First of all to the faithful who follow my blog, I apologize that I rarely update this and the fact that I have cliffhangered everyone to see if I had made it to Rome or not...I would hope the fact that I am writing to you now, and have been writing to you, is an indication that I made it alive. If this was called into question at any point...guess what I made it alive...so I hope you haven't been holding your breath otherwise you will not have made it out of this blogging experience alive.
Enough with the joking however and lets continue. We arrived in the Ciampino airport around 11:00 or so at night and then caught a late night bus and found ourselves after about a forty-five minute ride to be dropped off outside the metro station in Rome. We knew we were in trouble when we had no clue where to go, but the small panic grew inside me as the streets grew darker with every step and the line of homeless men shivering (I am sorry to say) under their cardboard boxes grew longer. We realized after about a two minute walk that we were going in the wrong direction and turned around to ask the bus driver where to go. We were ten feet from the driver, and it was if by some instinct the driver's direction alert went off and he took off fast then one could have thought possible for a luxury bus. So we were literally left in his dust and Phil decided he had found the right way to the hostel. Luckily for all of us God smiled down upon us and after about a five minute walk we found The Yellow our hostel. Later is was aparent how lucky we were to have found this place because the more we explored Rome the next day, the more clear it became that Rome is no small city. So I was thankful we had chosen a convient hostel location.
We checked in The Yellow and discovered it was a bar along with a hostel...however we took our stuff upstairs to our 12 PERSON ROOM! This I will confide in you was the most terrifying I had cooked up into my mind. When staying in a co-ed room of six 3 vs 3 were good odds that you would survive or fend off an attacker 3 vs 9 are terrible odds and as I don't have six hands/did not have the Expendable team at my beck and call, I clutched my backpack strap tighter, pushed up my glasses which were quite dirty and falling off the bridge of my nose, and tucked a strand of greasy hair (gross) behind my ear and ascended the stairs. We were on the 7th floor or so and the music that was coming out of the bar fell quite after so many flights of stairs. We entered into our dark room after some difficulty with the lock and I breathed a small sigh of relief...okay big sigh of relief. There were two rooms in this twelve person room and our group tromped to the back past sleeping people to the empty beds that awaitd us and discovered that one girl was already there and that we might actually make it through the next three days alive. This was very exciting.
Oh yeah guess what we got abandoned! Phil left us promptly to find his friend who was living in Rome and for some reason he could only see her early that morning because her parents were coming to visit. So Kristen and I were quickly left and decided to go find some food so we went down the street, for as memory served there was a little pizza place down the street.
Luckily there was one two buildings away, and the man was very nice and served us pizza that late. However I made the miserable mistake of ordering pepperoni pizza, which means literal peppers and no meat! So tragic, the longer we stayed there the more creeped out we became. The man behind the counter was very nice but kept getting closer and then wanted a picture which we reluctantly gave, and this man who was like late thirties early forties gave me a kiss on the cheek! I definitely tried to pull away and I just was appalled...I didn't even keep the picture gross...so we left even though he had given us discount food.
Then Kristen and I went to bed exhausted and I not full from nasty pepper pizza (not good bell pepper but weird oily gross like zucchini pizza ugh!) I slept a bit fitfully and in the morning I looked over to see if phil made it and mistakenly thought he was in the top bunk and since no one was there I was slightly worried. It was a happy mistake however when I awoke for real that morning and he was on the bottom bunk.
We got up and walked around all day long, and I mean when we walked we walked! We decided to try and make a giant loop and only take a metro on the way back...not the best plan. My blistered doubled in size but you will soon see why. We started to walk down the main street and decided to get food, I found a fruit stand and got a nectarine while Phil and Kristen got some pizza (much better then the night before) we then wandered about slightly following a map and finally made our way to the trevi fountain.
I think I was the only one who was really excited about this, because (I am ashamed to say) I had watched the Lizzie Maguire movie when I was younger and remembered her facing backwards throwing a coin in the fountain...then two seconds later a famous Italian pop star mistakes her for another pop star and the romance and adventure begins. This being said, I know how to throw the coin in, and was laughed at by Phil when I wanted to throw a euro in, I could have thrown a penny but a euro seemed the most appropriate so I did, some call it a waste but others would agree with me, if you are going to travel half-way around the world you need to at least make an effort to do things as quality as possible on the budget you have.
Oh yes before I forget we got gelato before hand, this is gelato number one of the day. We then continued walking and went to the WC in Mcdonalds...thank God for american monopolies Mcdonalds has been our saving grace more then once. Then continued on wandering, in the hopeful direction of the Vatican. We stopped outside a hotel where a group of people had gathered, apparently the president of Italy was going to arrive but we waited for a good fifteen or twenty minutes and the most exciting thing to happen was extra secret service to arrive...so we left...another near miss of world famous icons (we have yet to see Orland Bloom who was rumored to be in Regensburg...I looked for him!) We didn't want to wait all day if we had so much to see.
Finally after what would seem like 3 hours since we had left The Yellow we made it to the Vatican. By this point it was mid-afternoon and every tourist guide who had special tickets to get to the front of lines told us we wouldn't make it, so after all the walking...we decided to do it the next day.
Then we went on the longest walking portion of my life. It was by the beautiful river and bridges but my feet were killing me! (I won't go into many details as many have told me I seem to point out the negatives of Europe...but as I believe it is my duty to inform everyone how I am feeling, then I am not always going to feel like the brightest orange in the bunch. I also have to be realistic and most of the time I was tired or have achy feet or my tummy was hungry! Haha and it is also more comical to tell you my atm card failed by being eaten then glossing over straight to the fact that I saw the arc de triumph six times haha) So as with each step the blisters grew bigger and my feet had a greater ache in them...I felt like I needed a bigger size of shoe seriously.
We eventually got to this bridge that would lead us to some lonely island place and it turned out to be lame except for it just crossed us over to the other side of the river, which we didn't cross over, but went mid way and got gelato for the 2nd time! I think it was called (the island that is) Isola Island. I don't remember.
We then go nearer to the Collesum and made our way to the archeological sights it was the ancient ruined city of rome and I loved it. Kristen and I also paid to see where Peter was in prison we paid seven euro to see a hole in the ground and a small stone chamber...we also saw the place were Peter had his head indented in the wall, idk it was a part of the wall with glass over it. So that would have been cool but that was the beginning and they spent the rest of the time taking us on tours that had stones talking about history and not good history but just so random hard to explain. Rocks would light up in different colors and just so not worth it for the second part... I would have paid to left haha. Luckily it was over. Then we made our way to the Colessum.
A picture is worth a thousand words and I would need quadruple that to properly describe that to you about how amazing the collesum was. Honestly it exceeded our expectation, we went inside and walked about and saw the different stories. It is just too incredible to explain honestly the coolest monument I have ever seen! It was so old and the stone and the vastness. The only way I could describe it is if suddenly you were dropped into a time two thousand years ago only to find yourself being able to talk to a living and star and you would stand and marvel at what you saw. (I don't know if the star metahpor works but) that is how I felt just like in awe.
We spent a while there and Kristen and I just sat and watched the sun set and it was glorious, one of my blisters popped which is gross but a relief all the same. It was just a good time to be had, and I really enjoyed every minute of it. I would go back in an instant.
We took a metro at sunset and made it back to the Yellow. We ate across the street at a little Italian place were we got 10% off because we were staying at the yellow. I was dumb and decided that I should get bruchetta and Carprese salad...lets just say I had a pluthera of tomatoes though I ate it all I had too many! Later Kristen and I split this amazing white chocolate and chocolate truffel gelato! Divine! Then we went back to the Yellow.
This is where we decided to do something that should have been cool but ended up being scary. Kristen and I were tired and wanted to go to bed...Phil had met friends from our 12 person room and downstairs who wanted to go to the Trevi fountain at night. I wanted to go but was tired and Kristen did not want to go but we decided to go anyway. So we walked as a group and partially got separated and finally halfway (it was more then 20 minutes fyi) we got gelato for the fourth time! Not as good, but we made it. The Trevi foundtain was not as cool at night, and after five minutes Kristen and I were tired and wanted to leave and everyone else wanted to be one with the night and so we decided to go back on our own. So Kristen and I decided to embark on the scariest journey of our lives. We got slightly lost and walked for ten minutes up this alley and the only person we saw was policeman and we were scared but finally after praying and directing we got ourselves part of the way back. We had a small mcdonalds break were I had the most delcious thing from mcdonals ever a cheeseburger with a oregono bun and mozzarella cheese. so good. Then we walked out and turned a corner and saw a man jump out of a car to relieve himself we shielded our eyes from the impending doom and then another man decided to do the same. There were cat calls and we were appalled and fled the scene. I thought for a moment of being in utter peril and then we walked past our hostel and coudln't find it and then we did an ah! Made if safe! To my bed Never again! Never again! Will I wander the streets with only one other girl! It's too much!
Anyway too much writing for one blog you will have to wait for part two!
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