Quando a Roma...
Rome.
La bella cittá. This city was one of those times where it just literally 'clicked'-I am here, in Italy, living my dream. Every day that I wake up in Europe, I literally still cannot believe I am here. It is just so surreal..
Thursday night my friend Amaris and I departed for the city of Rome and we arrived in the city around 8:30pm and headed with our backpacks to my friend Cesar's apartment who we stayed with the first night. As we were walking through the entire city, we were laughing and talking when I first saw it and literally GASPED. The Colosseum was right before my eyes. I feel so blessed to have been given the opportunity to see so many of Rome's amazing monuments multiple times, at night and in the daytime.
The Colosseum is so beautiful..though we were on the outside and it was around 9pm, there was a full moon in the sky and nothing more beautiful. We made it to my friend's apartment and it worked out perfectly. Since he is doing the UC Rome program, he really knows the city of Rome. We woke up and headed out with our backpacks to our hostel to drop our bags off (after getting our €1 euro cappuccinos and croissants, of course) and our first hostel experience was an interesting one. After taking an elevator from the 16th century to the 5th floor, we knocked on the door to the hostel immediately to find it opened by a shirtless guy who greeted us with a "Buon Giorno Ragazze!" and blasting rock music. It was definitely an adventure..but since our hostel was right next to the Vatican, we did that first.
The Vatican was spectacular. We went to mass in la Basilicata di San Pietro (St. Peter's Basilica) and the entire service was in Italian. I understood almost every word, which was just the confirmation I was looking for from God the week before, being stressed out with Italian and school, wishing I started out at level 1, not knowing anything. The mass was beautiful, though I was a bit distracted with the massiveness and beauty of the Basilica. Can you BLAME me? After the mass, we hiked up to the dome of the Basilica, all the way to the top of the inside of the dome, and past the outside to witness the most sensational view of Rome and the Vatican.
Afterwards, we walked over to the Vatican Museum which contains the Sistine Chapel. I literally cannot describe what my face looked like when I walked in, I wish I could. I will just say I am pretty sure my jaw was dropped for a good 35 minutes and I don't remember if I blinked in fear that if I would, I would miss something.
We spent over 5 hours at the Vatican, and I am SO glad that we did. Calling my mom right as I was inside the Sistine Chapel was something else. I wanted her and Dad there with me, so I thought hearing their voices would make it seem like they were sharing this amazing experience with me. Not exactly, but one day, we will all go in person.
The Spanish Steps were next. I've always said that when I get married, I want to be proposed to on the Spanish Steps and while we were there, we saw a bride and groom walking down the steps. Foreshadowing? Maybe? Who knows...but this place is incredible. It is just so very crowded, so after Amaris and I went back to our hostel to shower, we got dressed to go out, in hopes to see more of the sights a little less crowded with less tourists.
First stop. Trevi Fountain at night. There was nearly nobody there..nobody. We were so fortunate, we were going to see it the next day anyways to make our wishes, but we decided to see it twice because it is worth seeing 100 times over. Afterwards, we made it to the Spanish Steps, where it was about 2am and nobody was in sight. We had the steps to ourselves.
Upon walking around the city, we were on a hunt for a bar to get some wine to drink on the Spanish Steps and just couldn't seem to find an open bar anywhere nearby. So, naturally, we spontaneously found a houseboat on the Tevere River and got into a Swing Dancing club on a boat for free. We were literally taken back into the twenties with live jazz music and a view of amazing swing dancers wearing mary janes, bright red lipstick, and dresses that flow when they turn with a white collar around the neck. It was AMAZING. Such amazing talent and seriously, so random..but When In Rome, right?
The next morning we went to the Pantheon, which was really something else. The collums from which this structure was built just a little past when Christ died, were enormous. The only light that illuminates the structure is the sun, with a HUGE opening on the top of the dome.
La fontana di Trevi...
My favorite place in Rome. We stayed there for nearly two hours, took our time making all three wishes. Wish #1: To return to Rome. Wish #2: To find romance and Wish #3: To have a happy and prosperous marriage. Yes, I made all three. I know for sure the first one will be coming true..I will make sure of it. Afterwards, I drank from the fountain of love. Legend has it that if you come to Rome with your fiancé, husband, lover, whatever it may be, if you both drink from the fountain of love and break a glass bottle on the rocks, you will never get divorced and it seals the bond between the two people and becomes their destiny to be together.
Il Colosseo
This place.
Oh yes..this place...literally, here was where it clicked. As I climbed the steps and turned to my left to enter the spectacular view of the entire Colosseum, I took a deep breath, and opened my eyes to the astonishing view in front of me. I was literally taken back to the time of the Gladiators and the sun was setting, with the clouds and sun shining right over the entire Colosseum. This was where it hit me.."Anna, you are in Rome. Roma, Italia. You are here." I almost had to take a step back because I was overwhelmed for a minute or two. As amazing as the pictures do look, it was so amazing in person. SO amazing..and so beautiful.
So much history. So much effort. So much hard work and so much culture. It is incredible to think that literally people from every country of the world come to visit this place because it has so much history and importance from the times of the Roman Empire. It is just amazing to think that this structure was created by mankind only 70 years after Jesus walked the Earth.
And it is still standing perfectly today.
WHAT. IS. THIS. What am I doing. Where am I.
Please pinch me, before I wake up myself and realize this is not real. I dare you. Let's see what happens..
But no..it is.
