Wednesday night – more drama than I’ve had since 5th grade, but luckily we were able to meet up with our new friends from the FSU/Colgate/Lafayette program to redeem some part of the night.
(Hanging out with Kendall on the Bar Crawl)
Thursday – The lacrosse girls from Vandy came in that night so I planned a dinner and found a pub crawl to introduce them to Florence with. We went to this amazing restaurant that is famous for its handmade ravioli with pear and asparagus! It was great. They gave us complimentary champagne when we sat down. It was so great to be around great friends and have a wonderful meal. We had so much fun catching up, swapping Italy stories, and laughing at old memories. Then we headed to the Duomo to start the bar crawl. We meet up with other Vandy kids as well as our FSU program friends. After 3 bars, the group was very split up so we called it a night.
Friday – We had a 5 hour art history class to see the David, the Pitti Palace, and the rest of the Bargello museum. It was interesting but we were so tired that it was definitely a struggle to get through. Afterwards I took a very long nap before meeting up with the lax girls again. It was Ally’s birthday, so we went to a really nice restaurant with famous blueberry steaks and pastas to celebrate. I was still exhausted and I was leaving for Rome in the morning so I decided to call it a night after our late late dinner.
Saturday morning I woke up, finished throwing things in a medium sized Long Champ and headed to Rome by myself. The plan was to spend the day alone in Rome doing all the things I wanted to do, then meet up with my friends from the FSU program (please keep in mind, I meet these people on my birthday) to stay with them from the night and see the Vatican with them the next day. I finished reading the Italy section of Eat, Pray, Love on the train which made me super excited for Rome. I arrived in Rome at 11:30am with only a Long Champ and a wonderful map (courtesy of Mrs. Putrino). I went straight to the coliseum and was wandering around to see everything when I ran into the FSU group. I said hi then decided to go find the Roman Forum. I stopped by a cool litte church on my way then found the forum. I went inside and looked around at everyting, took a million pictures, and then of course ran into their group again (while they were getting lectured by their teacher). I dipped out of the forum after about an hour of trying to walk through ruins in Jack Rogers (not an easy task, I must say), and headed to the metro station. Some how we’re I exited the forum was right next tot eh Capital, so I stopped by there for a moment before going to the metro! I went to a station close to the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterno (where the Pope says mass on holidays) and stopped for a great and cheap lunch. The lady who served me was a middleaged woman who insisted on trying to make conversation despite the fact we didn’t speak each others language. Luckiy I know how to say I’m studying in Florence and meeting up with friends tonight in Rome in Italian so she didn’t think I was a complete loner haha. I wandered to the Basilica and was completely in love with its beauty. By some random chance, the church was nearly empty. There were a few devote women praying in side chapels and maybe 5 tourist looking around, so it was a very peaceful visit. And it was cool inside so I was able to sit and rest for a bit. After seeing the church I took a metro to the Spanish Steps. They were cool but a bit overrated…and very crowded. From there, I meandered to the Trevi Fountain and people watched while sitting by the fountain for a while. I then headed to the Pantheon (the church of all gods). Once again I ran into the entire Florida State group and talked to them for a bit. I looked around the church then decided to wander Rome a bit without a specific direction. I found two beautiful churches (one was Marcello’s which had the Seven Sorrows of Madonna painting in it) and then found the Piazza Venezia which I’m in LOVE with! I then headed to the train station to meet up with my friends and find the hostel we were staying at…here begins the real adventure.
--Disclaimer: The following are all real events, nothing has been changed or exaggerated –
I got a call from one of my friends telling me that there had been a mix up with the hostel and we didn’t have a room but to come find them on a street by the train station. I found the street which was sketchy and deserted. They came out to find me and told me we had another hostel room now. We went to that hostel which was on the other side of the train station. At first glance, it seemed to be in a much better area. The owner, Monty, met us at the corner. He showed us our rooms (I was with Diana in a private double with a bathroom, while everyone else was split in communal rooms). The accommodations seemed fine, nothing too nice but not terrible. He showed us a place where we could leave our bags in the morning, which was a laundry mat with no room to lock them in and owned by his brother. We asked him for dinner recommendations and he told us to meet him downstairs at 9 for dinner. After showering and settling in we went to meet him. He had counted our money twice in front of us, but then told us when we meet him for dinner that we were 20 Euro short. We argued and told him he had counted it in front of us and finally he let it go. He showed us a restaurant that seemed a little strange and they showed us to our table. The table was downstairs in a cellar that seemed like a well. The walls were damp and it we were the only people in the room. Our waiter was overly eccentric and told us he was Monty’s brother…not a good sign. He also told us he was a singer, actor, and dancer and a judge for Bangladesh’s version of American Idol. He did some dance moves, sang to us, insisted on showing us youtube videos that were clearly not him but he said they were. The food was terrible. He kept delaying our check so we were convinced we were getting robbed while we were at dinner. We got out of there as quickly as possible and went back to check on our things. Everything was there luckily, but we decided that we would carry all of our valuable from then on. We were sitting in one of the other girls rooms when the Aussies in their room told us that Monty had told them he used to be a pimp for ten years and that is why he knows 8 languages…CREEPYY. We had some wine then decided to go out since anywhere was probably better than the hostel. We went towards the colesuim and found a really hoppin’ gay bar. It was fun but we were ready to see other things. Some of the boys on the trip had some problems so we checked on them to make sure they were all okay.
Then I went to the Trevi fountain at night with one of my friends because I didn’t throw coins in the first time I went (and my dad insists its beautiful at night). I threw in two coins (1 to return, 2 to fall in love in rome, 3 to get married in rome, 4 to get divorced in rome). Then I sat by the fountain and enjoyed its beauty. It was not as crowded as it was in the day time and so much pretty lit up at night. My friend knew what all the statues stood for, so it was nice to have a private guide! We went back to the hostel to get some sleep before the Vatican.
(On top of St.Peter’s with Jeff and Kara)
Sunday: We woke up super early and quickly got ready. We went to the train station to store our bags (since the laundry mat did NOT seem reliable) and then took the metro to Vatican City. We waited in line for the Vatican Museum and the Sistine chapel, both of which were beyond stunning. I have never been in such amazement of art and architecture in my life. The Last Judgment and the school of Athens paintings were so amazing to see in real life. It was great (minus the men that shush people and yell). Then we went to St.Peter’s Square to see the Pope’s blessing on all the screens since he was in Spain. We went to St.Peter’s Basilica and climbed to the top of the copula. It was by far one of the best experiences of Rome. We got to go inside the copula (the dome of the church) and see the ceiling and mosaics up close. Then we went to 2 different levels on the outside that overlook all of Rome and the Papal Gardens. It was so beautiful. Afterwards we grabbed a quick lunch and jumped on a train back to Florence. Within ten minutes of getting on the train, we were all passed out on top of each other. Luckily I set an alarm so we woke up right before the Florence stop! I came back showered and passed out for 11 hours.
Monday: Class, shopping, studying for a final, then dinner with the lax girls.
Today (Tuesday): Took our Italian final and oral, went to the outlets, now I’m resting and “studying” before our final dinner with Kendall, Hannah, Ally, and Court (the lax girls). Tomorrow is our last final. Can’t believe the end is so soon!
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