To start, yes I know the caption is pretty cheesy (and also stolen from my roommate's Instagram post) but listen we really were "Rome-in" around. In the 5 days we were there I walked around 120,000 steps and climbed a little over 100 floors. Rome is such a beautiful place. To get to Rome we had to fly from Prague, this flight was our first flight together as a group and it was a lot of fun. For once I didn’t have to stress about whether or not we were at the right train stop or at the right gate in the airport because that was someone else's job!
We arrived later in the day and went to dinner to have our first real Italian meal! Kody and Sheyenne had ordered Carbonara and our waiter asked if anyone else wanted Carbonara, no one said anything.
When the waiter got to me I told him I wanted the “noodles with egg, bacon, and cheese on top“ he laughed and replied, "so Carbonara". Tereza, Kody, and Sheyenne found it very amusing and let’s just say it was a joke for the rest of my time in Rome. 'Hey Bailey you want the noodles with eggs, bacon, and cheese right??' became a reoccurring question I was asked.
When he brought us our food he said "here’s the Carbonara" and handed it to Kody and Sheyenne and then said "here’s the noodles with egg and bacon and cheese on top for you.“ It was funny but I definitely was a little embarrassed. But not only was the pasta unlike any I've ever had the wine in Italy was amazing as well. Every meal, except breakfast of course, Tereza and I would share a liter of the house white wine.
That next day was Sunday morning we went to the Vatican to see the Pope for his Sunday blessing but instead of a regular blessing that morning 5 people were being canonized as saints. Due to this St. Peters Basilica would not be open until later so we flipped our day around and went to the Pigna first. The Pigna is part of the historic city center, the biggest attraction is the Pantheon. The Pantheon is one of the world's best-preserved ancient Roman buildings. The Pantheons architecture is extraordinary it is comprised of a series of intersecting arches which make a beautiful concrete dome ceiling.
We also walked around and saw the Fountain of the Four rivers, along with the ruins of the senate where Julia Caesar was stabbed. --->
Later that day we went back to St. Peters Basilica. The line to get into the Basilica was long since everyone had to go through security and many people want to see this magnificent church. It was a hot day and we were all losing steam in the security line but Jan and Martin were nice enough to go find water for all of us, Once we were inside I couldn't believe my eyes. Trust me, we have been to many different churches on this trip but this one was different. It was unique and I could really see all of the love of history that was put into it when looking at the paintings and antiques. One of the sculptures I enjoyed the most was the original sculpture of the Virgin Mary holding her son Jesus after he had been taken off the cross.
That night we decided we were going to wake up extra early that next morning and travel to the very top of Saint Peters Basilica. Now getting up early + climbing is not really my thing but hey, when in Rome, right? Of course, being college students we chose the 8 euros option as opposed to the 10 euro one. Which means we climb the WHOLE way up instead of taking an elevator to the half way point. My legs regretted not spending the extra 2 euros but the view did not disappoint. Halfway up we were able to look down inside of the beautiful Basilica. When we finally reached the top we were outside in the gated dome and I am pretty sure we were at the highest point possible in Rome. After catching our breath we took in the views and of course took some photos. You could see almost all of Rome including the Colosseum which was almost an hour and a half walk away.
Once we got down we had some breakfast and met with the rest of the group to "start" the day. Our professors had pre-booked our tickets to see the Vatican museum which I am very grateful for because the line to get in without tickets was blocks long. The Museum was beautiful it had so much artwork, and there were a lot of things that I recognized such as different paintings of bible stories. I honestly could not even put into words how stunning The Sistine Chapel is. Though very crowded all you could do was look up and be in utter ahh of the pure masterpiece. In the middle is the iconic painting of God and Adam touching together representing the start of human life.
After the museum we went to Castel Sant'Angelo and Trevi fountain (Cue the Lizzie McGuire music) The Trevi fountain is amazing and of course I had to throw some coins in. I was told that if you threw 1 euro in it meant you would travel back to Rome sometime in your life, if you put 2 euros in you would find love in your life and be happy, if you threw 3 euros you would find love in Rome and stay to live in Rome. Well I threw 2 euros in so let's hope for the best! haha Even though it was crazy crowded we made sure to get the cute photos because did you really throw in a coin if you didn't document it?
The rest of the day was full of different adventures. Rome is huge but we did see a lot. I love this group of people and there love to explore like I do. I don't necessarily care what we are doing as long as we were doing stuff together. Here are some more photos from throughout the day!
So theirs one huge aspect about this trip that I have forgotten to mention. My parents are coming!!! My dad had to have surgery a couple weeks ago and they were not sure if he would be able to make it, but he did! For fall break me, my Mom, Dad, Aunt, and Uncle would be getting on a cruise boat that started in Rome (how convenient) and we would be taking a cruise around the Mediterranean!! (My next blog will be about that.) So back to Rome, today is the day I will be seeing them. As a group we will be going into the Colosseum and I got my parents tickets to join our group as well. We would not be meeting up until 4pm so that whole day I was a bit antsy. Our cellular service, Virgin Mobile, was not offered in Europe so I had no good way of contacting them because I currently do not have cell service so I can only contact people with WiFi and same with my parents, but my mom had some trouble finding WiFi. I was a little worried but we knew we were meeting at the Colosseum and when I finally saw them I ran to them and my mom was super excited! Here are some pictures of my family at the Colosseum.
Here are some pictures of the group and the scenery at the Colosseum!!
After the Colosseum, we went around more of the ruins of Rome. Campitelli, right next to the Colosseum, is at the highest peek of the hill that now bears the same name, where Rome's major temple once stood, dedicated to Jupiter Optimus Maximus. Here our professors said their farewell and our fall break had started. All of the students had one last dinner that night as a group before going our seperate ways the next morning. Later that night at the hostel a huge pillow fight somehow erupted and it was a lot of fun (Even though Chase was asleep during it and did not even notice.)
I was a little sad to be leaving my people over fall break but I was also so excited to be cruising the Mediterranean with my family. The next morning was a bit of a struggle, my plan was to get to my families hotel and than we would explore Rome for the day because the cruise did not leave until the following day. When I got to the hotel, they were not there and again I had no way of reaching them. Luckily, with the help of Ashley, she was able to contact my Aunt and I ended up meeting them in the
Vatican. I took them around places that we went the days before they got there including the Trevi Fountain, Spanish steps, and The Papal Archbasilica of St. John Lateran. I had a lot of fun taking them around and they were all really impressed with how quickly I could figure out transportation and whether we needed to take the Metro or tram. I did mess up once and started going the wrong direction and they jokingly said "dang it Bailey we have had faith in you all day!"
To conclude this Rome blog, Rome has truly been my favorite place so far. There was so much to see and do, we were constantly on the move. The food and wine was amazing, and I am so happy that I got to experience Rome with both family and friends. Rome will definitely be on my bucket list of places to visit again so hopefully my coins in the Trevi fountain work and one day I am brought back this amazing city.