Bienvenue en France!: Roma!!!

Inside the Colosseum

We arrived in Rome after a long six-hour train ride and we made it to our hostel quite easily. It was only 4 blocks away from the train station, which was very nice and the directions were strait forward. The Roma train station was very big and had a lot of shops and little boutiques inside... It kind of reminded me of a little mall we would have at home. We arrived quite late so we just went for a bite to eat at this very cute Italian restaurant and then went home and watched some crazy American show, which in fact was in English.. This was the first time I have experienced English television since I got here almost three weeks ago! The next day we had a late start because we decided it would be a good idea to get some rest... Or shall I say 12 hours of sleep!! We only woke up at noon so we went over to the main lobby of our hostel and checked in with our loved ones at home and let them know where we were and that we were ok! Then we went over to a cute little restaurant that the man at the front desk recommended. I decided to get the chefs special and OMG was it the most unbelievable pasta that I had thus far! It was to die for! We enjoyed our lunch and our server, Alan, was a great server and made the experience that more enjoyable. We had decided that the day was just going to be relaxing and just taking it all in... So after lunch we started exploring and happened to stumble upon the "Fountain of Trevi". We arrived just as the sun was setting so we got to see it during the day light and as it was getting darker... It was soooo beautiful! It is, by far, one of the most amazing things I have seen in Europe to date. The structure of it, the architecture, the grace, the light and it almost seemed like the water was making music when it fell. Ugghh, I think I fell in love!!! Then we explored more, doing the touristy things and going into little nik nak shops and even doing a little wine tasting...mmmm! We ended the day by walking back towards our hostel, grabbing a bite to eat and then heading back to bed. It was nice because our hostel was quite central to a lot of things in Rome, so there seemed to be a lot less walking. So the third day came and we were moving our stuff to another hostel, that on the map seemed to be close, but after almost an hour of walking, we arrived at our destination, Hotel Lodi. We ended up going down some very sketchy streets and not a lot of commotion; it was very quite and gloomy. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into but we moved because a friend from Canada was meeting us in Rome, so we needed a three-bed hostel instead of a double. An amazing man greeted us by the name of Michele. He was very warm and kind and made us feel a lot better about staying where we were. We ended up hanging out in our room for an hour getting freshened up and getting settled and when we went back down to the main area, a very nice older gentlemen, who owned the hostel, offered us a cappuccino and a pastry before we headed out for the day!! Believe me, it's amazing when your really hungry and on a budget! After our little snack, we started exploring Rome a little more and we walked down towards the colosseum and that hit me in the face like a ton of bricks! It was huge and just sitting in the middle of a very urban area; there were houses, restaurants and people everywhere and here was this very ancient and historical monument staring at me in the face! We walked all around the colosseum and viewed the remains of all the ruins and buildings dating back 700 a.d. The stories and history surrounding everything that I witnessed was amazing and it felt surreal standing there at that very moment. The next day when our friend arrived, we entered the colosseum and viewed it from the inside. There was much more structure left on the outside then there was on the inside... The inside was very much deteriorating and restorations started to become common. We enjoyed a relaxing evening at a very cute, side street restaurant and enjoyed people watching! The next day we entered the Vatican, the smallest country in the world. We were able to sit inside the Sistine Chapel for at least an hour and take in all the works of Michelangelo. It took Michelangelo four years to complete all of his works within the chapel and he did the entire ceiling ones upside down!! What an amazing sight to see; his artistry was so real and profound. Then we went over to St. Peters basilica and witnessed a mass... We were really hoping to see the Pope but we knew it was a long shot! St. Peters square was massive and it made me think of the times I would see the Pope exit his terrace and speak on some important topic, on tv of course, and the fact that there was not even enough room for a pin, it was so crowded.

The Vatican was beautiful and I am so happy that we were able to see it! Our last day in Rome was beautiful; it was plus 17 outside and we were able to wear just a t-shirt instead of our heavy wool sweaters and winter jackets. So we decided to rent bikes for a couple hours and tour Rome! I can honestly say, that was my favorite Europe experience up to this point! We were zigging and zagging out of traffic lanes and avoiding pedestrians and vehicles. It was definitely a rush and the best way to get around. I had a ton of fun and couldn't stop laughing and smiling! After we dropped our bikes off we headed for the train terminal to catch our train to Florence and of course, we were rushing and running to our train where we, again, made it at the nick of time. Phewf... Here we come Florence!!! :)