archaeological sites of Paletine and Foro (i.e., the Forum). We then had a bit of a lunch break (at which time Rome, for some reason or another, began to keep serving me meat), and then moved on to check out the Colosseum. After this visit, we headed to a local grocery store in which we purchased food and drink for our rather anticipated siesta. Passing through the Piazza del Popole we soon made it to the gardens of the Villa Borgese, where those of us present relaxed to beautiful weather, and wine, cheese, bread, and olives. We were so relaxed that we even tried to take our long-awaited siesta but the weather soon turned too cold that it warranted us having to find a different place. Alexandra certainly found that right place and, after finishing off the best hot chocolate I've had in Europe thus far, we fell asleep in the rather comfortable and cosy Libreria-Caffé Bohemian. Shortly awoken to re-meet our friends that didn't come with us to Villa Borgese, we had dinner at Trevi Restaurant which, in all honesty, reminded some of us of an Italian version of a very stereotypical Chinese restaurant. Afterwards, we went to the Peroni restaurant, and then eventually re-met up with Alexandra (who had left after the LCB to take a proper nap) to go to the Oppio caffé, experience bus riding at night, follow up with a concourse on the Spanish steps, and end the evening at Scholar's.

Finally, Saturday--our last day in Italy--arrived. In sum, it was a very relaxing day. Kumar had left early in the morning (props for staying up all night, btw's) and, so, Trevor, Joe and I met up with Alexandra at her local breakfast nook. Together, we then went to a nearby restaurant and ate outdoors, soaking in the wonderful Italian sun that had been so warming throughout spring break. Following our lunch (which included the best corn that any of us had had in our lives), we got gelato for the last time and headed over to the train station. After saying our good-byes, Trevor and I made the trek back home (including walking, metro-ing, and bussing) to Paris.