Sunday, March 13, 2011

An Evening In Roma

Ciao Everyone,

This was a lazy weekend spent studying for midterms and getting a feel for Florence nightlife. I don't go out during the week days due to early morning schedules and the past couple of weekends I have been traveling, so I used this weekend as an excuse to go to the nightclubs that people are always talking and raving about. A lot of fun, but I'd much rather spend my free days seeing the world than doing something that I could do back home in New York. But I digress, lets talk about Rome shall we? It has such a romantic feel to it and while I was initially worried about not having enough time to explore and see everything it has to offer, we were able to hit all of the major sites with enough down time to relax at night - special thanks to Shannon who is such a great organizer and has the best traveling tips!


We arrived in the early afternoon on Friday and explored the Villa Borghese which is a beautiful park that has enchanting views of the city. There was a point where we overlooked these beautiful steps with a million tourists on it. Little did we know that it was the Spanish Steps we were looking at! We returned to the train station to pick up our fourth friend who had to arrive in Rome a bit late because of a class and on the way we humorously tried to pick oranges from an orange tree that was far out of our reach. Once we were all together, we checked into our hostel and then explored the area, Travistera where we got dinner at a homey trattoria..the Coliseum was right around the corner! It was drizzling, but I felt that it kind of gave the area a magical touch to it. I had a Dean Martin soundtrack playing inside my head :)

First night's dinner - pasta con pomodoro


The next morning we woke up really early and booked it to the Vatican museum about 40 minutes before it opened. It was a smart move because we were one of the first people in and the first few rooms weren't as crowded. The museum was stunning..so many different rooms with different mediums of art. I did an audio tour which was another great decision as I could replay it as many times as I wanted. My camera started to die by the end of the tour (I was in there for about six hours and I didn't even notice) but I was lucky enough to have gotten all of the pictures that I wanted.That night, we grabbed dinner near our hostel area and then Christy and I went to see the Trevi Fountain at night which if I was by myself, I probably would have stayed there all night. Alas, we had to get back and help Shannon celebrate her 21 birthday!

Lana and I - waiting outside the Vatican Museum
Some works of art from inside the museum:


Raphaello's masterpiece fresco
A Vincent Van Gogh original art piece
A Salvador Dali original art piece
Sunday morning was another early start as we wanted to explore St. Peter's Basilica the afternoon before, but the line was outrageously long. When we got there early in the morning, there wasn't any line at all and the morning sun was so relaxing overlooking the square. We explored inside the church for about 45 minutes and then stayed for the morning mass. It was incredible to be in a mass where the Pope was and even though I had no idea what was being said since it was in Italian, I was able to observe the magnificent alter and try to catch onto the words. The afternoon was filled with exploring the ancient city and we got to ride bikes around the Coliseum - it was so surreal that it looked right out of a movie. We visited the Trevi Fountain again and ate gelato on the Spanish Steps. After the afternoon delight we caught the early train back to Florence and prepared for the week ahead.

In the Vatican
St. Peter's Basilica
Spanish Steps
Concentrating hard on my wish :)

I'm off to study for midterms - up next is Greece!
Eternally yours,
Stephanie

6 comments:

Closet Fashionista said...

Amazing shots! :D This is so fun :)
http://www.closet-fashionista.com/

Krysten @ Why Girls Are Weird said...

Oh my gosh, SO JEALOUS.

Fashion Cappuccino said...

Looks like such an amazing adventure! I want to visit Rome too! That pasta photo?! Yum! xoxoxoo

Leeann @ Join the Gossip said...

My number one travel destination would be Rome. I am a sucker for history and would be so excited to visit! Funny thing is, Greece is number two. Until the day when I can visit, you're blog will provide me with great pics and stories!!

Glad you are packing so much in and taking advantage of your time :)

Maddy said...

You're just like me, Stephanie! I would much rather sightsee, immersing myself in the food and culture rather than spending my vacation drunk and hangover! Sure, I love to dance, but perhaps once or twice when I vacation. Plus, nightclubs are all the same...whether in NYC or Rome :)

RUNWAY Blog said...

Me too! I want so bad! :)
So exciting paces to see, so much to discover! :)