Rome & Venice, Italy

We left for Rome on Friday (my birthday!!!!). Our flight was at 7:05 AM so we had to leave Alcala at 4:30. Normally I would not be happy about waking up this early, especially not on my birthday, however, going to Rome made things a lot better. It was also nice being able to talk to my friends back in America since it was only 9:00 PM there. We took a taxi straight to the airport, and unlike any other trip so far, we were actually at the airport two hours before our flight left! We had some breakfast and waited for our flight to arrive.

As usual, I was nervous about the flight, but I have to say, this was the absolute best flight I have ever taken. The take off and landing was flawless, no turbulence, and I slept most of the way. Perfect! My birthday was off to a great start.

After we arrived at the airport in Rome we realized we had no idea how to get to the hotel. It turns out we needed to take a bus from the airport to the main train station, then a metro. The hotel advertised a shuttle service from the metro station, but when we called, they said it only operated in the morning! So, after two bus rides and a long walk and then a taxi ride, we arrived at the hotel.

The "scenery" during our walk to the hotel.

We had been in Rome for four hours already, and I was drenched in sweat. The hotel looked a little sketchy on the outside, but at least we were there. However, it didn’t get any better on the inside. The room was odd and there was no hot water in the shower. I was really disappointed in the hotel, and the only way to get into town was to take a taxi to the nearest metro, which isn’t cheap. My birthday had taken a turn for the worse. I was not a happy camper, so I FaceTimed with my dad, and of course, he fixed everything. We looked for a new hotel online, and found one in the heart of Rome. We checked out immediately and took a taxi to our new hotel. It wasn’t the nicest hotel I have ever seen (and didn’t have WiFi) but we could walk everywhere! Less than five minutes to the Trevi Fountain. And there were at least three Gelato places within 50 feet of the hotel. This really changed my mood!

Finally, our hotel in Roma (and a Gelato shop next door!).

We checked into the hotel and headed out to find our tour bus stop. This tour bus was a little more expensive than the ones in Paris and Barcelona, but it came with more. In addition to the bus, we also got a pass for free public transportation while we were there (Metro and Buses), and a Roma Pass which got us into two sites free and the rest discounted, while getting to skip all of the lines. We couldn't find the bus stop for the tour bus, so we ended up just walking around Rome Friday.  It was hot and exhausting, but beautiful nonetheless. We got to see the Coliseum and the Trevi Fountain. It was surreal. I know this sounds silly, but I never realized how old everything was in Rome. The Coliseum is over 2000 years old! It’s impossible for me to really fathom how old that is, and it’s crazy to think of all the important and different people that have walked on these grounds. 

After a long day of walking and searching, we finally headed back to the hotel to rinse off and head to dinner. We went to a little place near our hotel, and I got gnocchi (which I have really started to enjoy since I have been in Europe). It was really good, and the restaurant had a nice atmosphere.

After dinner we went to a gelato place with free WiFi so Lindsey could take her accounting test. The gelato was insanely expensive, but I would have given my left leg for WiFi at that point. I was excited about being able to sit there and talk to friends and family for awhile. I cherish every moment I have WiFi, especially here. My friends from back home did a really excellent job comforting me throughout the day. Being able to talk to them really brightened my day. It wasn’t a traditional birthday, and I wasn’t completely happy all day, but I enjoyed it all the same. When I looked back on the day's events, it was hard to be upset. I was in Rome after all!!

Saturday we left the hotel around 10:00 AM and started our search for the bus. We got hungry on the way and had a really good lunch at a small cafe. The best food here seems to be hole-in-the-wall type places. (Kind of like Strombolis in Starkville.) After fueling up, we searched for our bus. We walked for over an hour in the 95° heat until we found it. (And for those of you in AL and MS who complain about it being in the100s...I feel for you, but walk around in the heat all day, turn your AC off, and then come talk to me.) I was pretty miserable. Once we got on the bus and then knew where to get on and off, we utilized it well.

Our first stop was the Coliseum. The line to get in was ridiculously long, but luckily with our Roma Pass cards we just waltzed right in. (If you ever go to Rome, I suggest buying this card. You can buy it separate without the tour bus). We got an audiovisual guide, which was pretty cool. They give you an iPod and it has audio information, as well as video clips. If I were to do it again I probably would have just gotten the audio guide though, because you want to spend your time looking at the Coliseum, not the iPod. The Coliseum was even more impressive on the inside. So much history happened in this place. The Coliseum reminded me of Bryant-Denny (without the crimson and houndstooth). It literally just looked like a really old version of a football stadium. It even had roman numerals over all of the entrances. I found this very cool, the Romans were really ahead of their time.

After the Coliseum we went to Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. For centuries, this was the center of life in Rome. It was almost eerie looking at some of the ruins. It made me think about what our houses will look like in 200 years (not 2000 years!).

The Roman Forum

We also went to various sites around Rome. I don’t really know too much about them, and if I were to explain every place I went this blog would be longer than Barcelona’s. But here are some pictures of them!

Ministry of Culture and Heritage

Trevi Fountain

Pantheon

Last place Caesar's body was seen

Temple in the Jewish District

After an extremely long day of tourism, we went back to the hotel, showered, and headed to dinner. The receptionist suggested a small restaurant for dinner called Gioi Mia. It was fantastic. One of the best meals I have ever had. I wanted to stay in Italy forever just for the food.

On Sunday we woke up, ate and headed out for another day of sightseeing. We went to the Vatican and got in line to go in the St. Peter's Basilica. There were a lot of people standing in the middle of the plaza, which we thought was odd. All of a sudden everyone started cheering and we heard someone talking…It was the Pope! It was pretty neat hearing him talk. Even though I am not Christian, I appreciate his importance to the religion.

The Pope

After hearing him speak, we got back in the long line to get through security. It was hot, really hot. We waited in line for about 30 minutes before we finally made it to the entrance of the Basilica. Once we got closer, a guard came up to us. Turns out to enter the Basilica you can’t have your shoulders OR your knees exposed. Would have been nice for them to tell us that BEFORE we went through the long line. We went back out and the line had almost doubled. I was hot, and tired, and was in super grumpy mode.There was a good 15 minutes where I didn’t say a word. We decided to go visit the castle first. It wasn’t the coolest castle I have ever been to, but there was lots of shade and a good view. We found places in Rome with shade became increasingly more interesting.

On the way back to the Vatican, we got some gelato, which improved my mood significantly. We then went to a gift shop and bought t-shirts and a really big scarf to cover up with. I have no clue how this was more respectful than what we had on, but they let us in.

The Basilica was very big and had a lot of ornamental decorations. The most interesting part of the Basilica was going to the crypt, which contains the tombs of deceased Popes. We wanted to go to the Sistine Chapel after, but it was a Sunday so it was closed. (Didn’t really think that one through.)

We ended up getting on the bus and just riding it around Rome.We had nothing better to do, so we enjoyed the view, the breeze, and being able to sit. We came to a stop and the bus driver got out and said we would be parked for a few minutes. A family got on the bus talking about the Catacombs. Apparently, we were at one of the catacomb sites in Rome. I didn’t get to see them in Paris, so we decided to go take a tour. It was really cool…literally. It was a wonderful reprieve from the heat. I had never seen anything like it. It was built in the second century and had over 11 miles of tunnels. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t let us take pictures down there, but I suggest anyone go see the catacombs if they get a chance!

After the catacombs we went home, showered and headed to the gelato, free WiFi place to watch the Eurocup final game. (This was gelato number 8 for me by the way). We just sat there and watched Spain beat up on Italy. It was great. And surprisingly more people there were pulling for Spain than Italy. Final score: 4-0.  I had a bet that it would be 3-0. So close. Really could have used that Dr. Pepper…

Monday morning we headed to the train station at 6:30 AM. Our train left at 7:45, bound for Venice.  We got on the train early and found our seats. I was impressed with the train, it was actually a pretty comfortable train. Halfway through the train ride, I getup to go to the bathroom and see a guy wearing a Randolph School shirt (a school in Huntsville). What are the chances? So I ask him if he is from Huntsville, and of course he says, "yes". He is with his family and they asked where I went to high school. Turns out that he is the son of my high school chemistry teacher, Mrs. Birchfield. She was in a different car getting food, so they took me to her and we talked for a while. It’s really crazy how we happened to be in the same car, of a train in a completely different country.

Very nice and comfortable train to Venice.

When we arrived at the train station in Venice, the directions to the hotel said “Take Water Bus 2 to Rialto Bridge.” We were confused as to what a water bus was, but we quickly found out the second we went outside. Now, I knew there was water in Venice, but I had no clue that there was this much water! The metro system, and taxis, were all boats! It was so cool. I was speechless the second I stepped outside.

We took the water bus to the Rialto Bridge, which is a very famous area in Venice. The street has a lot of vendors and shops on it. Our hotel was a one minute walk away from the Rialto Bridge! We couldn’t have asked for a better location! Plus it had WiFi. We were in heaven!

After putting our stuff down we had lunch (wonderful, as usual),and started our shopping. We did this for most of the day. Shopping, eating, sightseeing. It was excellent. We had no schedule, no place we had to be, just had an amazing relaxing day in the most beautiful city on the planet.

The shops were full of different things made from Murano glass. It is a famous glass that is blown on an island right outside of Venice. It was all beautiful. I bought half of Venice I think, but my favorite thing I bought was my Murano Cow. Isn’t she precious?!

Before dinner, we found San Marco Square. This plaza is famous for the pigeons. When we walked up, there were people covered in them. Lindsey and I kept our distance at first, but were intrigued so we got closer. Within seconds, a pigeon landed on Lindsey’s head. And if any of you know Lindsey, you know she freaked out. It was hilarious.

I bought some feed from a man, and split it with Lindsey. She decided it was time to get me back for laughing at her and puts all of her feed in my hair…I immediately was swarmed and thought they were going to peck my brains out. I shooed them away and tried feeding them normally, which was fine at first, but then got attacked again. I quickly dropped all the food and ran away. That was enough pigeon contact to last me a lifetime.

             

After more shopping, more sightseeing, more gelato (my final count was 10 for the four days), we had dinner. It was so wonderful being able to eat delicious food and finally just have some relaxing girl time with Lindsey. The day was absolutely perfect, which was a nice change of pace from Rome. I wish we could have stayed there longer, but unfortunately our train back to Rome was at 8 the next morning. Venice is by far my favorite city I have visited, so far. There is not a lot of important sites, but it is so beautiful and full of life!

The next morning we hopped on the train to Rome and had lunch at Gioi Mia again. So delicious. After waiting around a while we headed to the airport and flew back to Madrid. The flight was flawless yet again.  Besides pulling a bit of a “Barcelona” the first day, this trip was heavenly. Even better than Paris. I would go back tomorrow if I could.

The best thing about coming home to Madrid, is that my family will be here next week! I am having the time of my life here, but I miss them so much. I can’t wait to share this experience with them. And once they leave, only two weeks left and I get to come home to the good ole US of A.