Sun and gelato in ROME!

Edinburgh is covered by a blanket of fog today, and it's making me miss Rome even more. Ahhh Roma, what a beautiful city! 

Easter weekend is a pretty great time to go to Rome, but it's also one of the worst. Everywhere we went was crowded, don't get me started on the Vatican. But it was such a special experience that it was well worth it...

Four of us interns awoke at the so early hour of 3 am on Friday to make it in time for our 6:30 am flight out of Edinburgh. Our flight was delayed, of course. As Lilly put it well, Ryan Air is now on my "dead to me" list. I suppose that you get what you pay for is an accurate description of the airline, so I shouldn't complain so much. I would just prefer that my flights aren't 3 hours late, as happened on the way home. But for 1 p, which is what I'm paying to fly to Paris in a couple weeks, I will settle for literally anything except a plane crash. I will never buy a scratch lotto ticket on board, though.

When I stepped off the plane I was met by wonderfully warm air and the light of the sun. How I've missed thee! Then and there I decided it was going to be a pretty great trip. 

We took a bus into the city and then found our hostel near the Cavour metro station. An older Italian lady who didn't speak a lick of English greeted us and showed us the hostel - aka her apartment with bunk beds stuffed in a couple rooms. But it was clean and in a great location, so we were rather pleased with the find. 

Then it was time to explore! We had a pizza lunch at an outside cafe then roamed the streets in search of the Roman Forum. We found it, but as it closed early for Good Friday, we made our way to the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps instead. On the way we tried our first gelato -- I remember thinking "I love my life" as I downed it in the sun. There are as many gelato shops in Rome as there are 7-Elevens in Taipei and pubs in Edinburgh; they're basically everywhere you look. Which is a great thing, because gelato is amazingly delicious.  We had it 5 times in the 3 days we were there and it wasn't enough.

[caption id="attachment_341" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The accordion player who serenaded our pizza lunch."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_342" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="One of our first views of the city."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_343" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The ladies in Rome! I believe the building behind is a shrine to Emperor Emmanuel. Notice my tank top - woo hoo!"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_344" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The Trevi Fountain. The saying is that if you throw a coin into the fountain you'll be back to Rome. I threw in two!"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_346" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The Spanish Steps, covered in people. We hiked to the top and had a nice view of the city from there."][/caption]

After dinner at a lovely place  - mmmm homemade pasta, bruschetta, and red wine of course -- we went to the Coliseum for a very special performance by DA POAP! That's Pope Benedict XVI, who led an outside stations of the cross for Good Friday. It was all in Italian so we didn't understand a word, but it was still a really cool experience, one that I'm sure I'll remember and talk about for the rest of my life.

[caption id="attachment_347" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Very bad, blurry picture of the pope leading stations of the cross - he's in the red!"][/caption]

The next day we woke early again, but not early enough. By the time we made it to the Vatican it was already mobbed by thousands of people. The line to see St. Peter's Basilica wrapped around the square, and after waiting for a bit we decided to do the Vatican Museums (which house the Sistine Chapel) first. The path to the Sistine Chapel is overwhelming to say the least: you are surrounded by amazing art, sculptures, and images and there's simply not time to truly appreciate it all. The Sistine Chapel was, as expected, breathtaking. I must say I thought the painting of God touching Adam would be more prominent since that's the image everyone knows from the chapel, but it's almost hidden among everything else.

Next we went back to St. Peter's and were relieved to see that the line was much shorter. We made it into the basilica and were hit with more extreme visual stimulation. The basilica is HUGE, ornate, and just all in all filled with really incredible things. Michelangelo's Pieta is in there as well as many famous works of art. Unfortunately the crypts were closed for the day, but that only gives me a reason to go back.

[caption id="attachment_348" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Moi in St. Peter's Square with the Basilica in the background."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_350" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Ornate pathway on the route to the Sistine Chapel."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_351" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="God touching Adam, the most iconic image of the Sistine Chapel."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_352" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Another view of Michelangelo's greatness in the chapel."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_353" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Lilly and I with the square to our backs -- the entrance to the basilica was being adorned with flowers for Easter mass."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_354" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Inside the basilica."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_355" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Michelangelo's Pieta."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_356" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The dome inside the basilica."][/caption]

After some much-needed gelato (coconut mmmm), we hiked it (or rather metroed it) to the Piazza del Popolo and had an unforgettable experience with one of Rome's hustlers. They're everywhere, shoving flowers and other items in your hands and then asking you to pay for them. This one fella wouldn't take no for an answer, and even after he gave us the flowers and promised us they were gifts, asked the guy in our group to pay for them. He relented, only after I threatened to put the roses on the ground. 

[caption id="attachment_357" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Holding the hustler's roses in Piazza del Popolo."][/caption]

My Europe guidebook says Rome has more ruins and historic sites than dog poop, and that's a pretty accurate description. Everywhere you look is something amazing. Close to the Piazza is Villa Borghese, a really lovely park with a pond, museums, and lots of green space. We strolled, sat, and enjoyed being in the sun. I came back with a bit of a sunburn that's turned now to a little bit of a tan, and I couldn't be happier about that.

Dinner that night was in Campo, a great little square lined with restaurants and bars that's centered around a fountain. I enjoyed lasagna and red wine as another accordionist serenaded us. 

[caption id="attachment_358" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Lilly and I at dinner in Campo - this semester has turned me into a red wine fan!"][/caption]

We went to a couple bars for a bit, but nothing too exciting was going on, probably because it was the night before Easter. Lilly and I departed a bit early to head back to the hostel and had some interesting encounters with Italy's gentlemen. Prior to then I was a bit skeptical about the rumor about Italian men being true, during the day it's completely fine. But we were very uncomfortable walking back - with men blantantly staring at us and making comments as we passed. We encountered some real sketchsters in the metro and were glad to make it home.

The next morning we attended Easter mass at the Pantheon, which has recently been converted into a church. I was surprised that there were not many people there at all, but I guess most tourists were at the Vatican - we chose to avoid it.

[caption id="attachment_360" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The Pantheon inside..."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_361" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="and outside."][/caption]

After a delightful pizza lunch, more gelato, and a canoli, we went back to the Roman Forum to see what ancient Rome was all about. I must admit I didn't have much of an idea what anything was, but it was fun to imagine the site in its heyday. We also climbed Paletine Hill, which was where the ancient Romans built their fancy homes. It has a great view of the city and the forum below.

[caption id="attachment_362" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Standing amidst the Roman Forum, ancient Rome's cultural and political center."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_363" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Beautiful flora on the way up Paletine Hill."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_364" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Rome view from the top."][/caption]

Next up was the site of fighting and death for the Ancient Romans: where else but the Coliseum? The building itself is pretty fascinating, as is its macabre history.  Funnily enough I associate the Coliseum first with the Lizzie McGuire Movie since Lizzie performs there. Kind of a contrast of ideas, but I would associate fighting and death with a Disney chick flick.

[caption id="attachment_365" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The inside of the Coliseum, with the maze below. I believe the people would wait there before they fought?"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_366" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Shamelessly sunning myself in front of the Coliseum. Those pale, pale legs are a little tanner now!"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_367" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="A question I posed to the group: Do brown pigeons know they're different? What do you think?"][/caption]

 We hiked it to Trastavere, Rome's hippest neigborhood so says the guidebook, for a 3-hour dinner followed by more gelato. Our waiter spoke no English, but he did speak a bit of German interestingly enough, as do I, so that's how we communicated. It was so nice to sit outside as the day turned to night and enjoy delicious Italian food and wine. A good end to a great trip.

And that was Rome! The next day wasn't so great due to the 3-hour flight delay, but we made in back to Edinburgh with enough time to rest up - I was completely exhausted. I must admit I wasn't so happy to be hit with a wall of cold air when I stepped off the plane, but in about a week and a half I'll be in France enjoying the warmth again.

Why did I love Rome so much? 1. gelato 2. gelato 3. gelato

hehe but seriously, it was refreshing to be in a place so entirely different. The UK is very similar to the US, while Rome screams ITALY! The culture is everywhere, and I'm so glad to have experienced it. I'll be back someday, for sure.

My adventures in Scotland are soon coming to an end; look for one more post from Edinburgh and then I'm on to more places! I'm ready to go!