Well the trip started at 5 a.m. in the torrential downpour of London. Tube -> train ->plane to bologna....read a lot of my book which was great to finally have a chance to actually read for pleasure -> shuttle bus to train -> oh wait the train is sold out except for first class...ughhhhhhh not ok. but no other option so we shall ride in style. - > first class train with chocolates and cookie and drinks from bologna to roma!!!! -> cab to hotel cause we are now late from the train confusion.
WOWWWWWWWW talk about transportation. 12 hours later....
First night in rome we had an included dinner with the contiki tour we were on ... we were lazy and did our trip through a tour so they would organize hotels and transportation through italy for us hehe our tour guide was this crazy italian man named amadeo who never ran out of energy...so dinner 1st course pasta with spicy delicious red sauce...2nd course chicken and salad...3rd course cake...and of course some wine to go with it all. Afterwards we walked around to see the city lit up at night for a bit then met up with some fellow syracuse people in an area called El Campo...went to some bars and had a really fun night. Then back to our hotel late night... my soph and flynn roomed together while alex laura and taylor were in another room... we ended up in a handicapped room, quite an interesting bathroom haha.8:30 wake up for our first full day. Breakfast in the hotel was pastries cheese, salami, and ham. Then on the contiki bus to the vatican to see the papal audience. Waited around for a while until the pope himself came out at 12 to give his speech, in italian. Couldn't understand him of course but it was insane to see the enormous amount of people that come and what they do...ranges from your typical tourist, to the really religious person, to protestors, and guards. The pope just pops his head out a little window way up high, you can barely see him. After that we broke off from the group to start our own day of touring...and what better of a way to start than with gelato, hazelnut of course! Walked towards the Pantheon and saw so much beautiful scenery on the way...fountains galore, vendors with millions of scarves, souvenirs, and jewelry. The pantheon was amazing with the hole in the ceiling and all...but i wish i knew more of the story behind it so gotta put that on my list of things to research... Next was the Trevi fountain...omg...fell in love with it, absolutely gorgeous. Made my wish of course, behind the back. It was so crowded though... i hate how things become so touristy except I guess thats a little contradictory of me to say as i am one of those tourists....Stopped on a side street for a pasta lunch but had a rude mean italian man that was tryin to fool us stupid americans. not cool. After that we regrouped and went over to the colosseum. Passed so many people that are dressed up and painted as statues trying to get money...pretty amusing. We joined with a tour group for a few euro that would take us through and explain everything...in english. I learned a lot about the structure and history...crazy interesting. Probably my favorite place in Rome..as well as the fountain. Next off to the spanish steps ...nothing too special compared to the other things we saw that day, i think. Took the metro back to the hotel and relaxed for a bit...walked way toooo much today. Went for a late night dinner with Alex's friend from home who is studying in Rome. She took us to this great local place...SOOO AMAZING! I got a basic margarita pizza and garlic bread and wine. Then my 2nd gelato of the day...UGH...tiramisu flavor?!?! yes please. bus back -> bed!
Wake up..hotel breakfast...vatican...this time we had a guided tour inside Vatican City with the contiki group. The tour guide was a hilarious old italian man...we all had headphones to listen to him and he would go..."shake a leg contikiiiiii, lets gooo, follow the silk flag, you like the silk?, contikiiiii shake a leggg" got quite a kick out of it (reminded me of i like your sweater). The paintings inside were absolutely breathtaking the sistine chapel, where everyone is supposed to be quiet, is just covered in art by michaelangelo, amazing. There are religious men standing around wearing black cloaks and what looks like hot pink yamakahs hahah. Alex also thought the sistine chapel was the 16th chapel...we had a few good laughs throughout the tour.
After the long long tour we got paninis...eggplant and veggies yummm. Then on the contiki bus to florence!!! Kind of a long drive but arrived a little before dinner time.
All in all i really liked rome...it seemed like i was in a story book and the monuments were these huge pop ups...it was surreal. The buildings and houses are just gorgeous in their coloring alone. Gave me a great taste (literally) of what I had in store for my trip in Italy.
oh and for our tour... its for 18-35 year olds and we are by far the youngest...some people are on their honeymoons?!?!? It's basically for people that are incapable of figuring out trips on their own...they are all weird and nerdy...thank god I came with the 5 others and we can stick together...and make fun of these people....
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