So we made it to Rome safely. That last post ended in a little bit of a cliffhanger, I know.
We arrived at Rome Ciampino Airport at 8 AM after about 4 hours of sleep total on the bus/plane ride. This is getting to be our pattern when traveling between countries now.
One thing I like about plane rides/airports is meeting new people, having conversations, and then never seeing these people again. It's kinda weird, but it's nice to be able to let your guards down and just talk to strangers.
At Frankfurt Hahn, we met a girl named Kaleigh who lives in Napa (small world, right?). It was just small talk at first - our jobs/plans for next year (she's a scuba instructor, which is really cool!) - but then the convo somehow turned to God and the matter of being saved by faith. It's funny how that's been happening lately; I never used to be the kind of person who freely talked about God.
We ended up sitting in the same row on the plane, too, but I guess the tiredness kicked in and we all just crashed. When we arrived in Rome, we found the buses to the metro stations that we needed to get to on the way to our hostels. Then we exchanged contact info, and parted ways. Who knows? Maybe we'll hang out in Rome together. I've found that if you like to travel, chances are that I'll like you.
This hostel (Hotel Fellini) was pretty easy to find, unlike our French experience. It was pretty nice because we had our own room, but then again, we were paying a bit more (about 40 euros a night). Our room has two beds, a TV, and a private bath, and hot water (I've never appreciated hot showers more than on this trip). Plus, breakfast is included.
Random note: I actually saw pickpocket action today! I was on the metro, and from the train I saw a lady swat the hand of a thief because it was reaching into her pocket. That better not happen to me, knock on wood.
Not wanting to waste any time, we dropped our bags off, went out to get 4 day metro passes, and headed toward the Trevi Fountain. It's beautiful, and people throw coins over their shoulders into the fountain to ensure that they'll come back to Rome someday. I still need to do this because I want to come back!
From the Trevi Fountain, we went to the Pantheon. It was pretty awesome inside:
...and we saw Raphael's tomb, which was one of the sites in Angels and Demons. I'm really glad I read the book and saw the movie before I came here. I don't think we'll have time to follow the Path of Illumination, though. I gotta leave some stuff for next time...
We were pretty starved by this point - one of the things about discount airlines is that they don't give you snacks or peanuts or anything - so we got a small breakfast of croissants and coffee. I'm more of a tea drinker, but I'm already hooked on the espressos here.
Next stop was Piazza Navona. A great feature of this place is its artwork. The Piazza is magnificent in itself - I love the fountains and the symmetry to the layout of the place, but the artwork is what made this location memorable. Artists and art students were even sitting in the middle of the piazza, sketching in books. I'm going to have to come back here and buy something. I would have gotten it when we were there, but I didn't want to ruin any paintings/sketches I got.
Same goes for this woodcraft store, where they were selling Pinnochio figurines (I didn't realize until today that he's Italian) and other hand-carved wood pieces.
Crossing the Ponte Sant' Angelo bridge took us to the Castel Sant' Angelo, which was pretty cool; it's the first castle we've been in since we got to Europe! From the inside there are great views of St. Peter's Basillica, which is the tallest building in Rome. Fun fact 1: Rome has no modern skyline because nothing can be built taller than this religious monument.
There's so much history here! We saw last prison (supposedly) where the Apostles Peter and Paul were kept before they were martyred - Peter was crucified upside-down. Legend has it that a fountain sprang up in the prison before their deaths so they could baptize the other prisoners. Interesting...
We kept walking along the River Tevere (the Tiber River), snacked on bruschetta and pizza, and climbed the steps of the Monumento A Vittorio Emanuele:
This thing is pretty big, and you can see the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill clearly from it. I guess you can figure out where we went next.
There was some sort of parade or festival, but we got there right when it ended and were still able to hit up these major Rome attractions. The Colosseum is smaller than I expected it to be, and I'm surprised I didn't hear about Palatine Hill before visiting it. In my opinion, it's the more worth-it attraction.
I liked it because you have a little bit of ancient history and modern art - in the midst of the ruins are evolving white sculptures that seem out of place, yet somehow appropriate:
I don't know if they're permanent features of the site, but I could see how people would either love them or hate them.
Fun facts 2 and 3: In ancient Rome people drank the blood of gladiators to cure epilepsy and the blood of Christians to heal all sorts of things.
Anyway, this is when we headed back to Hotel Fellini for much needed showers and a short rest before dinner. We headed back out to get some pasta, and disappointingly, the place we went to was all out of seafood. Shucks. I really wanted to try a clam linguini, which I've heard is pretty awesome here. I ended up getting a pasta with garlic, pepper, and herbs, which was surprisingly light and tasty. We've been eating too much heavy food in Europe, so it was nice to not feel a heart attack coming on after a meal for a change.
David and I started talking about our friends and experiences about talking to them about God. After we ate, we kept talking and walking, visiting the Spanish Steps (really peaceful at night!), and the Trevi Fountain again (a totally different experience at night!). The fountain is amazing because they light it up at night, and locals and tourists crowd the area.
Last highlight of the day: Yay for non-lactose Gelato! The watermelon/grapefruit combination was really refreshing, and I think I'm going to have to come back for some more tomorrow.
We're back at the hostel now, and ready to go to sleep. It's pretty clear that it was a long, but fantastic day.
Tentative plan for tomorrow: The Vatican and the Catacombs
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