When in Rome...

Ciao Bellos! We are in Roma, Italia now. There are so many Rome phrases: "All roads lead to Rome." "Rome wasn't built in a day." When in Rome, do as the Romans." but after actually going to Rome they all make complete sense. When we arrived in Rome we didn't chance using anything other than a taxi (after what happened in Florence) to get us to our apartment. Luckily, our taxi driver dropped us off right around the corner (more like corners) from our address which was located right next to Piazza Navona. Now, it made perfect sense to the Roman taxi driver to drop us off where he did, but very little sense to us. We had a half-complete map of Rome (per favore, if you are planning a trip to Rome splurge on a map specifically for Rome) The larger streets were labeled and so were the major sights, but the chance that what you are looking for was actually on a major street... slim to none. After walking in circles around our neighborhood and asking 3 different people, we finally got perfect directions to the world's shortest street: Via Montegiordano. We were a short one and a half, maybe two minute walk from Piazza Navona. If you are wondering where to stay in Rome stick to areas around Campo di Fiore and Piazza Navona.

As soon as we dropped off our luggage we headed out to explore. We came across a cute little Bakery, it reminded us of all the Boulangeries in Paris. The ladies working were super friendly and joking back and forth, you could tell they loved their jobs... so Italian.

The bakery's store front

The treats.

Later that day for dinner we walked over to Piazza Navona and tried to decide between either a cheap meal or a pricier meal. Now, in Rome (and Italy in general) there are 4 types of meals: Super cheap pizza by the slice, cheap delizioso Italian food from a small restaurant, pricier forgettable food in a great location (i.e. sitting outside in a Piazza) or a pricier fine dining restaurant. Rick Steve said to eat cheap in Rome, but splurge at least once on either a drink or meal at a restaurant in a piazza.  We had a nice long meal full of supremo people watching. We chit-chatted with the waiters and it was decided we would go to Campo de' Fiori for some drinks with our new friend Sam the waiter.

Chapter 2: When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
Those who know me well, know how much I LOVE to dance. I may not be good at it, but if there is good music and others dancing I will join in! By this time it was coming up on midnight (Kailey and I are always down for a good time, but usually we push for the 'good times' to get rolling before the early morning hours). So it turned out that our friend Sam loved to dance and he knew of some Discotecas (aka Clubs) close by, so the plan was to hang out and have a drink in Campo de' Fiori and then head over to the Disco. Turns out in Rome the discos don't START till TWO IN THE MORNING!!!! We hung out in Campo de' Fiori as long as we could before begging to make our way to the disco. Sam warned us that 1:30 was still too early and no one would be there... and he was right. Finally by 2 there were enough people on the dance floor for the DJ to start spinning the dancing music. Kailey is like most of my friends and doesn't care too much for dance clubs so she was a trooper and a real friend staying up late and letting me enjoy some time on the dance floor: Shout out to Kay Wiggity-Wags!!! And ladies: Sam had rhythm. ;) Later that night we walked back over to Piazza Navona on our way home. Those of you who have been to Rome know that all the major monuments are surrounded by guards 24/7, all except the fountain in Piazza Navona:
Kailey: Could people go inside this fountain?
Sam: Why? You want to go in there?
Kailey: Ya, could we?
Sam: If you want, you could. But you better do it now.
Kailey & I: OMG! Are you serious? Let's go!!!

Thankfully we had made a friend so we got real evidence of Kailey and I jumping into the fountain at 3:30 in the morning... When in Rome...

The best part was after he took the pictures he was yelling for us to hurry up and get out. Apparently he has never actually seen anyone go jump in before. We thought people did stuff like that all the time because in movies people are always jumping in the Trevi Fountain (so not possible, you can't even touch the water without having a whistle blown at you by a female guard with a unibrow... not really... but they are pretty intimidating) but I heard you could get fined if you are caught... oops!

The Evidence.

Here is a picture of the whole fountain.

The next day we spent the whole day at the Colosseum and Roman Forum. I wish I had pictures to show, but once again... technical difficulties. I will never forget how weird and super cool it was to be walking to the Colosseum (with a map, we finally bought one... but that wasn't the cool part) so we were walking to the Colosseum to meet up with Brian, Sarah and Calvin (friends from Paris) and we turned a corner and out of nowhere there were these trench type areas filled with Ancient Roman ruins. You see all of Rome built up around these massive pieces of history. They look untouched. Then, as we walked across a walkway with Roman and Trojan ruins al around we turned the corner and at the end of the street we could see The Colosseum... Breathtaking.

 As I am writing this I am not too sure what my blog this doing, but I keep trying to tell it to put my text in certain spots, but it isn't listening to me... The picture of the food up there ^ was my dinner at Cul de Sac and the picture up and to the left is inside the restaurant. Notice the wine lining the walls? They have over 1000 wines to choose from!!!

After dinner I planned to take the group on Rick Steve's Night Walk Through Rome. Let me tell you all a little about my friend Rick. He was my mentor during my trip to Italy. I purchased his book from Barnes & Nobel before I left and we treated that book like the Bible. He gave us a quick overview of the Italian culture and what to expect, as well as where and how to spend our money, the best places to eat and which places were worth a visit. He even outlines walks through major cities in Italy, and the Night Walk Through Rome was by far his best! The walk started at Campo de' Fiori and then went to Piazza Navona, the Parliament Building, The Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and finished at the Spanish Steps. Along the way he points out Italy's famous gelaterias and Italy's oldest coffee shop, as well as some of the famous places to go for cafe granita con panna (frozen coffee slush with whipped cream) and tartufo (the richest dark chocolate gelato). Rome wasn't built in a day, so only 4 nights in Rome was not enough. There are so many things to do and see, and this night walk was one of my favorites! All throughout Italy we saw travelers with the same Rick Steve's Italy book in their hand (which was a perfect conversation starter) and on our night walk we noticed a couple sitting on the bench next to us at the Tervi Fountain turned to the same page we were on! We couldn't pass up the opportunity to talk about our favorite Rick recommendations, lol. They were doing the SAME walk at the SAME time on the SAME day as us! We all walked over to the Spanish Steps together and they told us how they were on their honeymoon... HOW ROMANTIC!!!!!!

Seriously though, if you are going to Italy please do not hesitate to call and ask to borrow my book, I will be so excited to help a friend out! :)

Me, Kailey and Sarah at the Trevi Fountain

Caffe Giolitti- Rome's most famous gelateria.

The gelato was truly amazing, but be careful, they don't skimp! They even top it off with a dollop of homemade whipped cream. The Oreo Biscotti was my favorite. After we paid and got our ticket we had to wait in a huge line (you only see the tail end of it in this picture) and I overheard someone say in English "The Italians don't know the meaning of the word 'queue.'" (The English's word for 'line') So that was my cue to push my way to the front... When in Rome. I got in and out fast! That's one thing traveling taught me: If that's the way they do it there, join in!

At the Pantheon there was a street performer singing our new favorite song Time to Say Goodbye by Andrea Bocelli with a huge crowd surrounding him. The timing of our arrival was perfect.

The Pantheon

Trevi Fountain... again.

... and again...

It was full of people

The Spanish Steps= Some the the best people watching. There are guys selling beer out of plastic bags so every time a guard came close to them they booked it! And then there were other guys selling roses and the way they suckered people into buying them was to give them to a woman who was with a man, let her hold on to the rose thinking it was a free gift and then after a couple minutes tell the guy to pay for the rose or she has to give it back. Sad part is that it actually worked sometimes... dumb.

After the walk Kailey and I went to a famous McDonalds right next to the Spanish Steps (Rick told us about it) to use their WC and this place was HUGE and super nice! They had espresso machines, pastries, hamburgers, fries, and gelato! It's hard to see exactly now nice and huge this place was... but we almost got lost trying to find our way to the bathrooms.

Italy's Oldest Coffee Shop. I never had a chance to go during the day when it was open... Looks like I have to go back to Rome!

St. Peter's Square

View from St. Peter's Basilica looking out to St. Peter's Square. I don't know why the coloring looks like that, but I kinda like it.

On our third day in Rome we went to The Vatican Museum and saw the Sistine Chapel. Kailey also has illegal pictures of that one too! It was beautiful. To think one man painted the whole room in 4 years in unbelievable. 

This was at the Vatican Museum. The Pope asked Michelangelo to restore it 3 times, and he said no 3 times... no one says no to the pope. (Thanks to Sarah I knew that fun fact) He said it was too beautiful.

The Vatican Museum was beautiful.

The Vatican City is guarded by Swiss Guards. Its a very desired job. Only those who live there or have prescriptions for medications that are only available in Vatican City are allowed in. Oh, and gas is supposedly really cheap there... random facts I don't remember how I know them. I think Kailey read them in Rick Steve's book and then told me.

This was my dinner one night when I ordered the "seasonal veggies." No joke. The whole table was confused. We thought for sure this was the side plate to go with the boy's meat dish, but sure enough this was my meal. I got grilled veggies at other restaurants and usually it was peppers, eggplant and squash, but not here.

As we were eating we noticed a nun who also ordered the seasonal veggie plate...

We were all laughing for a good ten minutes as we watched her shovel the spinach into her mouth... oh, and the plaid hanging from her collar is indeed the linen napkin!

 After dinner we walked along the river where we found little tents where people had their shops, kind of like what you would find at a farmer's market. Then we found this guy who had ping pong tables you could rent by the half hour... so much fun! Kailey dominated!

During our travel study in Paris we made friends with Kailyn who studied in Rome for 5 months and she told us about some of her favorite spots in Rome. Lucky for us all of them were right in our neighborhood, including FRIGIDARIUM!!!

Frigidarium= Our favorite gelateria in the WORLD. They dip it in cioccolato that hardens. We even went here on our last day before leaving Rome... in the rain.

View of the Tiber River

Kailey got us a caricature made... at this point we had no idea what it looked like. 

We were shocked! He kept telling us "You are beautiful girls! But you make good funny!"

My favorite pizza.

I wish...

Our last night it Rome we went back to the Trevi Fountain at 2am because Rick said it was the best time to go when there weren't hundreds of people crowded around... he was right, yet again!

One last stop at Frigidarium in the rain!

All of our luggage.

Ciao Italia, mio amore!!!