Do As the Romans Do

This weekend we had our first extended weekend, which means we didn't have class on Friday. After class on Thursday, we headed to the Marco Polo Airport in Venice. We opted to take a flight to Rome because it cost less and was quicker than a train. Go figure that! That evening, we arrived in Rome and checked into our hostel. After searching the area for a bite to eat, a few of us took cabs to a bar called Coyote. The cab driver dropped us off at this area where a cluster of the bars were. As we started walking down the street towards Coyote, we noticed that there were only guys waiting outside of the bars and clubs. While we waited in line to go inside Coyote, we ran into American students that were studying in Rome. They told us that this area of town was known for having gay bars and clubs and only gay guys and same girls were allowed in. Luckily, we didn't have any issues getting into Coyote, but it was pretty funny that we ended up in all places in Rome.

The next morning we got up and being sighting seeing. Before we went to the Coliseum, we found a tabacchi in the train station that sold Roma Passes. If anyone is going to Rome I highly suggest buying this pass. It's €30 and it gives you a 3 day pass to use any public transportation like the metro and bus. It also gives you free entry into 2 areas and discounts into other museums and events. When we arrived in the Coliseum, we were able to cut the long line of people who were waiting to buy tickets. The Coliseum was so cool! It was a lot bigger than I expected it to be. 

The Coliseum. 

Another view of the Coliseum.

View from the Outside.

After walking around the Coliseum, we walked by the Roman Forum. The Forum were a bunch of ruins from the Ancient Roman era. I was surprised to see how much of the ruins still existed today. It was quite an experience to walk by buildings and other structures that were built thousands of years ago. We also saw the Arch of Constantine. The arch represented Constantine's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge on October 28, 312. (Thank you Wikipedia) My freshmen year I enrolled in a Western Europe art history class and this arc was one out of several structures we learned about. It was cool to actually see the structure, which I learned from a textbook, and recall the information I learned as I stood in front of the arch.

Section of Roman Forum.

Arch of Constantine. 

After wondering around the area of the ruins, we decided to see the Vatican and Sistine Chapel before lunch. We hopped on the metro(which is very good by the way) and got off where the Vatican square was located. The area where you saw the chapel was engulfed by museums and surrounding observation decks. Once we got into the museum, there were two routes you could choose from. One route when through all of the museums and galleries and the other was a "fast track" which highlighted the most popular things inside the museum. We opted to do the fast track since our stomachs were starting to growl. First, we walked through various hallways that all had impeccable ceilings! Some of the hallways had tapestries hanging or paintings. The series of hallways led us to the infamous Sistine Chapel. Home of Michelangelo's Creation piece. We walked into this massive room with high ceilings and paintings every where. I didn't know where to look, there was so much going on the walls and ceilings. We thought we weren't able to take pictures, but to our surprise, the guards let us! Here are some shots of the hallways I walked through and Michelangelo's work!

Hall of Geography. 

Tapestries on the Walls.

Front Wall of the Sistine Chapel. 

Ceiling.

The Creation. 

After leaving the Vatican and grabbing a bite to eat at a nearby pizzeria, we took the metro and headed over to a park to watch the sunset. The park sat above one of the many plazas in Rome. The plaza was filled with performers, tourists and locals. Before going to the park, a craving of gelato came over all of us, so we went out on a hunt to find some. After sniffing out the gelato and enjoying a couple scoops, the seven of us went up to the park and watch the sunset. In the park there was an observation deck that overlooked the entire city! It was beautiful! Before it got too dark, we made a pit stop at the Trevi Fountain. People had told us that we need to see the fountain at night and during the day. After snapping a few pictures and tossing a few coins into the fountains, we headed back to the hostel and enjoyed a couple drinks at the hostel bar. When we checked into the hostel we were given a free drink if we "liked" their facebook page. All of us took advantage of the free drinks by unliking and reliking their facebook page in order to get more free drink coupons. Needless to say we took advantage of the system! I'm sure that wasn't the first time students have out smarted the system.

The square we walked through.

We found gelato up this street! 

Sunset in Rome. 

Trevi Fountain. 

The next day we got up and headed to St. Peter's Basilica, which is located in the Vatican obviously. After waiting in line and clearing through security, we finally made it inside St. Peter's. I got goosebumps as I walk inside the church. Everything was beautiful!! Things were accented in gold and the paintings and domes were so detailed. Every corner you turned there was a statue or alter or some painting that I wanted to stop and look at for hours! I won't describe the inside of the church anymore. I don't think that will do it any justice! You'll have to look at the pictures and see for yourself. After spending time in the church, we decided to climb to the top of the basilica. And we did! All 551 steps. The top of the basilica overlooked the entire city! It was cool to see how the bigger, monumental structures stood out amongst the smaller buildings. After snapping pictures and taking in the view, we climbed back down the basilica steps and headed to a sandwich shop a local told us to eat at call 200 Degrees. We also stopped by this hole in the wall gelato shop around the corner Rick Steve's suggested to get. I kid you not they served us grapefruit sized servings of gelato for €3. The funny part was that we sun was melting our gelato, so we had to eat it quickly. This caused all of us to have upset stomachs for a couple hours!

St. Peter's. 

Inside St. Peter's. 

Mosaic wall in the upper level of Basilica. 

View of the Vatican Plaza. 

Some of us enjoying the gelato!

The rest of the afternoon we walked around the city. We saw the Spanish steps, which was over crowded with locals and tourists. There was no where to sit! So we moved on and saw the Pantheon, Victorian Complex, Trevi Fountain, Roman Forum and the Coliseum. By the time we got to the Coliseum, it was getting dark. We decided to go back to the hostel and start getting ready for the Alesso Concert. Getting to the concert venue was an escapade in itself! Note to anyone who is traveling in Rome, cabs are very hard to get at night. You must make a reservation! So we got off at the metro and attempted to follow the directions the locals had given up. After wondering down a main street, we finally found a cab that took us to the venue! Alesso is a DJ and he created a bunch of mixes with beats and mainstream music. The stage crew would also turn on fog machines, confetti cannons and pyrotechnics(fireworks)!! I loaded some videos from my iPhone since pictures would not do this concert justice! 

On Sunday morning, seven of us got up early and went to mass at St. Peter's. Even though the entire service was in Italian, attending church at St. Peter's was one of my favorite things I have done this entire semester! The procession of the clergy, alter boys and cardinal was flawless! We also got to participate in communion. It cool to walk up to the front of the church and get a better view of the alter and pews. After the service was over, we waited in the Vatican plaza for the Pope to come out at noon and bless the crowd! After sharing his blessings, he gave thanks to various groups that were within the crowd. The Pope mentioned all of the American students traveling in Rome this weekend, so that was cool to get a shout out from him! By the time we got back to the hostel, it was time to head back to the train station and catch the afternoon train back to Venice. Rome is an amazing city!! I would recommend anyone to travel here. There is so much to do and see. You will never get bored here! This weekend we are off to the north western coast of Italy to an area called Cinque Terre!  Ciao!

Crowd waiting to be blessed. 

The Pope!