Annoying vendors, amazing food, and breathtaking architecture- my exploits in Rome

The Pantheon

Bonjour a tous! It is time yet again for a new blog post! Before I get into my traveling adventures, I must talk about a momentous step that occurred yesterday.... I bought my plane ticket home. I have three weeks exactly left here in France. It is both strange, sad, and wonderful all at once. A few of my friends who were in a shorter program left this past weekend. It is really hard to comprehend that they are actually back in the States, not just on a trip somewhere else. My study abroad program is coming to an end and in three weeks, I will be back home. I am super excited to see my boyfriend (5 1/2 long months since I've seen him), my family, my friends, my cats, my home. It'll be weird not having to translate things into French. I know it will take time to get used to just speaking in English, but I am going to try and keep practicing so that I don't lose all the progress I have made here.

At the Trevi Fountain

Early yesterday morning, I returned from a week of visiting Rome, Italy and it was amazing. I took a train while my friends were on the bus for 16 hours. My bank was being stupid and wouldn't accept my payment so the tickets were all sold out and I went on the train. Twice as expensive, but WAY less time and more comfortable. I arrived around 6pm Sunday night and we went to our hostel. It was in a great place, right by Termini station, so getting around was super easy. We went to the Spanish steps for the first time that night. We got some gelato and people-watched for a while.

The next day, the weather was horrible: it would alternate pouring rain with beautiful sunshine and then just clouds. It was bizarre. Every hour, the weather switched. Anyways, we went to the Vatican that day, including climbing up to the Cupola and going into St. Peter's Basilica. We were lucky in some respects that the weather was so bad, because the crowds weren't as horrible as they might have been. I still felt like I was in Disneyland, except I didn't have fun rides to go on after waiting in line. It was still really cool to visit. Climbing up to the Cupola was particularly fun, as the stairs got narrower and narrower and the ceiling slanted diagonally as we climbed higher.

Inside St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican

We then had a very disappointing pizza from a place nearby. Seriously, one of the worst pizzas I have had ever. So bland. Luckily, I had other great pizzas in Italy. After lunch, we went to the Trevi fountain. We had stopped by in the morning, but all the water was drained, but when we went back, the water was running. We stayed a while there, which I enjoyed. It is super relaxing and a great spot to people-watch as well.

The next day, we went to the Vatican museums. It was super huge. I didn't even realize how big they were until we were trying to leave. The intricacy and detailing of all the artwork and architecture is just mind-blowing. One of the last stops was the Sistine Chapel. It was rather surreal to really be looking up at Michelangelo's masterpiece. We couldn't take pics inside, which was kinda lame. The room was packed, because everyone wanted to go.

A statue of Artemis in the Vatican museum

After the Sistine Chapel, we went and explored a couple of really pretty piazzas, This would be a good point to talk about the annoying street vendors. They are my least favorite aspect of Rome. They sell all kinds of stuff and some are incredibly persistent  Even if you say no, they'll follow you and keep trying to talk to you. They are several varieties: the overpriced tour guides, the rose sellers, the purse/clothing people, the beer people, the annoying squeaky toy seller, and the laser pointer people. By the Colosseum and the Vatican, the tour guide people were out in force. They try and lure you in by saying you can skip the lines, but they are so overpriced it's not worth it. The rose people give you roses as a free gift and then demand money afterwards. They clearly don't understand the meaning of "Free gift". I hated the squeaky toys- their only demographic is middle school boys and I am surprised they can make enough money off them to continue. The laser pointer people just move the laser up and down your body all creepy-like, which does not inspire anyone to buy anything from them. The most annoying, though, were on the beach. We're trying to just enjoy the sun and every few minutes, a seller would come by. It was super annoying. I am glad we don't have that in the US.

Dancin' in the Colloseum

Ok. Rant is over. That night, we went to an Irish pub, The Fiddler's Elbow. I tried Harp beer for the first time and really liked it. There was an Irish singer who played and sang according to audience requests. He was hilarious, he laughed at his own jokes, and his laugh was infectious. We had a great time there. We were in front so we suggested most of the songs.

The next day, we went to the Colosseum and the Roman forum. I was super excited for this day. As a huge history nerd, especially ancient Roman history, I was geeking out. It was surreal and awesome to be there and to be walking around the ruins, imagining what life was like back then.

Ancient Roman Stadium

The following morning, we took the tram for 30 minutes to get to the nearby beach. We spent the whole day there. It was relaxing and the weather was gorgeously sunny and warm (high 80's in temp.). I also swam in the Mediterranean, which was my first time ever swimming in the sea. It was so much fun and so lovely. That was one of the highlights of my trip. I might actually go swim in the ocean now that I've done it once and discovered how fun it is.

That night was our last night in Rome, so we went and had some great pasta (my first in Italy). Then, we went back to the Spanish steps one last time. We made friends with three Italian med students sitting behind us and hung out with them for a while. After, we got one final beer at the Fiddler's Elbow.

Swimming in the Mediterranean

Our trip home was super long. Our bus ride started at 11:45AM and we didn't back to Grenoble til 3AM the following morning. We did stop quite a bit, which was nice. At first, we all had two seats to ourselves, which was amazing and comfortable. But later, the bus was too crowded for that. We
actually got in an hour earlier than scheduled. We then had to walk home in the rain with all our baggage since the tram doesn't start running til 5ish.

So, those were my Roman adventures. I had an amazing time, ate great food and lots of gelato, and saw some amazing sights. I had a great time with Meddie, Kaylee, and Ariel. This was a nice break before I have to start studying a ton for my finals (which start in a week). They are spread over two weeks and I am nervous because for my elective courses, the final is the sole grade. I will be studying like a maniac the next few weeks. A bientot, tout le monde!