When in Rome...

Again, just to update you... these are entries from a week ago that I was unable to post at the time. Thank you for your patience as I (slowly but surely) catch you up on my life!

I wish all of my BW lovelies the best on their first day of class :) And same to all of my wonderful "sophomores" who are now starting their first day as freshman in college. Best of luck!!! Please know I am thinking of you :)

I start school tomorrow too... ugh... but I only have 4 classes. FOUR! Can you believe that!? And no class on Friday. What a change! I'm used to trying to cram in 9 classes in a week ;) Anyway... more on that later.

FIRST DAY IN ROME

Upon returning to America, my frist task will be to thank God for free public restrooms. Rome is an entirely different situation. Not only does one have to pay for these toilets (which, I don't even know if you can even call them standard toilets... one has to literally squat, as there are no actual seats), but one must also have exact change. This posed a slight problem for two women--with bladders full and only large bills--who were practically dancing through the Roma Termini, frantically looking for a bathroom. As we ran through the Termini trying to find a way to make change, mom and I found ourselves making frustrated and snide comments towards each other, due (I'm sure) to sleep deprivation and bathroom despiration. We luckily laugh about this now :)

Allow me to insert a side note here. Everyone always warns American tourists about the everpresent B.O. problem in Europe. I hope I can clear up this little misunderstanding: In Italy, the ratio is more or less as follows: For every one person who could clear a room in 2 seconds, there are at least 12 people who emenate the scent of expensive perfume and cologne.... like it's coming out of their pores or something. I have never smelled so many aaaammaaaaazing men's colognes in my life than in that Terminal. (Since I am writing this from Vienna, allow me to also add that the ratio is a little different in Germany/Austria. More like 1:3. Let's just say taking the metro isn't always the most pleasant experience for the nostrils). Glad we've cleared that up :) And I should also point out that generally good looking people populate this area. Dark complexion, dark eyes, dark hair, tall, thin, stylish--AMAZING SHOES (of course). Most men and women looked like models. No joke. I felt quite unworthy with my blonde hair, green eyes and slip on sandals.

After fixing the bathroom situation, we encountered our second obstacle... hotel check-in. The Hotel Aphrodite (located very conveniently outside the Termini station) told us that the check in began at 9 am--NOT so much the case when we arrived at 9:30. Apparently since then check in was moved to 11 am. Faaaaantastic. So we sat... okay, correction--I slept... in the lobby until we could officially move in, unpack, and shower. We were pretty disgusting after having been on a train for 12 hours.

A few hours later, we began our first of four tours in Rome: "Ceasar's Rome," which was a general walking tour of the old city--the ruins of the Roman Forum, St. Peter in Chains, Coliseum, the ancient city "works." We encountered our third barrier when the earpieces used for the walking tour were malfunctioning. We lost nearly an hour of our tour, as the guide had no idea what to do about it and had to keep phoning for technical assistance. Everyone was getting a little frustrated, and it was then that I discovered we were in the company of the "ugly Americans..." the kind that mar the European perception of the American persona: An 8 person family from New York City (complete with accents and matching attitudes), including a flighty mother, a tough-guy and could-care-less dad, a smart-alecky (and might I add a pain-in-the-ass) teenage son, young boy named Steven who tended to have behavioral difficulties, a man in his early 60's who was just as bad as the pain-in-the-ass teenager, and a girl... it was difficult to discern whether she was this man's daughter or girlfriend. Ew. It was embarrassing to be in their company. I was mortified that they were acting and treating our guide and group the way that they were. But there were pleasant people as well, don't get me wrong. I struck up conversation with a man in his late twenties--an English teacher from Oregon there with his partner on vacation. There was an Irish couple and a Spanish couple. All very tolerable :)

We passed many old crumbling buildings and ruins on our way, including gallant statues and sculptures, as well as the Arch of Constantine. It had a striking resemblance to L'Arc de Triomphe... even the inside of the arch had the similar ceilings. Of course, I'd love to tell you more about the buildings and statues I saw, but with the earpiece situation I couldn't actually HEAR what they were ;) But they sure were pretty!

Our group walked down into the ruins and remains of the Roman Forum. I saw walked "down" because the ancient Roman city was actually at a lower ground level than what the city currently sits on. Earthquakes, floods, shifting of land and just general passage of time has caused the current ground level to be higher. Looking at the dilapitated pillars, the broken marble, the cobblestone roads... it was weird, and at times impossible, to imagine that emperors, nobles, and Roman citizens walked these very same paths.

And, of course, the creme de la creme of ancient Rome--The Coliseum. It was truly more ginormous and maginificent than I could've imagined. It was difficult to envision the structure as it would have been in it's splendor--covered in marble, with three complete rings (the outer ring only partially remains today) and an arena full of people watching the carnage taking place below. I'm glad entertainment has changed since then :)

We ended the tour with St. Peter in Chains... a basilica (or church) which displays the very chains used to bind St. Peter in Jerusalem. Relics like these are commonly found throughout basilicas in Italy. They looked like your average chain links to me ;)

We had a bit of down time to return to the hotel and changed for dinner... our first opportunity to get "all dolled up." Mom had made reservations at a swank little ristorante called "Il Tinello." We walked about fifteen minutes after having our first (and might I add, successful!) experience with the metro system in Italy. This walk included climbing the fifty ba-gillion stairs of the beautiful and gradiose marble Spanish Stairs on "Via Spagna." People were everywhere... most of them sitting, visiting, playing guitars, drinking wine. What a sight.

Mom and I decided to experience fine dining outside... it was a very pleasant and calm night. You could tell we were in Italy... an empty bottle of wine sat in the center of our table, covered in layers of dried wax drips, holding a long stem candle. It was like a Lady and the Tramp re-inactment (I was the Lady, of course... lol!). We had a funny and amiable waitor, considering we were one of the last people there at 9:00! The menu included salad, white wine, pasta with mushrooms, fish and an delectable lemon cake. Even thinking about it now makes my stomach grumble! Probably the best food I had experienced up to that point in my life.

Then back to the hotel (making a quick pit stop at the Internet Cafe to check Facebook ;)) where we would rest for the intense day of touring ahead of us!

Love love love,
Laura