Roma

This past weekend I, along with two friends (Nico and Shannon), went to Rome for a few days. We also met up with our friend Todd while we were there. (He was there visiting a friend and his girlfriend was flying in too) We took the overnight train on Thursday night, saving some money on a flight. Well, this was an adventure. The train left at about 11:30 PM and arrived in Rome at 7ish. This was a nightmare. There were no beds, and about 6 people in every little car. There were hordes of Middle Eastern men that were standing/sitting in the hallways who were trying to sneak free rides on the train. Every time the police would check for tickets, they would all run off the train, down some cars and then jump back on. They talked, joked, played music and kept all of us up and annoyed for a good 7 hours or so. I maybe had an hour of sleep throughout the whole ride. I just listened to music and sat there. Once we finally arrived in Rome, we went down into the metro to look at a map and find our bearings. We got directions from somenody in the metro and went to try and find the girls' hostel. (I was staying in a different place because I didn't decide I was going on this trip until after the girls had already booked everything. I stayed with Todd in a hostel the first night and by myself in another hostel the second night) We took the metro, walked a little bit and eventually found the place. The problem was that there was a problem with the pipes and so nobody could stay there. The girls had to move to a different hostel that was all the way across the city. It wasn't that big of a deal, just a hassle. They checked in and we put our stuff away. We then walked around for a little bit and ran into Todd. He and I went to check into our hostel shortly after that. The rest of the first day was spent walking around and seeing many things. This trip was very much so one of sightseeing. I don't think I have ever walked so much in a short amount of time. We saw the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the monument for Vittorio Emanuele II and a couple of very nice Plazas. That night I went to stay in a hostel that I had booked for myself and it was awesome. I had my own room and a massive, comfortable bed. It was a little expensive but so worth it for that night of peaceful, undisturbed sleep.

The second day that we were there we woke up and met at a very interesting basilica that was situated in downtown Rome. We then walked a lot through the city to make it to the Trevi Fountain, where we also decided to pick up a nice gelato. From the Fountain, we then walked to the Spanish Steps. We took many pictures from the top of the steps. The rest of the afternoon we spent in the Vatican Museum, touring through hundreds of artifacts, gazing at the Sistine Chapel ceiling and taking many more pictures. Afterwards, we walked around St. Peter's Square for a bit and then walked around a lot more of the city.

The third day, we woke up early and headed to St. Peter's Basilica in order to check it out and tour the top. It was an incredible view of the Square and of the city and it happened to be an absolutely beautiful day. We were leaving in the afternoon so we did not have a whole lot of time to accomplish a lot, but we still did the best we could. We walked to the Borghese park and decided that we would rent a surrey (http://www.google.it/imgres?q=surrey+bikes&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&qscrl=1&nord=1&rlz=1T4GGNI_enUS447US448&biw=745&bih=668&tbm=isch&tbnid=WhpvZ5ZefBHeMM:&imgrefurl=http://www.surreycompany.com/surrey.htm&docid=UFudRq2TlJv1FM&imgurl=http://www.surreycompany.com/images/DSC00683.JPG&w=247&h=262&ei=gJx4T-rtI9DUsgbsm9CtBA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=112&vpy=145&dur=113&hovh=209&hovw=197&tx=126&ty=107&sig=108811358009964459993&page=1&tbnh=145&tbnw=137&start=0&ndsp=9&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0) and ride it around the park for an hour. It was so much fun (and it felt great driving again, even if it didn't have a motor!). We then came back and got the girls' stuff from their hostel and headed towards the train station. We decided to hit a church on the way out and it was very nice. We then parted ways and came back to this lovely city. This past week we went on a cuisine and culture trip but that post will come later. Also, during this spring break, a couple of friends and I are going to London and Ireland. It's a great way to spend my birthday too!

Luke