Nikki, Cindy and I started our tripped at around 430, when we left the apartment. We took the metro to the train station, then the train to the airport. We took Ryan Air which is cheap but actually sucks. You're only allowed to bring one carry on (but you can't even have like a purse or something like that, literally one bag) and it really cant be much bigger than a backpack. Its a good thing we were visiting Michelle and Meera because we used their clothes all weekend. Anyway, Ryan Air was 40 minutes late (for no reason), and we finally arrived in rome at about 10:15.
When we got off the plane we found a kiosk for the bus we needed to take into the city. I felt like such an idiot because I realized that I didn't know a single word of Italian. Literally nothing... I walked up to the kiosk and asked if she spoke english. She gave me a dirty look and rudely said yes. So we bought our tickets.
I turned my phone on so I could call Michelle. We were planning on meeting at the Nike store Termini Station which is the central bus and train area in Rome. When I turned on my phone it asked me for my PIN number. Trouble is i have no idea what my pin was because I have never turned my phone off before. I use my phone so infrequently here that I only have to charge it once every week and half. I was freaking out because we were 40 minutes late, my phone didn't work, we didn't have michelle's number, we didn't have their address, we had nothing. 40 minutes later we finally got to Termini, and luckily found them near Nike so all was well.
We took a bus back to their apartment which is on the edge of the city (kind of far away) but in a pretty neighborhood. Their apartment was HUGE. We put our bags down and met their friends. After about 20 mintues we decided to go out to a bar called Scholars. It is an Irish pub. It should really be called American Exchange Students because that would apply to about 90% of the people there. But it was fun.
We woke up around 10 the next morning to go out and explore Rome. Meera made me a sandwhich with some kind of red pesto, tomato, mozzarella and basil it was delicious. We headed out into the city by bus and tram. After being spoiled with Barce's wonderful public transportation I can honestly say that Rome's system SUCKS. You can wait up to 30 minutes for a bus to come, and there really is no way to know when to catch it.
Once we got into the city we first went to the Pantheon. Kelly was quite knowledgeable and told me that the pantheon is made of marble and other materials from all over Italy. It has the biggest dome in Rome, and I realized that I really like the architecture of domes. Fun fact; when Michael Angelo was designing the Dome for Saint Peter's Basillica he wanted it to be the best of the best. He frequently went to the Pantheon to study it. When it came time to make the Basilica's dome he decided that he loved and admired the pantheon so much that he couldn't bring himself to make the basilica's dome bigger... so its 4 meters smaller in diameter.
Anyway after this we ate a big lunch. We got wine, bruschetta (which was the best I've ever had) and pasta for 11 euros. I was actually really disappointed in my spaghetti carbonara but ohh well.
We headed to the trevi fountain where we made wishes and through our coins in. Of course me and nikki want to watch the Lizzie McGuire movie because we've been to Rome now. We finished out the day at the Spanish steps.
We all headed home on the awesome bus system where everyone took naps because we were all exhausted. Later we decided we were going to go to a club, but we never made it there because we couldn't find it. We stopped to ask for directions in a little pizza shop and of course had to try some of the food. Me and michelle split a tomato mozzarella and basil pizza, and i got supple which was delicious. I I really cannot describe whats in it so I'm not even going to try. We went to the Drunken Ship but it was over crowded and everyone was wasted so instead we decided to head home.
We woke up and went to the Vatican. Some tour guides almost swindled us into pay 30 dollars each for a guided tour. This also included the admission for the museum and skipped any lines. The man told us that it was originally 50 but because we were a group of 10 it was 40. Then he said he would give it to us for 30 because we were students. We almost did the tour but at the last minute we decided to bail. You could tell the tourguide was pissed, but oh well.
Instead of going into the Vatican we obviously decided to eat first. We got delicious Pizza once again. We then headed into the Vatican where we did not have to wait in line (because there was none). The admission to the Vatican was 15 euro, but we only paid 8 because we are students.
The vatican is huge! The museum is tons of rooms with tons of amazing paintings and sculptors and all other kinds of art. We finally made it into the Sistine Chapel....
(shh don't tell anyone i wasn't supposed to take a picture of this). Honestly they ceiling of the sistine chapel kind of disappointed me. Don't get me wrong it was amazing, but after spending the whole day in the Vatican museum and seeing ceiling after ceiling painted better than I've ever seen before, the chapel didn't have the WOAH affect it would have had, if it was the first ceiling I saw.
After the musem we headed over to Saint Peter's Basilica. It is absolutely enormous and beautiful! On normal days you can go to the dome at the top and look out over the city of rome but for some reason this day it was closed.
To give you an idea of how big the basilica is the letters written on the building are 8 feet tall!
(Look at nikki and michelle posing in the background hahah...)
We headed back to the apartment, and got ready for dinner. We went to a resturant that is owned by a professor at American University of Rome (where Michelle and Meera study) so he offers a discount to students. For 10 euro you get bruschetta, pasta dish, wine, and a desert. The meal was delicious! We were so full at the end of it but it was really worth it.
We went back home because we were exhausted and knew we had a long day on Sunday. Sunday was slow moving to get out of the apartment but when we finally did we headed to the Coliseum. It was awesome! We paid 16 euros for a guided tour and entrance fee. It was worth it because we learned all about it. For example, the animals were kept in the basement and were brought to the stadium using elevators made of wood, ropes, and pulleys. The coliseum was probably my favorite site that we saw all weekend.
After our tour we said goodbye to Kelly, Kirstie, Kaylin, and Grace. We headed to a resturant where we got pizza and more suple for 4 euros! And went back to pack and go to the airport. 50 minutes later when we were almost at the apartment Michelle realized she didn't have here key. The rest of the girls were out shopping so we didn't know if Nikki and Cindy were gonna be able to get into the apartment to get their stuff (my stuff was in Meera's apartment). Finally we got in contact with one of the other roommates and luckily they were at the apartment.
Our ride home was uneventful. The flight was 45 minutes late (I don't know if we're unlucky or this is typical of Ryan Air). I dropped my boarding pass on the ground, but luckily 10 minutes later it was still were i left it... oops!
We arrived back in Barcelona and were finally home by about 2 am. I was so happy to return to Spain because I spent the entire weekend having no idea how to communicate with anyone. I didn't know a word of Italian, and it was really nice to go back to Spain where I could talk to most people and ask them simple questions. I did however realize I love the way Italian is spoken its really cool!
It was really fun weekend, but I ate way too much! I am really glad I'm not studying in Italy because I would come back 50 pounds heavier!
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