rome.

when in rome. where to begin. i have so many stories to write about and way too many pictures i want to share. in bologna, i didn't have internet so i didn't write down the address or directions to my hostel in rome. i remember it had said it was near the trevi fountain, so i decided i would go to the fountain and start asking around if anyone had heard of it. after carrying my 30lb. bag for an hour with no luck in finding it, i decided i better find an internet cafe. i got directions to walk about 10 minutes. i could not find the streets i wanted and decided to go back to where i started and try the other direction. that didn't work either so i started again. this time i asked someone on every street where the next one was. low and behold, i had been around the corner the first time if i had just kept going. two hours later i rang the bell to the hostel. i was sweating and exhausted, but just laughed at myself. i put my stuff down and went exploring.

i came across this little park that was so cute and perfect. i laid down to relax because i was still sweating and write in my journal. the sun was so warm. i had my first experience with couples in rome. it really is a romantic place, but everywhere you look there were people making out. this couple next to me was so gross--i could hear the smacking. yuck.

i think i was trying to find the pantheon, but every corner i turned, there was something new to see. this was an exquisite monument to all the fallen roman soldiers. it was massive in size.
next i visited the pantheon. it was gorgeous. so strange to visit a place you read about in school for so many years.

i wandered over to piazza navona to see what it had to offer. i was so excited to see this music circle happening. they were trying to raise awareness for something that i couldn't read about. i think hazardous gases? anyway, i joined in of course and played a little shaker thing for 45 min. finally when some people got up, i was able to go to the drum. however, my rhythm is so off that i think i was messing up everyone around me. there were young kids and old men. if we were to have spoken, i could not communicate in their language, but it was SO beautiful to be connected through music. for than hour we were all able to understand the same thing and be joined as one. i think i smiled for that entire hour as well.


my next wandering led me to this "outside museum." this man had set up all these little art pieces with text about rome. here were my favorites. "saying or writing that rome is an open-air museum is too easy. it should be demonstrated in its little details."

when i got to piazza popolo, i entered the church where the two carravagio paintings hang. and wa-la mass had just begun. i joined in and even though i couldn't understand anything (in the longest homily ever) i sat and reflected and loved every minute of it.

i found some stairs that people were coming down, so i went up to see what was there. it was a beautiful site overlooking rome. then i continued walking along the side walk, each step getting more beautiful. then, right as the sun was setting, i got to the top of the spanish steps, found a seat on top of a wall, and observed the people of rome. i hope i never forget how beautiful that site was. the colors of the sky and the life swarming below me.

so i didn't ACTUALLY know at the time that i was above the spanish steps. the map makes the city look so much larger than it is in real life so i hadn't realized i had walked so far. when i went down and looked back, i saw where i had been sitting.

i took another trip to the trevi fountain because my book had said that it was better at night time. it was really great. i sat down on the end, not thinking about how it was wet, and had my picture taken. i stood up and my pants were soaked. oh how silly of me. i dropped in two coins because 1 coin means you'll be back to rome soon, 2 coins means you'll find love, and i later found out 3 coins means you'll get married soon. however, i had missed the part of the story that one has to throw the coins backwards with the left arm. i just sort of plopped them in the water. my bad.

since i had such a long day, i decided to make it an early night and go to the grocery store for some food. i could not find one any where though and i saw some boys carrying grocery bags. i said "excusa, where is the grocery store?" they had just gone to the little market and were having difficulty telling me where a store was, but they asked me what i was doing. i said traveling around alone. then! they invited me to have dinner with them. so i said sure, why not. (they didn't appear to be killers). i found out a few minutes later that they were visiting from spain. that helped communication a bit since i know some basics of spanish. unfortunately, though my spanish is rusty. AND that different accent in spain was throwing me off a bit. the "th" instead of the "c." it was "grathias" instead of "graCias." they were staying in the same hostel as me. the girl, carolina, and jesus were studying in milan so when their friends came to visit, they visited rome for a few days. i cannot thank them enough for inviting me to dinner (i think they are reading this :). after dinner they planned to see the trevi fountain at night. i had already been way too many times that day, but i figured it would be fun.

we trekked down the hill and sat watching. maybe one of the funniest things i have ever seen occurred. this old lady was trying to throw her coins into the fountain, but instead of going close to the fountain, she was doing it from the top. we were sitting below her and when she threw her coins, they landed right in front of us, very far from the fountain. i almost peed myself from laughing. i really got a kick out of it. i caught a picture of her later when she was trying again a little closer to the water this time.

i think there were some funny things i was going to add about my new friends, but i have forgotten. they were really really lovely people and i was glad to have met them.

the next day i went to the edward hopper museum. he painted this:
and this:

i fell in LOVE with his work. i could have stayed in there all day just looking at the vivid colors. then i went to the monet museum. i looove impressionism. i really dug it. it was a nice break from religious art.

i decided to ditch my map and just explore because when i look down at my map, i miss half the things to see. so i saw the old roman ruins, which was very neat.



i saw some other things too that aren't worth posting. then i found this little garden and i was the only person in it. it was nice to escape the tourists.

this little girl was digging these posts. she was going around and around and around. so cute.

then i found a cute little church and went to pray for a while. when i left, an italian man had just parked his scooter and asked me for the time (in italian). i knew he was asking because i heard "hora" or something, which is similar to spanish. i had forgotten my watch that day and so i said sorry i don't know and pointed to my empty wrist. he asked me where i was from (in english this time). i said chicago and he said how he had visited his aunt and uncle in san diego and also visited phoenix. i said oh! that's where i'm actually from. then, he told me how he was on his break in between work and school. he is working on his masters in archeology and has his thesis due next week. he asked if i would like to see a special spot that tourists don't know about. he could show me on his break and then circle on my map places to see. so i said sure!



i hopped on his motorbike and we rode a few minutes to this hill. it was spectacular. so so so gorgeous and only about 6 other people there. we sat under a tree and it began to pour. he ran to the store and bought champagne and we sat and drank and looked at the map. he was quite a nice young man. then he wanted to show me another place so we hopped back on the scooter and he took me to the old roman GYM. i wondered if he knew i loved to go to the gym. it was amazing. then, he needed to get to school so he dropped me off at the colloseum. i felt like marykate and ashley in the movie when in rome. we planned to meet up the next night.


so the rain was really coming down, but i sucked it up and saw the colloseum. it is weird to think about how much blood was shed there and everything that took place. since i was soaking wet and really cold in my skirt, i headed home to relax for the evening. my legs have never been so tired.