After about 40 minutes of enjoying the city through the windows of a bus we were finally at the city center and were in for another long journey to find our hostel. Before beginning we decided that we had to get some gelato first, and boy are we glad we did. That stuff sends me straight to heaven every time! We then proceeded to attempt yet another city's public transportation. (I can't even express how excited I am that I get to drive a car in 2 weeks!!) It seemed pretty easy since there were only two metro lines and we had detailed directions and information on which bus to take. The metro part really was extremely easy, but once it came time to transfer to a bus, it got a bit more difficult. We couldn't find the stop for our bus number anywhere and just kept wandering back and forth around the area with no luck. There were two other small groups of people about our age, and after a while of ignoring each other we all turned to each other for a little help. As it happens we were all american and all looking for the exact same bus to go to the exact same hostel. So with increased power due to our increased numbers and the help of a very old, very friendly Italian man we finally located our bus... just in time. From there we had about a 30 minute bus ride (though we didn't know it until the 30 minutes had already passed).
Upon first climbing onto the bus, I went to sit down with Ana in a couple of available seats. But as I was squeezing into the tight fit, my butt hit something really sharp on the side of the seat. It hurt so bad that I sprung back up into the isle really quick and then once the initial pain wore off attempted to sit back down. It wasn't till I had been comfortably seated for a minute or two that it dawned on me to check if my pants had ripped. I didn't think they would have but it never hurts to check right? As I reached down to feel if they were still in tact, my hand felt something it shouldn't have... skin!! Sure enough, that sharp thing I had hit, ripped clean through my pants and my underwear and even made perfect 90 degree angles in them. Nice huh. The best part was when I remembered that I had stood back up in the isle for a minute giving everyone behind me a nice view.
Since by this time it was getting pretty late, when we had reached our stop at last after a long, bare-butted bus ride, we were looking so forward to getting to our room and crashing!! With my jacket tied around my waist like a nerd to cover the rip, we trekked up to our hostel, which actually turned out to be more of a campground. At first I wasn't so thrilled at that idea but then I saw our 'room'. We were able to get our own little mobile home/camper thing complete with two beds, a fridge, and our own bathroom for two people for two nights for only a total of 40 euros! Talk about a sweet deal. ;)
The next day we woke up fairly early ready to really begin our roman experience! I really was so excited that I'm sure Ana felt like she was walking around with a hyper puppy. But then again, she was just as thrilled. The very first thing we saw was none other than archeological wonder that I've been dreaming of seeing fovever... THE Colosseum! Its abrupt massiveness practically slapped us in the face immediately after stepping out of the metro station. Ana and I walked around it for a while in awe-filled wonder and took tons of pictures! As we were walking around with bent necks and dropped jaws we almost didn't notice the random men that were dressed as roman gladiators trying to get people to take pictures with them. After a while of staring and picture taking we decided to go in. Thank heavens we were smart enough to buy the Roma Pass ( card that got us 3 days of public transportation use, 2 archeological sites or museums free, and discounts on everything else) previously because it meant we got to skip the ticket line. Had he waited in the line, we probably would have been there for hours!!! But lucky us, we got to trot right past all the other poor suckers and go right in! Inside it was unbelievably amazing! I couldn't comprehend (and still can't) that I was actually standing in an almost 2000 year old arena where gladiators used to fight to the death. The vastness and history of this place is incredible.
The rest of the morning and afternoon we spent just wandering around the city seeing whatever sites we happen to run into, which was a lot, and eating lots of pizza, lasagna and of course gelato. After buying a couple sweet t-shirts at a cute little souvenir shop, I dropped my camera while I was waiting for Ana to complete her purchase. I didn't give much thought to my clumsiness at the time and my camera seemed to be ok. However, after a 20 minute journey up to the vatican, and many failed attempts to take a picture I noticed that my batteries and memory card had fallen out. Normally I would be ok with just getting a new memory card, but I had already taken some amazing, irreplaceable photos that day. So back to that same souvenir shop it was. When we got back, I immediately started looking. At first I had no luck and I'm sure people thought I was crazy for crawling around on the floor. But after a few prayers and some diligent searching we finally found the little card and even the batteries tucked away underneath a rack of purses. Once a very grateful prayer was said, we began our journey again to the catholic headquarters.
When we arrived at the Vatican, memory cards and all, we had no idea what to really expect. I knew it would be beautiful, but St. Peter's Cathedral blew all expectations out of the water and is beyond description. This building is considered the most sacred to the catholics (obviously), so upon entering, people must go through a security check and are only allowed to wear pants that cover the knees and shirts that cover the shoulders. The first thing we did after we passed security, was went down underneath the building to see the tombs of the past popes. As I'm sure you can imagine, being underground, with a bunch dead popes was extremely creepy and I was looking forward to getting out of there the second I got in. Toward the end of the hall tourists are urged to be move quickly but silently, due to the fact that people still come there to pray and worship (or whatever it is they do) to the most recently dead pope. It was quite an odd thing to see. I know this is an irreverent thought, but the only thing I was thinking at the time was, "And they think mormons are the weird ones? ... seriously?" Immediately after that tomb, you can turn a corner to see the supposed tomb of St. Peter himself. It's not just a normal tomb though, its a huge, beautiful room that is glassed off. I wish I could describe it, but I honestly can't do it justice and we weren't allowed to take pictures. A few minutes later we were able to get back upstairs into the light and go into the main part of the cathedral. Again, I wish I could describe it but there are simply no words. I've had the opportunity to see a lot of beautiful and historic architecture, but St. Peter's vastness and beauty far surpass anything I've ever seen (with the exception of mormon temples of course ;) haha)
The rest of the evening spent doing some more wandering and random sight-seeing. The Trevi Fountain would have been one of my favorite things to see had it not been so insanely crowded. It was as if everyone in the city went to see it at the same time. But I can't say I blame everyone for wanting to go there and see peaceful water fall down from gorgeous marble statues and land gracefully in a beautiful pool. Plus, the fountain has a legend, that if you throw a coin in, it will insure that you'll return to Rome one day. Although I've also heard that you can make whatever wish you want. So its no wonder it was packed with tourists.
It was starting to get late so after the Trevi fountain we began our journey back to the hostel for the night. The next day we spent the morning wandering a little bit more and even visited a museum (which just happened to be the most boring one on the planet). When it came time to go to the airport to fly home, I did not want to go. Normally when I go somewhere else for a weekend I'm always glad to get back home to Vienna. However, this time was different. In just one weekend I had completely fallen in love the roman charm, beautiful and historical architecture, and italian food. It took everything I had to force myself to get back on the plane to leave it. A week later I still wish I was there, and am praying that I'll be able to go back one day. Rome is one place I could visit over and over and over and over and over and over......
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