ciao bella... ROMA!!!

I possibly just did the most sightseeing accompanied by the least amount of sleep i have ever done in my life, in the past 3 days. Last thursday, after my Psych exam, I said good bye to Bader hall and hello to Roma. After a 2 and a half hour drive and an equal length flight, we landed in rome. It was late by this point so we went and checked into our hostel (which was more like a hotel), and got our first pizza of the trip (and certainly not the last). It was ridiculously greasy, but so, so good!! It was definitely a great way to start off the trip. We woke up early the next morning, so we could catch the first bus (we bought tickets for the hop on hop off bus). We got to the Vatican at about 10, so we beat the line up luckily. We only had to wait about five minutes, and by the time we left the line snaked all around the circle. It was a bit of  an eyesore because they were in the midst of setting up a GIANT christmas tree in the centre, but it was still breathtaking. So we went into San Piedro's (St. Peters) basilica, and then climbed all 551 steps up to the top of the dome. It is my goal to conquer all of the stairs of Europe!! The view was amazing, we could see all around Rome. Then we went to the Sistine Chapel and Musei Vaticano , and after completing a long and snaking maze, we saw the amazing ceiling. Pictures definitely do not do it any justice. I could have stare at it for hours, however, my feet and neck hurt! 

All this time, it was pouring rain. So we had a quick bite of lunch (pizza of course), and headed to Trevi fountain, which was so breathtaking, especially since it was so dark out. We threw coins in, two in hopes of falling in love in the city. No dice on that unfortunately. After a bit of shopping, we caught the last bus, and headed back to our hostel to dry off. We tried to go for dinner, but at 7:00, NO restaurants were open. Finally we found a tiny place and we were the only people in there. I had delicious ravioli, and then we went for some gelato! Then we called it a night. 

The next day, we woke up early again and headed to the colosseum, again, pictures don't do it justice. We did a guided tour because it let is skip the line. It was such a beautiful day, we were so lucky. We learned about the history and the architecture which was all really interesting. Then we headed to the Forum and to look at Augusto's House. We got a little lost, and there is LOTS to see at the forum ,but it was all so beautiful. Augusto's house was really cool, we got to see some of the original frescos on the wall. Then we walked to the Pantheon, which was also really cool, a lot bigger than I expected. Then we walked down to the river, and came across Piazza Navona and there was a bunch of markets, selling candy and christmas ornaments and stuff, it was really cool. We also saw some guy accompanied by 4 bodyguards. I took a picture of him (its on facebook) because I was curious as to whether he was famous or just rich. Take a look and see if you know him. Then we walked down to the river and ate a late lunch, and I got a pizza that was HUGE (it was my dinner too!). Then we went to Piazza del Popolo, and then to the Spanish Steps. There were so many people it was ridiculous. We just sat on the steps and watched as taxis attempted to fight through the mobs. We also watched as millions of birds flew around in odd formations in the sunset lit sky. It was nice to finally relax. Then we walked to Piazza Barberini, and the Piazza della Repubblica. Then, we headed to termini to catch a bus to Ciampino. We stocked up on groceries before in preparation for the long night ahead of us. We got to the airport at 9:00pm, and our flight wasn't until 6:35 am. We figured we would save money and not stay at a hostel because we would have to get up at about 3:00 to get to the airport in time anyways. We tried last minute to get on the 11:00 pm flight, but apparently that cost 300 euros... So we spent the night in the airport. They closed Departures, so we had to go the Arrivals. Us, along with about 30 others spent the night, and we made friends with a romanian named Fabio. I stayed up to watch our stuff, because I wasn't that tired anyways. At 4:30, we went and checked in and by the time we got on the plane, we were all out. I didn't even notice the plane take off. Before I knew it, we were back in the cold, frosty england. After another 2 hour drive, I find myself back at bader, where I should be studying for my geo exam tomorrow!!

Anyways- Only 4 days til I'm home. I can't wait!

Til then,

<3