Roma!

So we had another long weekend and my friend Allie and I jetted off to Rome (yes, we took a plane...it is cheaper and faster than a train actually).

We got in Thursday evening, had some dinner at a cute restaurant near the Colosseum (we were about 10 minutes from there in our hostel) and got to see the Colosseum all lit up at night. It's beautiful at night and I loved getting to see that.

We got up on Friday and we hit practically everything. We saw the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine during the day. Then we spent forever trying to find the entrance to the Roman Forum and walked around three quarters of it (it's huge) before figuring out that the Roman Forum is no longer free, it's a combined ticket for the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and the Roman Forum. We were saving our pennies for the Vatican but we got some nice views of the Forum as we walked around. We saw a bunch more ruins, Capitoline Hill, and the Vittorio Emanuelle Monument and then headed to the Pantheon which is beautiful and a must see in Rome.

After the Pantheon we decided to have a quick pick-me-up and we headed to Giolitti...best gelato in Italy. I went there last time I was in Rome nine years ago and my dad and cousin Anna insisted I go back. It was still as good as I remembered.

Next we hit the Piazza Navona for some people watching before getting lunch. After lunch we walked over to the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. We climbed the steps and watched the sun set over Rome from the top. We then met up with two other friends from our program that happened to be also be in Rome (one was Allie's roommate). We went for a cappuccino at the oldest cafe in Rome and then Allie and I headed back to the hostel...exhausted from the large amounts of walking we did (Milan's public transportation is way better than Rome's).

Saturday morning we woke up super early, had breakfast, and took the metro out to the Vatican. We met up again with our friends and went through the Vatican museum. We only had to wait an hour in line but it was pouring rain so that wasn't fun. We were very happy to find that there's a really good student discount for the Vatican museums. Last time I was there I only remember seeing the Sistine Chapel but we saw pretty much the whole museum. Besides the Sistine Chapel I enjoyed seeing the Raphel rooms and his famous frescos including my friend Allie's favorite "School of Athens."

We ate lunch when we finally finished with the museum and then head to St. Peter's. The sun came out and we had a great time seeing the church, Michelangelo's Pieta, and a lot of people in interesting hats (not all clergy...although we saw a cardinal in the Vatican museum and three Bishops in St. Peter's Square.

We walked over to Castel Sant'Angelo and saw the outside, plus a nearby palace before taking our friends to...you guessed it...Giolitti! We had some wonderful gelato before heading back to our hostel. We wandered a bit and ended up finding the Roman Theatre ruins which were cool to see, especially since it was night and they were all lit up.

Sunday we slept in and relaxed after our two really big days. We hit up the Campo dei Fiori to see some markets and look around. We also headed back to the Piazza Navona for people watching before getting our final gelato at Giolitti. We headed back to the hostel, made it through the thunderstorm that had hit Rome, and headed back to the airport (luckily the storm didn't last long and our plane was only delayed slightly).

It was a wonderful trip to see the Eternal City and I took a lot of pictures that will be up soon, but first I have to head to pick up Aaron at the Milan airport! He'll be here for a week and we'll see Milan, Torino, and Venice! I can't wait.