Only in Roma...

This past weekend I went to Roma. It was fabulous!

The trip started early on Friday morning. I got up around 6:00 AM to pack (yes I tend to leave things to the last minute :-p ) and then me and some friends had a quick Breakfast at the pensione and soon we were on our way to the train stations with our big backpacks. We met up with the small Gonzaga group around 7:15 and grabbed some Mcdonalds (I was craving an egg Mcmuffin!) and then the train left around 7:55. We took a fast train, which got us to Rome in a short 2 hours. Everyone was really exhausted from getting up so early so almost everyone slept the entire way, including myself. We walked over to our respective pensiones (there were three different ones) and luckily it was pretty close to the terminal train station. We unpacked for about 15 minutes and then met the group down in the lower lobby where all three of the pensiones let out, and then we were on our way for our planned 3 hour walking tour.

During the walking tour our Italian local led us around the Colosseum, and with our Roma pass we were able to get in there for "free" as well as go on the metro and subway for "free". Its the sweetest deal- for only 20 euro (its a discounted rate for students) you can get a Roma pass that lets you in to most of the museums (except the Vatican because that is considered a different "state") for free. Anyways, we first walked around the Colosseum and then ventured inside. It was incredible! We then were led to the forum and then the "wedding cake" which is a huge white building that overlooks the city of Rome. The picture to your left was taken at the forum.

After the walking tour everyone was starving! Jen, Cierra and I found a quaint little Italian restaurant and had some pasta and pizza. Yummy stuff! After lunch we went on an optional walking tour led by one of the Gonzaga in Florence staff, Peter. We actually met up with a Gonzaga Jesuit Professor who was currently living in Rome. His name is Father Bryan, and he took us to the church where St. Gonzaga was actually buried! (My college is named after him). After, we went up to the top floor of his apartment building and had a great view of the city! I definitely took lots of pictures from up there. It was rainy the whole day, but we didn't let that bring us down! Once we left his apartment complex, we went to the Trevi fountain and then to Peter's favorite gelato place. It was so good! I had his recommendation- ginger and cinnamon gelato and I also got half strachitella (sp) it is chocolate chip kind. Then our last stop was the Spanish steps. Because it was rainy and dark, me and Jen and Cierra decided to go back to the fountain and the steps the next day. That night was pretty chill- we were all really exhausted from walking for hours on end, so Cierra, Jen and I went to dinner with Frederica (who is a really cool GIF staff member) at a Sushi restaurant. I don't like Sushi- but I had some great teriyaki chicken. The rest of the evening I just relaxed, talked to Chris (oh by the way we got back together! :) ) and then hit the hay. It was very low key, but much needed.

The next day we went to the Vatican Museum where we saw the Sistine Chapel and other famous pieces. One part I really liked was the Carriage section of the museum. Also, there were lots of great places to take pictures on some terraces outside the museum. I couldn't believe the Sistine Chapel- it was everything I thought it would be and more! It is huge! :) I also loved the long hallway of maps. At first I thought that was the Sistine chapel... oops! hehe

After the museum, Cierra, Jen and I wanted to do our own thing so we went inside the Vatican center and went inside St. Peter's Basilica as well as the underground tombs. This was the most beautiful church I had ever seen! I think it is like the 2nd largest church in the world other than Russia (which I will be hopefully seeing in St. Petersburg during the Christmas tour!). I was very impressed by all the detailed artwork and sculptures inside the church. After we looked around the church and underground area, we were pretty hungry so we had lunch at a local restaurant near the Vatican. I split a pizza with Jen and got my own pasta. (This is what me and Jen like to do-- we find it is always the perfect amount of food!) The portions here in Italy are much smaller than America, so its easy to split a couple dishes and be satisfied. The pizza ended up being kinda gross-- the cheese was funky but my penne arrabiata (spicy tomato sauce pasta was delicious!)

Once lunch was over and we gained some energy, we went back to the fountain and Spanish steps as I said earlier. It was nice to get some daylight pictures. We actually walked up to the top of the Spanish steps and found lots of venders selling their hand painted pictures of sights of Italy. I ended up buying two small ones- one of the Colosseum and one of the Trevi fountain. I plan on framing these when I get home. They are gorgeous! Jen and Cierra each got one too--. The watercolors were so pretty on these pictures :). We were pretty tired after our filled day again... so we came back to our pensiones, rested up and took a nap and met up for a late night dinner. It ended up being an adventure- Jen and Cierra were craving burgers which is uncommon in Italy, and we noticed from the day before that there was a place called "trinity college pub" which looked pretty good. We heard from some other peers that they had good burgers, so they were sold. I am not particularly fond of burgers (unless of course they are Dicks burgers or my dads :) ) but I was down for some chicken haha. It took forever to get there because we went a really funky way but hey we made it! It was fun. We were thinking of meeting up with some of Jen's friends who are studying in Rome for the semester, but we were just too exhausted. They wanted to go clubbing at midnight, which meant that we would probably not be back until 4 am. No thanks! Haha. It was nice to be able to get a full eight hours of sleep :)

WHEW! So much information... today we had a small Breakfast again at the pensione and then Jen, Frederica and Cierra went to a couple churches that we missed from the day before and then we took the subway down to the Vatican center again to watch the pope make a speech! It was amazing to see him! He was so tiny from all the way up in his building. I will never forget the experience though-- there were SOO many people in the center; I couldn't believe it! Once the speech was over, we all took the metro back instead to avoid some of the crowds and had lunch at a place that Frederica suggested. It was very authentic and family run- I liked that. Jen and I split a pizza again (it was tomato, Mozzarella, and Prosciutto) and I got minestrone soup. I was very very cold today so the food definitely warmed me up. After lunch we all had some form of espresso. I got a cafe latte of course.

We walked back to the pensione to pick up our luggage and then as a group we walked over to the train station again and caught our train at 4:00. Once we arrived, we all walked back again and arrived to our pensione around 6:00. It was such a fun-filled and historical weekend. I really enjoyed it!