Before I say anything else, I just want to say outright that I am completely in love with each and every city I went to in Italy and I don't think I could handle it if I never went back. That said, this is the first part of a three part blog, each titled Eat, Pray, and Love.
Our journey started on Tuesday of Easter Break. At 1:30 a.m., Jess, Megan, Kelsey, and I took a bus to Dublin airport, where we got checked in, ate breakfast, and awaited our flight, which was at 6:30 a.m. By 10 we were in Rome!
We got into the city from Ciampino airport by bus, and walked the rest of the way to our hostel. We had booked our 3 day stay in Rome through WSA, run by Andy Steves (Rick Steves' son). Basically this meant that everything was set up for us, including tickets, and we were allowed to skip the line wherever we went. It was pretty awesome.
We weren't allowed to check into our room until 3, so we put our luggage downstairs, changed, and decided to do what was first on our itinerary: the Colosseum.
I am so glad we did that first because the Colosseum is so iconic and is what most people think of when they think of Rome. We took the train over and spent a good hour there before it started raining and we went back to the hostel to change.
I hadn't realized how huge it is!
After a minor downpour (something we were used to with Ireland), we rushed back to the hostel to change, as we were all wearing sundresses under the impression that Italy is immune from bad weather.
After a quick change, we headed back to the Colosseum to explore the Forum, which is full of all kinds of ruins from ancient Rome.
There were so many of these drinking wells all over Italy. Naturally I drank from each one I saw.
It's almost spooky looking at the ruins. It's so weird imagining that someone spent their entire life here so casually, not even considering all the people who would come after them to marvel at this.
The sun came out (:
At this point, the Roman Forum was the oldest place I'd ever been to. I'm so interested in what change happened to make these ruins suddenly a tourist destination? When did people stop saying, "don't go there, that's normal" to "this is super old and historically fascinating"?
After exploring the Forum, we decided to find ourselves some gelato, but not before we visited the Pantheon.
I didn't really know what the expect from the Pantheon, because I kept mixing it up with the Parthenon at the time. Once I saw the big dome, I pretty much figured it out. It was so incredibly beautiful. It makes churches in the US look like cottages.
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In the square outside
Could this ceiling be any cooler. Answer: no
After absorbing all the beauty, we realized how starving we were. As suggested by Andy, we went to a little restaurant near the back corner of the Pantheon where we got a great deal (pizza, bruschetta, pasta, dessert, and unlimited wine for 15 Euro). It was so nice to relax a little after the crazy day and chat with the girls. I am truly blessed to have them in my life and I don't even want to think about what it will be like when we all go home to our own states.
Dessert was gelato, so we crossed that off our list. After dinner we headed to the Trevi Fountain, where we were surprised to see how small the actual pool is. In movies, they always make it seem so long, but it's really quite quaint. The statues, though, were unreal.
Selfies for Dad
Lovely ladies.
Megan is a mermaid.
Now I'm a mermaid.
After the Trevi Fountain, we wandered the shops and contemplated sweatshirts. This was probably the hardest decision of the day. #privilegedspringbreaking
But we were pretty beat from our long day, including travel during the a.m. so we headed back to the hostel for some much needed shut eye...
....because the next day we hit the Vatican. WASSUP.
I was very lucky that I had planned accordingly, because you are not allowed to show your shoulders or knees whilst there. I wore a sleeved dress with tights and rocked it, obviously.
After breakfast at the hostel, we took the train to the Vatican. This is probably the part where I should warn any female considering traveling in Rome about the men. I knew it was going to be bad because Katie had warned me, but it was seriously ridiculous. The four of us have never been hit on so much in our lives. They literally have no shame. They will, in passing, whisper things like, "Mmmm" and "sexy" all while giving you this look that made us want to shower immediately. I was affectionately referred to as "prostitute." You cannot make this up.
So after our degrading train ride, we arrived in Vatican City, where it was super busy as it was Holy Week. As included with our tickets, we were allowed to skip the line into the museum.
The basilica. We didn't get a chance to go in here, since we couldn't skip the line and it was nearly 3 hours long.
Can a physics major please explain this to me.
The next part, which was the museum, should really be referred to as, "Caroline's Ton of Pictures of Really Ornate Ceilings and Floors"
Shoutout to whoever passed on the long legs gene.
I have friends.
There was so much art. I was in love after having spent so much time away from it.
There were a series of maze-like halls such as this one which led to the Sistine Chapel; no pictures were allowed in there which led to me weeping gently. Kidding.
We were blessed with a gorgeous, sunny day!
One of these sculptures is in Trinity College in Dublin. They're nearly identical, but we can't figure out why.
After the Vatican, we sat outside in the grass and had gelato from Old Bridge, one of Katie's favorite places. I got a mix of chocolate, almond, and tiramisu. It was, in a word, divine.
After this, we embarked on a journey to find the Spanish Steps. They weren't on our map, but we knew the general area.
We finally found it and Megan got swindled into buying a bunch of roses. In her defense, the guy was a total jerk about it. She's bitter to this very day.
Selfies with my gelato. Not the first nor the last.
Catch my ladies soaking in the sun on the Spanish Steps. What's up.
We tried to get in but it was closed for an event ):
Selfies for Dad.
Since we are obsessed, we headed back to the Trevi Fountain. I love it in the daytime even more than at night.
We had each thought long and hard about our wishes, and even though I won't tell you what mine was, I think it was very special and I'm happy with what I chose.
Fun fact I got 42 likes on this Facebook photo.
Much better in the sunlight.
We loitered, that is for sure. We not only loitered, we loitered with gelato, which was arguably the best part of the day. I got chocolate, and my soul will forever pine for it. Are you starting to get the album title now.....?
We sunbathed at the Trevi Fountain. How many people can say that?! It's so crazy to think about all the people who will never get the chance to see Rome. I am so completely lucky.
That night we ate more pizza and had mediocre chocolate cake, so we went back and got gelato. We were left with no choice....duh.
The next day was something of a free day. Andy Steves told us to go to an art museum in Borghese Park. However, upon our arrival there, we learned that the museum was closed to anyone who had not reserved a ticket. Thanks, Andy.
So instead we enjoyed the weather by spending the day at Rome's Zoo. I had no idea this existed but it was pretty cool anyways. The first thing we did was watch bears being fed, and if you know me at all you are aware that bears are my favorite animals.
Did not realize I was the dad until too late. hey
In case you're interested.
Peacocks everywhere.
Total cutie.
Some sleepy kangas.
Yes, guinea pigs too. I think I saw Loco.
Missing Molly.
There are more of these all over Italy. So many drink pictures.
We knew it was our last day in Rome, so we decided to say goodbye after lunchtime. We went back to the Trevi Fountain, hit the shops, ate more gelato and pizza (obviously) and cried about it. Maybe not outright, but yes it was on all of our minds.
AND this is where I'll stop this part. Next part should be up shortly!
Slainte!
Caro
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