Can I Say Wicked in England?: Rome

Although I didn't post this until I returned from my week long adventures, I am writing this while I'm in Rome! My friend Lara and I have been away from Bath for four days and it's already gone by so fast and we are already tired. But, Rome is amazing! Here are some highlights:
1. The Vatican. Vatican City was one of the most overwhelming and beautiful places I've ever been. St. Peter's Basilica nearly brought me to tears because of how amazing it was. I appreciated being able to see all of the buried Popes and I was shocked at the size of the basilica. Since I've been abroad, Ive seen some intense churches, abbeys, and cathedrals and I didn't think this basilica was going to be any different. I quickly realized that this church trumps every other place or building I've ever seen. I also loved seeing the Sistine Chapel, I never imagined how amazing it would look up close!
2. The Colesseo and Foro Romano. When you think of Rome, these are the places you think of, the ruins of the ancient city and the insanely large and old colesseum, that can hold up to 70,000 people! Lara and I spent a good two hours in the Forum with our audio headsets trying to make sense and visualize how Rome was at the beginning of the millennium and it was so cool to see all of the old temples and ruins that completely defined ancient Rome. I felt like I stepped into the past and it was amazing trying to make sense of how old everything in the forum is. On that note, seeing the city walls of people who lived in 300 B.C made my own life seem so insignificant! Not in a depressing way, more just that I can't believe that my life will be so short in the span of history.
3. Plaza di Novano. This plaza was so artsy and posh! There were performers and artists and vendors and the sun was shining! With this combination, it was such a peaceful place where there was so much happiness and tranquility in the atmosphere. Basically, this plaza was exactly what you picture when you think of Rome! Perhaps the coolest part was that to get from campo di fiori to plaza di Novano you have to walk through these little side streets that were wicked cute! They all had little shops and cheap stores and coffee shops and gelato so it reminded me of the Lizzie Maguire Movie when Lizzie is driving through the streets on a scooter. So this plaza along with campo di fiori and exploring the city center was certainly a highlight from our trip.
4. Trevi Fountain. Obviously this is one of the most special and touristy places you can go in Rome. I thought it was funny that people from all over the world were doing the same thing...taking pictures, saying how beautiful it was, then walking to the water...fumbling for lose change EVERYONE turns around, smiles, and throws the change over their right shoulder. I loved watching that...for some reason everyone looked so happy!
5. Spanish Steps. So the story here is that we were walking around looking for the trevi fountain and we stumbled upon the spanish steps! At first Jamie, Lara and I were like...oh this is cool but where are we? After figuring out we were at the steps, it was beautiful and we got a great view of the city. Lara and I vetured back there at night for Gelato and it was fun because so many people were just hanging out on the steps. This was a cool group of people you could tell.
6. Piazza de Popaolo. We heard the sunsets here were quite nice, and we went there to see for ourselves! It was true! The sunset right over St. Peters and it was amazing to see the city streets with the ancient ruins in the distance surrounded by the purples and blues of the setting sun. I love a good sunset and this is one of the best I've seen over a city!
7. The Pantheon. The rare combination of Paganism and Christianity influenced the art inside this ancient building...basically, it was an old church. But nonetheless, it was awesome to see and it was made sometime around the 200 B.C. Apparently it's one of the best preserved ancient buildings because it never stopped being used by the Romans. So, it was a quality building!
8. Papaya Hostel...Yes this is the hostel we stayed in because Deanna recommended it to me and said it was cute. It was awesome! |I was relieved to have a quieter, more relaxing atmosphere with all girls before we venture to a very social hostel in Vienna. We made so many friends and it was such a happy place! Last night we had a girls night and got to know everyone else staying in our hostel! Also, the breakfast was amazing because we got a cappicino and a pastry from the bakery next store! How special!!! So it was surely a good experience.
9. Even though the metro closes at 9 (seems crazy) we managed to go out to a bar Friday night! We went to Scholars, a bar where my friends Shannon and Michelle told me to go. I have to admit, although it was a bit Americanized, I loved hearing Sweet Caroline playing as well as watching some American football. This made for a fun night!
10. Overall, I loved Rome. It was overwhelming of course...But it was totally worth the exhaustion and confusion we often faced trying to find our way around the city. Hopefully I will have an opportunity to return someday! Here are some photos: