Bella Roma

Day 0: Um...Sketch.
We started off the morning taking the train from Interlaken to our layover station at Milan. We woke up early to get to the train station, but apparently it was too early for some of us, because everyone besides Megan jumped on the wrong train. We realized our error on the train, and luckily were able to get off at the other Interlaken station and jump on the correct train there. It was not a pleasant start to my morning. We only stayed on that train for forty minutes, also, which made the mistake all the more unpleasant. Once we got on the correct train, we found out how crowded it was and realized we had no idea how to find our seats. Finally figuring it out, we had to kick out some of the people that were in our seats. Once all settled, we enjoyed a 2ish hour train ride to Milan. We chit-chatted a little bit and just enjoyed the general scenery and ride. Once we were at Milan, we took an opportunity to enjoy the station's architecture and take a quick break before jumping on another train for a 3-hour ride to Rome. This train was much nicer and more comfortable. Generally we found the trains in Rome to not be that great. Apparently the moms had heard that 2nd Class was kind of sketch, but in general I didn't mind it. Termini was crowded, but we found out how to get to the metro and jumped on to get to our hostel. Now, the metro on the other hand was definitely sketch. The cars were all graffitied, and surprisingly, NO ONE was on the metro. After two metro rides, we realized that our hostel was a good 45 minutes out of the city. Now, one might ask why I would go to through the trouble of booking a hostel so far outside of the city. Megan and I usually have a checklist of things that we look for in a hostel: security lockers, breakfast, etc., etc. and with the moms, we had to make sure it wasn't a youth hostel. Also, the description on the internet said that it was on a beach. And guess what?! It was! I was totally okay with the commute if I got to stare out at the ocean everyday. (Actually, I think it's a sea, but I can't remember which one.) Instead of heading all the way back into Rome to start seeing sights and finding some food, we decided to hit up the local grocery market for another wonderful dinner. We picked up the makings for some amazing chicken salads, in addition to stopping at the corner gelato place to pick up a delicious pre-dinner dessert. Now by that time I had stayed in a few hostels, including a few that had some pretty strict rules. I wasn't sure how the hostel was going to take our bringing food in. But the moms brought it in, and chit-chatted with one of the employees who was so nice! She brought out all the utensils we would need and forced us to have salt since we were having salads. We ate our food, some delicious bread for only 50 cents, and played cards before going to sleep early to prepare for the big day of sights the next morning.

Day 1: The Biggies
We decided to go big right away in Rome. Megan had many friends staying in Rome that she wanted to connect with, so most of this trip was just me and the moms. We started early heading over to the Palatino to pick up tickets for the Colosseum. Wouldn't you know that it's culture week in Rome (probably because Rome was also celebrating it's birthday that week) so all of the sights were free! We got tickets for the Colosseum, Palatino, and Roman Forum for absolutely nothing! Cheapest day so far. I suggested we head towards the Colosseum first, because I didn't know how busy it would be. After mom mistakenly got two tickets for a real tour instead of an audioguide (through no fault of her own--the guy spoke English, too), I let the moms take advantage of that while I wondered around the Colosseum by myself. I couldn't believe how huge the place is! The whole time I wanted to watch the movie Gladiator, even if it's not historically accurate. After taking in the general grandeur, we headed over to take in the Palatino and the Roman Forum. While walking amongst the ruins, it started to sprinkle. Then rain. Then REALLY rain. We decided we had had enough of the outdoorsy stuff, so we were planning on jumping on the hop-on, hop-off bus tour to catch some other sights. We were just in time for the next bus, so we snagged a little lunch and waited on the sidewalk. Slowly but surely, the cars stopped driving by and a group of reenacting gladiators started marching down the street--they were having a parade! Apparently this is NOT a common occurrence, but by this time it was still pouring rain. The procession looked just as miserable and sopping as I felt. An HOUR later, we finally boarded a crammed, steamy, smelly bus. I couldn't even see where we were going, or hear anything about what we were passing. Finally we decided to try to hop on a different bus at the Piazza del Popolo. No such luck there, so we hopped on the next bus on our original line, where we ran into a friend who had been waiting with us out in the rain by the Colosseum. I was soaking and uncomfortable at this point (wrong ensemble: skinny jeans and flats) so we headed to the Trevi Fountain to throw in a coin and make a wish, before finally just heading back to the hostel. Wouldn't you know that as soon as we got back to Ostia the weather started to clear. For dinner we went to "Non Solo Pizza..." or as mom likes to call it, "Con Solo Pizza". It was so good! We then stopped at our favorite little gelateria (the same one as the first night) on the way home for dessert. Another round of cards finished off the night.

Day 2: Tom the Tour Guide
The next day we decided to hit up the Vatican. We signed up for a 1:30 tour through our hostel, so we had the morning to kill. After making our long commute into the city, we wandered over to the Campo de Fiori, a wonderful fresh fruit and vegetable market that has a few souveneirs as well. We had fun sampling dried, candied fruit as well as some delicious strawberries. A man was selling vegetable "tools" (sorry, no better word) which promptly gave the moms and Megan something to purchase. It was like an informercial, and we all loved it! He was making curly fries and all sorts of vegetable delights. After walking away with our purchases (I also walked away with a beautiful yellow purse), we headed over to the Vatican. We were plenty early, so we imitated statues and did a little souveneir shopping before meeting up with Tom, our tour guide. Tom led us all around the Vatican, starting off in the square outside of St. Peter's Basilica, informing us all about the Sistine Chapel, through the Vatican museum, to the Sistine Chapel, and finally to St. Peter's Basilica. I loved the whole thing. Tom was very informative and told us lots of things I didn't know. Also, it was great for me to see some of the works of art that I've been learning about in my art history class, such as the Saint Longinus and the Baldacchino. The only other people who were on our tour with us was a couple from Colorado who had just been to the Cinque Terre (where Megan and I were heading next) so the tour was super small and fun. After the nearly four-hour tour, I was famished, so we headed over to Piazza Barberini to eat dinner. We found a cute little restaurant to eat pasta in. Mom also introduced us to proscuitto and melon. Delicious!

Day 3: Mom and Daughter Day
After having been in Rome for a few days, the others were nice enough to let my mom and I have a day together. First on my list was seeing the Spanish Steps. We climbed all of the steps and wandered into the chapel at the top. Hardly any people were there, which was a little disappointing--I thought the steps would be filled! I guess you have to wait for a sunny day to see that...Afterwards, we wandered toward the direction of the Pantheon, the next stop on our list. Wouldn't you know that we walked down the most expensive street in Rome--Prada, Dior, Gucci, Fendi, you name it, it was there. I always manage to find those streets! We eventually ran into the Pantheon (and I literally mean ran into the Pantheon--it was kind of abrupt). You would never guess how impressive/beautiful/astounding the inside of the building is until you enter. The outside looks big, but it's just grey and misleading. At this time, we were way ahead of schedule on our plans for the day, but there was one more thing that I really wanted to see-the Borghese Gallery. Home of many of the works of art that I've learned about, it was also located in one of the only green parts of Rome. Before we walked an eternity to get there, however, we had to stop for a gelato break. I was currently reading the book "Eat, Pray, Love" and in that book, the author recommends the gelato place "Il Gelato di San Crispino" as apparently having hte best gelato in Italy, which is saying quite a bit, if you ask me. So we wandered towards it, but couldn't find it! So we stopped in the next nearest place. After rounding the corner to head back out, we found the place! We ordered gelato at that place too. You can't pass up an opportunity to sample the best gelato in Rome, even if you've just had some! After having our fill, we headed to the Borghese Gallery. On our way, we had a minor crisis--my mom and I got separated on the subway! I was trying to mouth Termini to her, but she didn't get it. Thankfully, she's super smart and got off at the next stop, where I jumped off the metro and waved her to where I was. Whew. I think she was more freaked out than I was considering I had been navigating us the entire trip and she had no form of communication, including not having my cell-phone number. Once there, we found out it was sold out--until SATURDAY. I will remind you that this was a Tuesday. Slightly disappointed, we decided to check out something else instead. We decided to go to the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. As we stepped out of the metro, I did what I always do, pull out my trusty map. Of course, a hop-on, hop-off bus tour guy was trying to sell us tickets, so I moved down a few steps. After a few moments he walked past us again and said "Information?" to which we replied, "No, thanks." He was like, "No, it's okay." So we asked how to get to the Basilica and he pointed us in the right direction. After we arrived to a beautiful looking facade, we were disappointed to find gates around the steps. Then we realized that this was the back of the Basilica! So we headed to the front and went inside. It was a beautiful church. After exploring it for a bit, we were tired enough to return to Ostia where we ate another dinner at "Non Solo Pizza" (not very good this time) and enjoyed the beach. As per usual, cards finished out the evening. We also met a friendly and chatty Londoner who had been living in Italy for the past seven years. She was very sharing, but she told us that we had done a good job at seeing all the sights so far.

Day 4: Churches, churches, churches galore
The next day I decided to let the moms fend for themselves and head off with Megan to see some of the works of art we hadn't seen yet. We stopped at the Piazza del Popolo to see some Caravaggio and a concert set up for Earth Day, then headed over to see the Ecstasy of Saint Theresa (Bernini is a genius) and wandering down the Quirinale to find the Sant'Andrea al Quirinale. In all that time, the moms still hadn't found their final destination, so we met up with them and wandered about for a bit. We saw a few places worth going into, but none of us could decide what to do. Finally, we headed over to San Giovanni to see the Basilica. Another massive, beautiful church. I was churched/museumed out at this point. We headed back to Ostia early to do a little market shopping and hang out at the hostel. We stopped at our favorite gelateria, where the workers seemed to recognize our faces, since we had stopped in their everyday. The afternoon just flew by, and before we knew it, we found ourselves in a Chinese restaurant for dinner. Now this is hilarious for 2 big reasons: 1) Mom hates Chinese food. 2) We are in Italy. Eating a Chinese Restaurant. Hm. Surprisingly, it turned out to be amazing! The best Chinese food I've ever had! Even Louise loved it! She called it a "gastronomical delight". So great. After many fits and giggles, we did our normal routine of playing cards at the hostel, and called it an early night as the moms had to leave in the morning.

Day 5: Ciao Roma.
It was time for the moms to leave me on my european excursion and to go back to the states to share all of their amazing adventures. I hope they have shared some good stories with all of you. As for me, it was tough to say good-bye, but I was on my way to the Cinque Terre, to spend three days on the Italian coastline. What a pick-me-up!