Went to the Trevi Fountain and didn't meet Paulo :(

Bonjourno from Roma! Hanna and I are on our first stop through our European adventure in Rome, Italy.  We left London on Monday and will move to our next destination on Thursday to Venice! Due to our long trip we both decided it would be best to pack in a real person suitcase (contrary to our Scotland trip which we did in a backpack – I’ll probably brag about that accomplishment for the rest of my life).  Because we had to pack in a suitcase we splurged for flights that allow checked baggage – gettin’ real fancy over here. My flight into Rome was more difficult than expected.  I had a flight on Alitalia which is apparently an Italian based flight company since EVERYTHING was in Italian.  All the notices, signs and announcements were in Italian and occasionally I would see some English.  The flight attendants would also give an English announcement but their English wasn’t too great and so they would mumble the entire time.  This was extremely difficult for me because I’m already deaf as it is when people speak clear English so I usually just followed what others were doing or would pretend I hadn’t heard anything.  The best part of the flight was the friend I made!! I was sandwiched between two old men and the one on my right was really fun to talk to.  He gave me some insider tips on traveling in Rome – with hand drawn pictures and everything! It was really nice to meet someone who was so passionately in love with their home town.  He inspired me to be really excited to visit this amazing old city. 

We booked a hotel for safety reasons and made our way into central Rome after arriving.  I’ve officially decided that the ghetto follows me AKA I’m ghettolicious. The hotel is in a run down area that was a little frightening.  We got here around 10 pm last night and were completely lost. It was pitch dark because the street lights here are far and few in between. We dragged our suitcases underneath a dark bridge past a gang of teenagers and I was close to hyperventilation by the time we reached the holiday inn.  Rome has a history of really bad pickpocketing and mugging so I’ve been on high alert the entire time we’ve been here.

Today, we hit a ton of sightseeing since we only have two days here! We saw:

·      The Coliseum: Built in 100 AD for public fights and games.

·      The Palace (It has a different name but I can’t remember it): A palace built in 1000 for the kings and queens of the time.  It was ruined partially when the “Galls” (French) overtook Rome.

·      Roman Forum: An area of public buildings that was made a monument in Rome during Ceasar’s reign.

·      Pantheon: Biggest dome built with brick and modern architects doubt it could be replicated.

·      Spanish Steps

·      Trevi Fountain: Where Lizzie Maguire meets Paulo #DUH

Tonight, Hanna and I met up with Jack a friend from high school.  He is studying abroad here and we went out to dinner with him.  FOOD COMA FOR LYFE.  The restaurant was accommodating to college students with the baskets of free bread (we got three), large portion sizes, and free dessert.  Not only did we get all that free food, but the waiter enjoyed us so much that he gave us an extra bottle of wine! It was a great night with fun company and delicious food : )

Tomorrow we are going to the Vatican and any other Roman monument we need to see before we head to Venice.  I’m so blessed to have this experience and I still feel like I’m growing so much.  Nevertheless, I CANNOT WAIT TO COME BACK TO MINNE <3 18 days and counting. Words cannot express my excitement.