ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?! and Other Adventures in Rome

Tuesday, May 6th

Today was probably my favorite so far . . . except for a little thing I'd like to call "too much sunshine."

fun fact: the white strip on the right is from my bag...lovely

So there's that. It is very painful, in case you were wondering.

I was completely amazed throughout the day by the things I saw. Quick list: Michelangelo's Moses, the Colosseum, the Arch of Constantine, the Roman Forum, the House of the Vestal Virgins, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a delicious trattoria, and the Vatican/St. Peter's Basilica.

Michelangelo's Moses was remarkable in person. I cannot believe how lifelike Michelangelo made the marble become. Truly incredible.

My absolute favorite site of the day was the Colosseum (Colosseo). It is immense, and it was unreal to stand in it. There is so much fascinating history there, and I was inside it and right in front of it. I loved every second in the Colosseum. I wish I could just sit inside for hours and take it all in.

"Are you not entertained?!?"

I love it so much. It might be my favorite thing in Rome. 

Just outside the Colosseum was our next stop, the Arch of Constantine. Except it was covered in scaffolding, so we only saw about half of it. Then we went on to look around the Roman Forum! I had no idea what to expect, but I did not expect the enormity of the place. The view was incredible and there were so many interesting buildings to look at.

Casa delle Vestali

Within the Forum is the House of the Vestal Virgins (Casa delle Vestali), which is really beautiful. There also is a rose garden that we visited, and I could have stayed there all day. An absolutely gorgeous place.

beautiful rose garden

By the time we left the Forum, it was the afternoon and we needed something to eat. On our way to find something, we stopped at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Ignoto Militi), which was also beautiful, and took a few pictures. Then we went walking . . . We went to the metro station, thinking we'd take it back to our stop and find someplace to eat there, when we decided to ask an Italian lady for a suggestion. She told us about a place by the Colosseum with really good food and low prices, so we decided to find it.

mmmm. pizza con prosciutto

BEST IDEA EVER. We had pizza and it was amazing, buonissimo, delizioso. So so good, possibly the best ever. In Rome, you order a full-sized pizza and eat it by yourself, because the crust is so thin. It doesn't come sliced like American pizza does. You basically get your pizza and then cut slices for yourself, folding the slice in half to eat it. I seriously can't tell you how good that pizza was. (We were also extremely hungry, since it was about 4pm by then and we hadn't eaten since breakfast—but I'm positive it really was that good.) I took a picture of the restaurant sign so I would know where to go if I ever have the chance to come back to Rome.

I will return!

After pizza we all headed back to our hotel/apartments for the rest of the day. Much later, after dinner, a group of us decided (again) to go get some gelato (because, how could we not?) We tried a new place, right around the corner from the Vatican. Unfortunately, I was really disappointed. The people there were not very friendly and the gelato was just not nearly as good as the stuff from the night before. It was really icy and not smooth. So I guess this means I have to get some more gelato this week to make up for it . . . bummer! (awesome)

Once we got our gelato we wanted to walk to the Vatican and maybe see the Basilica. We walked around the wall toward the entrance, and I got really excited (it was late and I was tired) because we passed a section of the wall that I thought for sure was the place where Tom Cruise uses his grappling hook-ish device to pull himself up the wall to lay on top and take a picture to trick the surveillance camera. I tried to explain what he does in the movie to the girls I was with (none of whom had seen Mission Impossible III, for shame) but it didn't go well. Anyway we got inside and ate our gelato while looking at St. Peter's Basilica and contemplating how we were in two countries in one night. It was a really fun experience.

St. Peter's Basilica at night

So that was my day today. I can't get over how remarkable this place is. It is really taxing to walk around all day long, but at the same time it makes me feel good to work for the amazing food I get to eat. Also, where the walking takes us is usually pretty cool, so there's that.

Side note about Italy: parking and driving are the craziest I have ever seen. The movies weren't kidding when they show Italy as having tiny cars, vespas, nonexistent traffic laws, etc. etc. There are so many Fiats and Smart Cars around here, it's hilarious. The Italians park wherever they want, even if that means being halfway on the sidewalk, or completely on the sidewalk. They don't pay attention to parking spot lines, but nobody seems to care—they just park crooked next to the other crookedly parked guys (unlike in America, where if you have a bad park job you will suffer the wrath of other drivers). They also like to switch lanes quickly and drive where there are no lanes. Interesting.

Me, Lauren, and Mercedes in the rose garden

Additionally, there is the pedestrian/vehicle relationship that boggles my mind. People walk everywhere and anywhere, regardless of oncoming cars/vespas. As long as you wait long enough to make eye contact with the driver, you can walk across any street at any time. Again, doing something like this in America would probably cause the driver to express his or her wrath through the car horn (and possibly shouting). It's normal/expected here.

That's all I've got for today. (because I'm actually two days behind...oops) More adventures to come!

Ciao!