When in Rome…

We took a train from Florence to Rome. It was short and not very scenic. When we got to Rome I went with Susie to her friend from home’s apartment. It snowed in rome for the first time since 1992 so all the cabs weren’t working. They claimed they didn’t know how to drive in the snow. It was horrible. The whole city like shut down. It was annoying and hard to go anywhere but very cool to witness Rome in the snow. After we got to the apartment, we went to the Roman Forum. It was cool to see the ruins. There is so much history in rome. It would be a cool place to study abroad. After that we went to the collesium. It was really cool. I see so many pictures of it and it was cool to be right there. It was where the gladiators fought. A fun fact is that there was so much blood that it had to go somewhere so they invented the drainage system to get rid of the blood. We also saw the Spanish steps when we first got off the metro. I didn’t realize what it was but took a picture anyways. We then went and got a slice of pizza. It was amazing. Just as good as I knew it would be. It was a cute little shop where everyone is standing around eating pizza out of a brown paper bag wrapped around it. The girls I was with got some yummy fried doughy dessert. It was great also. It was super cold so we went back to the apartment to warm up.

It was miserably cold and hard to go sightseeing, but I stuck it out and knew I had to see it all and fit it all in. I was dedicated to taking it all in. We then went to the Vatican. It was cool to see. The pope didn’t come out though. It was too snowy, so he stayed in! The Vatican was pretty beautiful. I then took a cab by myself to the hostel. It was gross but very cheap, so it was well worth it. I took a shower and had trouble leaving the shower because the hot water felt so good after being out in the cold for so long! We then went to the best restaurant in rome. Its called Tonys and was amazing. It was such a scene though. Everyone that was visiting went there. I walked in and saw the entire jewish population from the east coast. We ate fried calamari that I didn’t really care for. We also got chicken parmasan and penne vodka. We got a lot of wine for free. We also got free dessert. There were no cabs, so we couldn’t find a way to get to the club that our friends were going to. We gave up on trying to find transportation, and figured it wasn’t worth it. We ended up going to this restaurant and got a few drinks with the Arizona boys. We stayed out for a while. We couldn’t get a cab home so we hitchhiked. I was with the Arizona boys and this guy in a brown Mercedes picked us up and it was super shady. When we woke up in the morning we went to this restaurant and got what was called an “American breakfast.” It was stupid of us but it was really great. It was eggs and pancakes and then we split a waffle with nutella it was AMAZING! We then left for the airport. On the way to the airport I found this graffiti on a wall. All of my friends call me ZAS and I saw it sprayed on a building. I immediately stopped the cab and ran out to take a picture. After I got my picture, I hopped back in the cab and proceeded to the airport. 

All in all Rome was a great trip. I would love to go there sometime when it is nicer out.

Firenze

So we get to Florence and it was already kind of bizarre that the plane didn’t pull up right to the gate. We had to take a smelly bus with everyone packed in like sardines. When we get in the cab and we tell the driver we are from America he played “god bless the usa” which was so funny. He was trying to make us feel like we are home. We finally got to Jackie’s apartment. It was amazing. It was the biggest thing I have ever seen. Jackie took us to Za za’s which was really good. I got pizza because I felt like I had to in italy. It was AMAZING pizza! When we got back to the apartment we got dressed. We then went to a pregame where I saw a lot of my friends from college.  It was really fun and good to see people. After that we went to the club which was not that much fun. It was really small and just had a bunch of VIP rooms. After a not so great night at the club we walked 1 whole hour home on the cobblestone in my heels and tank top. We walked with a large group of guys, but still it was horrible. They don’t take cabs in Florence. I don’t understand why but Jackie said she does this every night. When we woke up in the morning, we went to The Diner which was really good. It was all American food which I am kind of missing here in Barcelona. I got a salad with feta (my favorite) yumm. It was such a scene! I saw everyone I knew. I even saw Susie (my roommate in Barcelona). In Florence you see everyone because it is so small.

After lunch we went to the Duomo (Florence Cathedral). It was really beautiful.  Overall I don’t think that Florence was that pretty but the duomo is amazing and blew me away. It has a gothic style and was completed in 1436. It is topped with a huge dome. Inside it looks like a normal church, but 30 times the size of one. There are these candles that you can light for a loved one who is gone. At the time, I had felt lucky because no one I had known had died. Jill lit it for her grandparents. Jackie and I lit it for the troops in Iraq. I wish I could go back and light one for my dad. We then hiked up halfway. It was a tiring hike. We didn’t go the whole way because it was really high up and a lot of steps but halfway was still a strenuous hike. After that we went to the Ponte Vecchio which is pretty but it is so famous and overrated. It is just a bridge with a bunch of nice jewelry shops on it. After that we went to their main department store.We also made a wish at this famous pig. You rub the nose and throw a penny in the pigs mouth and it slides down with water into a drain. Then we went to astor which is a cute coffe/wine shop. Jackie said people go there to pregame a lot. We got a glass of wine and just chilled. We then went to this restaautrant acqua al due. They are famous for their blueberry steak which of course I had to get. I feel like I don’t get enough meat in Barcelona because the meat kind of grosses me out. The steak was really good it didn’t really taste like Blueberrys.

After dinner we went to the club. It was an okay club. A lot of locals go there. We hung out with all Barcelona people and Jackie. We might as well have been at a club in Barcelona. When we tried leaving the club Jill wasn’t allowed. We were so confused. The deal was that when you walk in they give you a ticket and you have to hang onto it. Luckily, I put mine in my purse even though I thought it was just a promoter giving me something I didn’t want. Jill lost hers. She ended up having to pay 50 euros to physically get her body out of the club.  It was ridiculous. Took a toll on our night. When we got home I passed out and I felt bad but Jackie slept on the hard floor while Jill and I got the bed. We woke up in the morning and took a train to Rome. The train was an hour and a half.