When In Rome...

 Day 1:

Rome is one huge city... with so many sites to see and things to do! That's why this weekend was the perfect time to go to Rome! Our teacher gave us off most of Thursday and all day Friday! So after morning class, we stayed for lunch at the villa and then left for Rome mid afternoon. This weekend I was traveling with Debbie, Linda, and Amanda. It was a bit of a train ride and by the time we got to Rome it was evening time. 

We then had a little bit of a struggle trying to find our hostel, but we found it after wandering around for a while. Once we were inside we were met by Mr. Rome (what the owner of the hostel calls himself and the name of the hostel as well). What an incredibly friendly guy. He was full of suggestions for us, engaged us in conversation, and made us feel very welcome.

We settled into our room around 8:30 or so. Since we had an extra day and it was already dark outside, we decided to stay in and just relax because we knew we had a long day ahead of us.

Day 2:

I woke up and headed out to the small kitchen area of the hostel. There waiting on the table was a box full of fresh pastries! The one I choose to eat was absolutely delicious (the picture does not do it justice)! The hostel owner's wife and mother were there in the mornings and they made us cappuccinos the traditional style by steaming the milk over the stove. It was strong, but such a good wake-me-up. I was so excited I would be getting two more mornings of this breakfast :)

Today was our day full of walking and big sites to see! Our first destination was the Colosseum and Roman Forum! Something I've only seen in movies, but never dreamed I'd find myself standing in the middle of it!!

Our hostel was close enough that we could walk there. An enjoyable walk since it was 75 degrees and sunny outside! I have not had weather like that for at least a month or two.

Before going into the Colosseum, we first entered into the Roman Forum. Since none of us knew that much about it, we got a tour guide. Now she was supposedly an "English-speaking guide" but I had the hardest time understanding her because her accent was so thick. But nonetheless, I'm glad she took us around because she knew where she was going and what parts to see. 


The whole place was ruin. But it was incredible what structures were left... I could not believe we were walking in a site that was built 2,000 years ago at the height of the Roman Empire. And the fact that a good portion of it is still standing speaks volumes to the types of architects they must have been.

We got to walk all over the grounds. Places that once held magnificent government structures, a palace, chapels, and other various structures.

When we left the Forum, we walked right across the street to the massive Roman Colosseum!! 

The best way I can describe the feeling: I was starstruck by the Colosseum. To me it is probably one of the most iconic sites I've seen in Europe (parallel to the Eiffel Tower.) This edifice was completed in 80 AD and is still here to tell its tale. After seeing the "Gladiator" several times, I kept thinking back to what it must have been like back in its heyday. The people, the outfits, the shoes, the rowdy crowds, and sadly those forced to fight inside the Colosseum.

When we went inside the Colosseum it seemed even more gigantic. The stands surrounded the center area, which was open and we were able to see all the passageways underneath the arena. We also got to see the trap doors where the lions would come from to attack the fighters. All of it was surreal and amazingly epic... everything I hoped the Roman Colosseum would be.

 We spent quite a while there and I felt like I could have spent even longer, but we did have other things we hoped to see that day. Our next big place to see was the Trevi Fountain! I did not expect it to be crammed in between a bunch of buildings though, but it was still beautiful. Of course we had to toss coins behind us... signaling that we will be back in Rome again some day :)

This spot was super crowded! We left after a short time because there were just so many people around. We walked just a short distance to the next site of the day, the Pantheon! I had always thought the Pantheon was some type of government building, but when we got inside there were religious alters as well. I was pretty confused the purpose of this building, but I found out that the original purpose of the Pantheon was to honor the Roman gods. My favorite part of this building was the ceiling. It's a beautiful dome shape that has an opening at the top to give natural light.

The sun was just starting to set, but we still had one more place we wanted to see before night time fell. We walked briskly through the streets to reach the Spanish Steps! Not stopping along the way, I climbed all the way to the top to get this view!

I got to watch the sunset over Rome! It was very beautiful and we stayed up there until it got dark. When we went back down all the steps, I noticed again how crowded they were! So many people just hanging out on the steps and enjoying conversations. I was glad I got to see that part of this culture.


At this point it was definitely dinner time. We went back to a restaurant we had seen earlier in the day and it was on the way to our hostel. I got a pizza again which was not as good as I expected it to be but was still pretty good. We hung out for a while eating and chatting until we were all pretty tired. We walked back to our hostel, showered, and then went to bed! I was exhausted from all the walking we did this day, but it was such a perfect day. I had a great time :)

Day 3:

We only had one big plan for the day... Vatican City! I woke up to another morning of a tasty pastry and a homemade cappuccino. That was really the best way to start the day :) I were running a little behind this morning, but made it to the Vatican with no problem. 

We naively thought since St. Peter's Basilica was free, that we could go right in and catch Saturday morning mass. Well that didn't happen. There was a huge line wrapping all around St. Peter's Square to get into the basilica. It worked out though. Instead of rushing inside, we took our time taking the square in (which was really more circular) and seeing everything there was to see while we waited in line. It was again a wonderful day outside! In the back of this picture is St. Peter's Basilica.

The line really wasn't too bad, it moved pretty swiftly and we were inside St. Peter's Basilica within 20 minutes. Now this was one breathtaking church. It felt like an incredibly powerful and holy place, and its beauty was truly magnificent. There were gold designs interlaced with royal blue all along the ceilings. Marble patterns along the floor and the columns of the church. An Altar with spiraling black intertwined with gold. Behind the columns was the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove that was full of light, almost as if it was on fire. Several small domes in the ceilings, all painted with the illusion of figures and angels in the sky. Statues, crowns, large paintings, and on and on. There were also papal tombs inside the church with areas set up for prayer. 

This church was amazing, the only thing I wish is that there would have been some form of crowd control because there were so many people. A lot didn't seem as interested in the church itself, only in making sure they got the best pictures possible. And for that, they didn't mind being rude and pushy to make sure they got that picture. It's sad to me how a holy place for worship turns into a tourist attraction. Don't get me wrong, I was a tourist and excited to see it, but I also was respectful and loved the opportunity to say prayers inside this basilica. 

Before we headed to another area of the Vatican, we paid a couple of euros and made the trek up to the top of St. Peter's Basilica to get a view of the square. Man the hike up to the top was a challenge. I don't know how anyone much bigger than me could have managed because at the end, the staircase took on the shape of the dome at the top of the basilica. So where my feet and head could move was not in a straight line because of the curve of the dome. We made it to the top though and got one of the best views of the city!! Definitely worth going up there and in this picture it's clear the circular shape of St. Peter's Square.

Making the trek back down the stairs, we left this area and went to the Sistine Chapel! Thank goodness we had made reservations on line because that line would have taken us over an hour. We went right in with no problems. I didn't realize before we went in the Sistine Chapel we got to go through an entire museum. It was an option to skip ahead and go straight to the chapel, but we decided why not go through the museum since we were in no rush that day. 

The museum exhibits were pretty vast and had all sorts of things. I was surprised because I assumed most of them would be religious, but that wasn't necessarily the case. There were old maps, famous pictures, Egyptian artifacts, along with the religious features of different statues and beautifully woven tapestries depicting a religious scene.

But I will say my favorite part about the Vatican Museum was all the ceiling designs. Each new room or hallway we entered was gorgeously painted! I was taking pictures of the ceilings more than I was anything else.

After going through the museum for awhile, it was eventually time to enter into the Sistine Chapel. I was expecting the famous Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam to be the sole painting on the ceiling... when I walked in I was completely astounded. I stood surrounded by more paintings than I could count. All down the sides of the walls and individual paintings on the ceiling... all done by Michelangelo. I was in awe at the detail of his work and how long it must have taken him to complete all this. I will say though that The Creation of Adam lives up to its expectations. The two hands almost touching but within reach, so incredible. The inside of the chapel had to be treated with much caution; the temperature was at a low setting and absolutely no pictures were allowed to help preserve the chapel (unfortunately). My neck really started to strain though from looking up at the ceiling. I finally had to take one final glimpse at it all and then leave.

We went right across the street and ate outside at a restaurant there. I had some of the best lasagna I have ever tasted (besides my mom's of course!) 

Then we went back to our hostel. It was still very early in the evening and we decided to relax, take naps because we were planning on going out that night.

When night time fell, we all got ready to go out! We heard of a pub crawl that met up outside of the Colosseum and since we didn't know our way around Rome, we decided that was the best thing to try out! And man did we make a good decision! I think all of us had an awesome time! We were also able to meet up with our friend Zack from Riva and his girlfriend studying abroad in Florence for the night. It was one of the best ways to end such a great weekend :D

The best part of the night: We all gave ourselves fake names. They were Victoria Secret Angel names. I was given the name Candice for the night. I told someone my name and across the street a girl also doing the pub crawl yells "Oh I know ain't nobody's name here also Candice! There can only be one!"Then she comes up to me and asks how I spelled it... so immediately I froze. She was asking the world's worst speller to do this. I must have looked like a deer in headlights, I had no clue how to spell the name. I tried to look over at my friends to give them a signal of help, but I had no choice but to spell it out. The only basis I have for spelling the name was the state Kansas... so I spell it "K-a-n-d-a-s". Silence followed. Then she bursts out, "Okay everybody it's okay! This is Candice with a K!" phewww!! She nor anyone else caught on to my ridiculous spelling. All she was concerned about was the K. I'm pretty sure my face was bright red because it felt like it was on fire. After we left that encounter my friends and I burst out laughing haha and I learned the real spelling of Candice. That is one memory none of us will ever forget.

Day 4:

We were all pretty sluggish this morning, feeling a bit out of it from the night before. We didn't have anything planned for the day so we just took our time getting out of bed and getting breakfast. My last day of pastries and cappuccinos :( It ended on a good note though with a very delicious pastry indeed!

We checked out of the hostel and were so happy we ended our trip in Europe at the best hostel! We slowly made our way to the train station. After walking around outside for some time, it looked as though it was about to start raining. My friends got some food, but the only thing on my mind was gelato!

Gelato needs its one section here. I ended up getting gelato 4 different times in Rome!! And once I got it twice in a day! And yes, I documented it each time.

                              Chocolate and Cookie!                            Cinnamon!

            Mint Chocolate Chip and Nutella!        Honey with Rice and Chocolate!

Needless to say, I loved the gelato and made sure I got as much as I could while I was in Rome :)

After eating my last gelato, it was time to head to the train station. Leaving Rome gave me a very weird feeling... it was my last traveling weekend during my studying abroad program. We would all be leaving Riva the following weekend and I couldn't believe this was it. Literally, where had the time gone? But truthfully, I could not have asked for a more perfect weekend to end my travels in Europe. I was traveling with truly wonderful girls, the weather was perfect and sunny, the food was amazing, and I got to see some of the most monumental sites in the world. I am so blessed.