4/16: Rome

So I just got back from Italy and returned to my house about 2 hours ago. Italy was so much fun! I loved it there so much! I liked it way better than Paris so what I will be doing is posting about Italy and will later post about Paris.

May 16th 2014
I took a bus straight to Gatwick airport from Oxford. I got to the airport way too early, but I just ended up doing homework, getting lunch, and spending the last of my pounds (which was a Mcflurry and a large fry fro McDonald's). After my flight getting delayed about 20 minutes I finally boarded and flew off to Rome! I arrived when it was about sunset which was really pretty. I found out that I had to take a train into Rome. Which was pretty cool but I didn't see any monuments. My hostel was really close to the train station but I still had to search for it a little.

After I got settled in my hostel I went down to the lobby and asked for a good place to eat. The guys gave a place but I couldn't find it and there was a couple that needed help and a guy spoke perfect English to them. I walked by him but did not say anything. A couple minutes later I walked by and asked him where the place was and he asked some Italian girls but they did not know where the place was either. They recommended another place to us so he said he would take me there. I asked him if would like to join me for dinner because I had no plans and it sounded like he had no plans so he decided to join me in my hunt for dinner. When we had found the place it was completely full so Matt (My new friend) walked out without waiting. When I asked why he explained to me that Italians eat really late (which it was really late because it was probably 930 going onto 10) and they take a long time to eat....like 2 hours or something. We finally found a place and we did eat for about two hours.

 I did not know that in Italy pasta is it's very own course! So I started off with a classic dish which was really good.

 I then ordered this Chicken dish.....I actually thought it was just chicken and lemon but I guess I was in for another tasty surprise.

 

After dinner Matt suggested that we have Lemoncello. That drink cleared up my sinuses in the first sip! I thought it was just okay nothing too great.

 

I found out that Matt was studying abroad also but it was his last night in Italy and he was extremely sad about that. He said that all of his Italian friends bought his dinner always so he bought me my dinner which I was okay with.

 

Before dinner Matt said we were right by the Colosseum and we could walk by it later. So after dinner we walked by it and walked down a street next to the Roman Forum(By the way we had a rather authentic feel to our dinner because we ate so late. We ended up having about a two hour dinner so we left the restaurant at about 1215).

 A picture of some ruins in the forum (don't worry I actually went in so there are more pictures coming)

 

After walking next to the forum Matt said that the Trevi Fountain was close by so I just figured why not go? We started walking through alleys to get there and in the distance you could hear rushing water. I could just tell that we were very close. We turned the corner and there it was! The best part about it was that we were there at like 1 am so there were only about 30 people in the vicinity! I threw a coin in and did the whole shbang. It very quickly became my favorite spot in Rome because I loved the colors that the fountain gave off. The blue color of the water with the yellow tint of the lights was really cool. Also, the fact that the fountain was part of the building behind it and how it was sculpted. The sculpture looked so smooth but the rock formations around them were so rough and rugged it made a cool contrast.

We decided to head back to my hostel and his hotel after we visited to fountain. He knew Rome and I didn't so he got us lost and we walked around and saw other places like an intersection that had fountains on each corner and a few other things but I forgot what they were...oops. We finally made it back and I did not get into my bed until 230 and I had to get up by 830 for a tour of the Vatican the next day. All in all it was worth it, even though I got lost that night I saw so much in one night and it was all very cool lit up. I am very tired so I will continue my adventures of Italy soon!