First trip of the semester Karrie and I are off to Roma! A few of our friends are studying abroad in Rome and we are up for the challenge to see who chose the better city. One of my great friends Patrice hosted our abbreviated tour and thanks to her time management and organizational skills she pretty much showed us Rome in two days.
We arrived at Rome’s airport with no idea where we were going at 10p.m. with a lullaby Karrie’s grandmother sung as our only known Italian. This was bound to be an experience but somehow Patrice found us and after the ever-girly screams of excitement our night began. We first arrived at some of our guy friends’ apartment where a glass of Italian vino was in order. A taxi ride with a collaboration of friends Cait, Katie, and Patrice’s attempt at a late night tour brought us to Campo de Fiori where we ran into what seemed like all of Penn State. Friends from school, even friends from Barcelona were here gathering at the center fountain, stumbling over the cobblestone grounds and feeling the social Italian air. I found myself playing soccer with strangers in a narrow street while walking with a crowd of twenty to find a taxi. Coming to Rome with no expectations it was pure social bliss. Tomorrow was surely a day never to forget.
It lived up to hype. With sunglasses in tact and map in hand we traveled to the Pantheon where we had lunch just outside of coarse ordering pasta as our first meal. After taking in this massive structure from the inside out we were ordered to get Rome’s best cappuccinos just around the corner. True to form it was delicious and we knew that this weekend was headed down a road of never-ending food. Next we visited the Trevi Fountain where gelato was in order and Karrie and I did the appropriate coin toss into the fountain. Just as imagined it was just beautiful, overflowing with tourists yet strangely again, familiar faces. It is a small world when you run into friends from Barcelona in Rome and I loved every moment.
After street walks and window shopping we headed back to get ready for our bar tour beginning at the Spanish steps. Hundreds of students gathered anticipating a night partying with the Italians. Meeting new people with crazy stories and that Italian charm we knew to expect. We had conversation, dances, drinks and our separation we will never live down. Karrie and I stopped for a bathroom break between bars and unto our knowledge no one else was joining so after nearly providing Patrice with a premature heart attack we called and met up across from the Vatican. “Where are you guys!” she asked on the phone in pure hysterics, “well I’m not sure but are you wearing yellow?” I responded, “that’s not important you guys are crazy I don’t know where you are” “Well if you are indeed wearing yellow look to your right.” Her scream and laughter will remain in my mind forever. A momentary glitch in the weekend it was time to call it quits and head home.
The Vatican was our next host and my dream of walking the grounds of the Sistene Chapel became a reality. Taking in every statue, every bust, altarpiece, and painting, it all lead to the very core of Italian art. It was breathtaking and surreal. After catching my breath at the life I am leading this very moment, we were off to St. Peter’s Basilica.
An incredible span of pillars and gorgeous statues surrounding the estate it was exactly how one would imagine in company of thousands of others thinking the same. A necessary stop for a cannoli was in order after this long day of sightseeing.
Tonight’s plans included a never-ending pasta dinner for twenty which was everything dreamed of and more. Not just the food that was mouthwatering but it was conveniently located down the street of our last stop. There she stood with a presence no words could convey: the Colosseum. Next to which was the Arch of Constantine standing strongly beside. Two days in Rome fulfilled an artistic experience I was destined for. But with so much more to see and as my coin in the Trevi fountain signifies, I will one day return to Rome.
please read on for more entries. – Entry #8
Filed under: Studying Abroad Journal
