When in Rome...

A week later.. I have had time to ponder the excellent trip to Rome and time back in Bologna to appreciate where 'home'.

About two weeks ago Alex and I decided when we finished our exams we would take a few days to travel to Rome, stay a few nights and explore the city. We booked our train tickets a few days in advance with the autumn special.. aka only 19 Euro for the train to Rome. Great deal! My roommate was impressed on our deal-seeking ways.

Of course the couple days leading up to the trip we were talking about what we wanted to do while in Rome... Subsequently, our friend Matt jumped on the band wagon to accompany us. Then of course we couldn't imagine traveling without Tati so we convinced her the night before at around 11:30pm to go to the train station to buy the tickets! So off we went, the fantastic four on the 5:15am train to Rome.

Yes, 19 Euro was a great price, but we got what we paid for. We ended up sitting in the cafe car... not in chairs, but on the rails next to a few tables in the front of the car (Not to mention we were on a German train.) It was an experience - but we got there.

Anyway, we got to our hotel where there were a few hiccups, but we got them worked out in no time.. then off into Rome we went.

I was in awestruck immediately. The architecture and the city in general was beautiful! Thank goodness.. we had our personal tour guide, Miss Alex Gray. She had an internship in Rome this past summer which made it much easier to get around the city.

We saw pretty much everything there is to see in Rome... oh wait.. no we didn't. We saw a good number of them, but my suggestion to everyone is to give yourself severalllll days in Rome. You can 'see' everything in a couple days. However, to really appreciate the history and art it is extremely necessary to give yourself some time to digest it.

Aww Matt looks a little uncomfortable. I was just thanking him for getting us
safely to Rome and to the Trevi fountain.                                                  

Matt, Me and Tati in front of the Trevi Fountain

Tati, Me and Alex.. we are facing the Colosseum. 

Alex, Me, Matt and John in front of the Walk of Death. Each Angel along the bridge had a different part of the crucifixion. The bridge led to the fortress, castle, former home of the Pope.. Castel Sant'Angelo.

This was my absolute favorite piece of art in the Vatican Museum.. well it was the center of the ceiling in the first Raphael room. It is hard to see, but there is a shattered statue in the center of the floor - above it is Jesus on the cross. I eavesdropped on an italian tour.. it is the representation of christianity overcoming paganism. 

Yet another breathtaking ceiling. 

Prime example: The Vatican Museum... hands down one of the neatest places I have ever been. There were so many AMAZING sculptures, paintings, ceilings, rooms, etc... but by the time we got to the Sistine Chapel, my brain could not comprehend what it was seeing. Looks like I'll need to go back.

On to this week..
Monday October 4th was San Petronio.. Patron saint of Bologna. This translated to a completely free day. Everything was closed and people were out enjoying the day.

Tuesday October 5th was supposed to be my first day of classes, BUT I'm in Italy. There was a demonstration on the first day. Oh bummer. Tuesday night a group of us met up with the Irishmen that we had met... Ronan, Philip and Colum to send them back to Ireland. It was a great night with a big group at the Irish Pub.

Ronan, Marr, Colum, Me, Philip and Alex. Good night.

The rest of the week was a blur... The weekend was basically the same. Perfect. It was a relaxing weekend. A lot of time was spent in the Garden reading and time at home. It was very needed as I have been trying to kick a cold for quite a while.

Ahh! Saturday October 9th I got a call from Alex saying there was a biking event going on in Piazza Maggiore and Via Indipendenza.. I raced over just in time to see the start of the race. There were about 100 riders gearing up to begin the race down Indipendenza!

Today in Piazza Maggiore a few goof-balls of men put on a hilarious show for the LARGE gathering of people around. It was so funny. Juggling, fire, etc.

Now I am just hanging out in my apartment sipping a cup of tea while my roommate is busy typing away on her computer.  Lovely afternoon/evening. Class tomorrow!

Just a last minute add. This is Giovanni.. also known as my FAVORITE Italian man thus far. I have requested that he adopt me. Im not sure about the legal issues.. but I will figure it out, or I'll just marry his son.. Eduardo.

PS - Happy 10/10/10.