Ro-ma, Ro-ma-ma

A nine o’clock University class and frigid, drizzly skies made it a lot tougher to jump back into reality this week.  Today, Adair and I returned to the Questura police station for the fourth time.  Yes, the fourth time.  Fortunately, this time we left with Italian ID cards in hand and will never have to return again. (Or so we hope.)

Anyhow, our long weekend in Rome could not have possibly been any better.  Being November, there were hardly any tourists--in Rome this probably means that there were only millions instead of billions--and the weather was an ideal, seventy-five degrees and sunny all weekend long.

Although it was my second time in Rome, I was no less amazed than my friends who were experiencing the Colosseum and St. Peter’s Basilica for the first time.  Honestly, I think that the sight of things that were built in the year 80, when it is now 2010, will always be mind-boggling to me.

It was a bit strange, at first, to be in Rome because it is a city that I have seen once before.  The last time, nearly five years ago, I was accompanied by my mom, Nana, cousin, and two aunts.  The six of us explored the ruins among the elite--staying in a lavish hotel and unearthing Rome without the hassle of infinite, tourist lines.  As my friends and I were climbing the steps up to Capitoline Hill, I couldn’t help but imagine the girls in my family all there together just a short time ago, one April afternoon.

Well...my trip to Rome this time was pretty much monotonous with my stay a few years back. Ha ha ha. Riiiiiight.  

Trade in the princess-bed and giant, mousse-filled, chocolate Easter eggs for a family-owned hostel in Chinatown complete with wash-cloth-sized towels and fragile, tin door keys and you’ve got yourself a pretty fair swap. (I actually snapped our door key in half while trying to get in one night... whoops).  

Nonetheless, my friends and I made a pretty, solid, travel-group.

Lessons aced:

1. Public transportation

It’s pretty cool to think that we have now mastered the subway systems in Munich, London, and Rome.  Deciphering the route from our hostel to the Vatican was a breeze.  

Success.

2. Speaking Italian

Because Rome is such a large city and most of the international, college students do not need to learn the language to get around, we impressed nearly every waiter and salesperson that we came across by merely throwing out a few, Italian phrases with ease. 

Success.

Campo dei Fiori & its myriad of outside restaurants

3. Prolonged, Euro meals

Italians like to eat for hours. Seriously, hours. Thus, they despise the American tourists that enter restaurants for a quick, dine-and- ditch. Anyway, we spent over two hours one night in an outside restaurant in Campo dei Fiori enjoying the weather, our food, and the conversation. 

Success.

Lessons learned:

1. Phone chargers

In the U.S., Americans would never go anywhere without a phone charger. It’s just plain silly--what happens when your phone dies? You’re fully disconnected from the universe. 

Well, since none of us are especially connected to the universe right now, none of us thought to pack a phone charger. 

Result: Four out of four, dead phones after Day 1.

2. Coperto 

Nope, that's not a baseball mitt; it's a pastry

There's no way you're worth the sitting fee

In Italy, you are not required to tip the waiter.  Instead, there is something called a “coperto” which is your cover charge or sitting fee.  In restaurants, the two essentially cancel one another out.  In coffee shops, the coperto often comes as a bit of a surprise. Though we have grown accustomed to taking our coffee standing up in Florence to avoid a coperto, we let the vacation get to us on Breakfast #1 in Rome. Never sit down with your coffee in Italy. 

Result: A ridiculous bill for a pastry and cappuccino.

3. Busy Metro Trains 

Part A: If the Metro is busy, it is never a good idea for a group to try to get on a train together. 

Result: All of us entering the train, my friends getting off the train before it left, me being stuck on the train.  

I was absolutely terrified.  Luckily, I was manually yanked from the train and saved before it departed. In retrospect, it is hilarious to think about my friends screaming my name (inaudibly to me, of course) while I was squashed in the midst of a huge crowd of people (unable to move my arms or legs)... imagine the scene in “Finding Nemo” when Dory is stuck in the net of fish.  I was Dory.

Part B: If the Metro is busy, it is never a good idea for a group to try to leave a train together. 

Result: All of us attempting to exit the train, my friends getting stuck on the train, me exiting the train solo.  

Again, terrifying...this time, because the train actually left and I was separated from my tre amici senza a functioning cell phone. Whoops.

Despite a few, minor mishaps, we managed to see all of the major sights--the Spanish Steps, the Colosseum, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Trevi Fountain, you name it--during our four, fabulous days in the city.

The Spanish Steps at night!

Roman sculptures in the Colosseum. Casual.

The Vatican Museum was such a treat, as always.  As a student of Museology, here at L’Universita degli Studi di Firenze, I can honestly say that it is the best collection in the world.  

Yup, that was pretty, darn nerdy.  Deal with it.  

Honestly though, there are so many amazing pieces of art work in one place, that it blows my mind.  It also genuinely excites me that I was able to personally experience the Laocoon, the Belvedere Torso, the Stanze di Raffaelo... all of the pieces that I studied in my Antiquity class at Holy Cross last semester.  We also spent a good forty-five minutes in the Sistine Chapel, admiring Michelangelo’s masterpiece.  I could spend a day there.

We passed our last evening in Rome at the Trevi Fountain, people-watching as usual.  We decided that if we were studying in Rome, instead of Florence, the steps at the Trevi Fountain would probably replace the Duomo steps as “our steps.”  

Sticking with good ritual, I tossed a coin into the fountain before departing.  Legend has it that tossing a coin in the fountain ensures a return trip to Rome...

Next stop: Madrid.

Dear Eva & Spain---I hope you're ready for this!