Roma

Buongiorno!! I hope you all enjoyed my last little post and are now ready to hear about my trip to Roma, Italy with Kayla, Amanda, and Cat! It was so amazing. I loved being able to see structures that are literally over a thousand years old (can you say history nerd?)! It was such a great experience and I definitely wish I could have spent more time there…just a reason to go back I guess.

Here is the breakdown of my adventure to Roma!

Tuesday 23/2: Our flight wasn’t until later in the afternoon so that morning I packed up my things triple checked that I had everything – I swear I almost always forget something. Made a sandwich for the plane…finally it was time to leave. I met Kayla at the train station here in Le Vésinet (she lives in Saint Germaine and has to pass through here to get into Paris). We got on the train and made our way to meet up with Amanda and Cat. We decided to take a tram to the Orly airport, since it is more reliable than a bus and took us to the terminal we needed to be at. So we met at a metro stop and took the metro to the end of the line, got on the tram, and headed to the airport. This was my first time taking a tram here in Paris. It is basically like the metro, but above ground and slower. Once we got to the airport we went straight through security and found a place to get a drink and eat the snack that Kayla brought us. When it was time to start boarding the airline had us get into two sections…then we waited…then waited some more. Finally they let us on the plane. Once on we got settled and prepared for takeoff. The flight there was smooth and went pretty quick (about an hour and 40 min). When we landed we got off the plane, took a potty break, and headed to the train platform to catch a train into Rome. The train ride into Rome was pretty uneventful. We just chatted and tried to learn some Italian (I’m still not good at it). When we made it to our stop we switched to the metro (Rome only has 3 lines – so different compared to Paris) and made our way to the stop we needed for the apartment we rented (Airbnb is pretty awesome). The metro stop we got off at was at the Colosseum – which is where our apartment was. It was so cool to see such an amazing structure as my first sight of the city! It was even better because it was dark and lit up for the night. I just wanted to stare, but we were hungry and ready to drop our stuff off and find some dinner. The apartment was super cute. It had a kitchen, living area, and a loft with a bed and the bathroom. The sofa was a pull out so Kayla and Amanda shared that, Cat and I shared the bed. It was such a cute little place. After we dropped our stuff off we went out to find dinner. We wanted to try this one restaurant, but it was closed so we went to a different one (Ristorante Naumuchia). Here I had my first pizza; it had salami and cheese, it was delicious. We also got dessert; I had a triple chocolate mousse, yum. *Side note – Rome is so much cheaper than Paris. After dinner we went to the market (because they actually have one that is open 24/7 not 8pm) to get food for our breakfast then back to the apartment and went to sleep. *Another side note – Italians eat dinner very late; like 8 or 9 is a normal time. So when I say we ate dinner it was usually after 9pm.

 View from the plane - look how cool the clouds are!

 View from the plane.

 On the plane to Italy!

 On the plane to Italy!

On the plane to Italy!

View of the Colosseum from the metro stop!

Colosseum

Colosseum

My first pizza in Rome!

All the cans of soda in Italy were like this. I like them.

Triple chocolate mousse

Wednesday 24/2 our first full day in Rome! We started out the day with some breakfast then headed across the street to the Colosseum. I read that if you get tickets at the ruins the line is shorter – so we headed next to the Colosseum and got our tickets. We first explored the ruins on Palatine Hill. They were so cool. I loved seeing them; there were aqueducts and huge areas. It is amazing to me that the Romans were able to build such grand structures. I loved being able to walk through the ruins and admire what is left from these people. Seriously – if you didn’t know I love history, now you do.

Colosseum in the morning.

Colosseum

Entrance to Palatine Hill

Palatine Hill

Palatine Hill

Palatine Hill - Aqueducts! 

Palatine Hill

Palatine Hill

Palatine Hill

Palatine Hill

Palatine Hill

Palatine Hill - Kayla and Cat

Palatine Hill

Palatine Hill

Palatine Hill

Palatine Hill

Palatine Hill

Palatine Hill

Palatine Hill

Palatine Hill

Palatine Hill - Modeling seagul

Palatine Hill - Cherry Blossoms

Palatine Hill - Orange tree

Palatine Hill

Palatine Hill

Palatine Hill

Palatine Hill - Cat and Kayla

Palatine Hill

Palatine Hill

Palatine Hill

Palatine Hill

Palatine Hill

Palatine Hill

Palatine Hill

Palatine Hill - Amanda, Kayla, and me

Cat, Amanda, and me

Cat Amanda and me

After the ruins we were hungry! So went to a more touristy restaurant for lunch; Angelino Ai Fori. Here I had my first pasta dish; all’amatriciana, spicy tomato sauce with bacon and cheese, and some hot chocolate for dessert. The hot chocolate in Rome is very thick. It was really good! After lunch we headed to the Colosseum. We went at the perfect time, since we already had our tickets we got to just walk in, which was awesome. It was so big. I can’t believe that the Romans built this without modern tools.

Lunch!

Hot Chocolate!

Colosseum 

Colosseum 

Colosseum - staircase 

Colosseum - Kayla testing out the stairs

Colosseum 

Colosseum - Amanda, Kayla, Cat, and me

Colosseum

Colosseum 

View from the Colosseum 

View from the Colosseum 

After the Colosseum we decided to walk to the Trevi Fountain. On our way we stopped and got our first gelato. I had mint chocolate chip and vanilla; I wanted to try something simple. It was fun to walk through parts of Rome and see the beautiful buildings. We picked a good time to go. There were a ton of people, but we were able to get up right next to the fountain and get some great pictures and toss in our coins to make a wish (I hope mine comes true!).

Walking to the Trevi Fountain

Walking to the Trevi Fountain

Trevi Fountain

Tossing in my coin

Me at the Trevi Fountain

Amanda, me, Kayla, and Cat at Trevi Fountain

After the Trevi Fountain we made our way to the Spanish Steps. When we got there most of them were blocked off which was pretty disappointing. So we went to the McDonalds (yes McDonalds) to charge phones and have a snack. We sat there and chatted for awhile before heading out again. We then walked up the part of the steps that were open and got on the metro to get back to the apartment. We then rested a bit before heading out to dinner. Tonight we went to the restaurant we wanted to go to the previous night, Li Rioni a Santiquattro. I got a pizza with sausage on it, so good. For dessert we got their chocolate mousse, again delicious. Then we headed back to the apartment for the night.

Spanish Steps - Fountain

Spanish Steps

View from the top of the Spanish Steps

Inside the restaurant we ate at.

Thursday 25/2: Today we went to the Vatican City. To get there we took the metro and then had to walk quite a bit before getting to the City itself. We went into Saint Peter’s Basilica first. It was so huge and grand! After the basilica we went to the post office so they could send some post cards (sorry everyone, I don’t have addresses so you didn’t not get a postcard from me). 

Saint Peter's Basilica 

Saint Peter's Basilica 

Saint Peter's Basilica 

Saint Peter's Basilica - Friends!

Saint Peter's Basilica 

Saint Peter's Basilica - Swiss Guards 

Saint Peter's Basilica 

Post box in the Vatican

After the post office we had to make our way around the outside of the city to get into the part to see the Sistine Chapel. We went in and wandered through the museum to the chapel itself. It was so lavish. It is crazy to think about how much money was spent by the Catholic Church to build up their city. None the less it was beautiful. The Sistine Chapel was gorgeous however, they didn’t really give you much of a chance to admire the beauty and work that Michael Angelo did. It felt very rushed going through the chapel, which was a real disappointment. 

Vatican City

Vatican City

Vatican City

Vatican City

Vatican City

After touring the chapel we decided to have lunch at the cafeteria thing in the Vatican itself. We had pizza again (just a slice this time); I had another one with salami on it. We sat and chatted for awhile (we are taking after the Parisians) then made our way back to the apartment. On the way home we stopped at the market and got some snacks to have before dinner time. Seriously, why do the Romans eat so late? We were all pretty tired and so we rested and watched Jane the Virgin on Italian Netflix. For dinner we went to another restaurant by the apartment, Pizzeria Luzzi. We got a cheese pizza for an appetizer, and I had lasagna for my meal, and a lemon cake for dessert. Dinner was an adventure. It started raining right when we got there, then it started storming. We were sitting outside under a tent so we didn’t get wet but it was a pretty good storm. I enjoyed it though. It reminded me of thunderstorms in Minnesota! The waiters were great entertainment too; making jokes, dancing, etc. It was a good way to spend the evening. After dinner I wanted to head home since the girls wanted to go back out for drinks. So they dropped me off (we only had one set of keys) and they headed back out. It was good for me to rest. I fell asleep watching Netflix and it was great.

View from our apartment

Friday 26/2: Today basically walked around Rome. We started by stopping outside of Museo Centrale del Risorgimento (Central Museum) then headed to the Jewish quarter of Rome. There we stopped in a souvenir shop, so I could get my magnet, and did some window shopping. We also stopped to see the synagogue and the Tiber River. I loved seeing the river that helped build such a large empire. When we started looking for lunch we couldn’t decide on one in the Jewish quarter, so we started walking around. Cat found a restaurant that “had the best crust in Rome,” Dar Poeta, so we headed there. This time I got a pizza with potatoes and sausage on it, again really good. There was this group of really annoying girl tourists in there and Cat spilled her water…so we did not stick around long after finishing.

Central Museum

Fountain in the Jewish Quarter 

Jewish Quarter - Pepper Store

Roman Synagogue

Jewish Quarter

Tiber River

Tiber River

Street Art

Lunch! 

After lunch we walked toward the Pantheon. It was so much better than the one in Paris. It was very large and beautiful. I loved it. After the Pantheon we made our way back to the apartment with the intent at stopping for gelato and we did. We went to a place called Fatamorgana (a small chain gelato place). I got a pear and chocolate flavor with a cheesecake and blueberry flavor, so good. We then walked home and rested a bit before dinner. We decided to go a little earlier since we had to get up early to leave for the airport the next morning. We ended up going back to the same restaurant we went to the first night. This time I got a pasta dish (I can’t remember the name) it was a tomato base with sausage in it. It was pretty good. On our way home we got on last gelato; I got peach and nutella flavors. After we got home we picked up a bit, I packed and then we went to bed.

Walking through Rome

Walking through Rome

Pantheon

Walking through Rome

Walking through Rome

Gelato

Same gelato - artsy picture

I loved that all the water covers had the S.P.Q.R (Senātus Populusque Rōmānus) again, history nerd - the S.P.Q.R. was used by the ancient Romans and is used now by the city.

Saturday 27/2: Today we had to get up really early to leave for the airport. We had to leave by 6:15am. We left on time and made it onto the metro and then onto the train and arrived at the airport when we wanted to (that is the most stressful part for me). Once at the airport we all got something to eat; I got one last Italian hot chocolate and an apricot croissant. Then we got on the plane and headed back to Paris. The plane ride was much less exciting. I never thought I would be sad to be flying to Paris. Once we landed we stopped and grabbed sandwiches at a place in the airport (we were starving), hopped on the tram and made our way back to our homes in Paris.

It is kind of sad that the trip is over. I definitely want to go back to Rome. There is so much more that I would like to do there! Now to start thinking of what I want to do for my last holiday in April…Germany, London, everywhere in Europe…!