On an Evening in Roma
The weeks leading up to Rome I could not stop singing “On an evening in Roma” by Dean Martin and quoting The Lizzie McGuire movie. All I wanted to do was throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain and wish for an international superstar to ask me to perform with him at an awards show in the Coloseum. If you haven’t seen the Lizzie Mcguire movie then you wouldn’t understand what I’m talking about but I was hoping my experience would be like the Lizzie’s in the movie. Of course that is a crazy, never going to happen scenario, but a girl can dream!
On Saturday morning we finally left for Rome (yay!) and I was just in love with everything. I just love how many sites there are to visit. We saw the Colosseum, the Arch of Constantine, the Roman Forum. I loved the Colosseum, although it was a rushed visit. We only had 20 or 30 minutes to walk around because we had to get to the next site but I really loved being there. The fact that its still up after all these years is so amazing. After visiting these sites we went to the Vatican museum. The Vatican museum was about 2 1/2 hrs (if not more) and it was way too much. Honestly we were all just so exhausted. There were so many people and the tour guide just focused on certain areas and pieces of art. When I go to museums I prefer to just walk around on my own because I like to take my time with certain pieces or not take any time at all depending on how I feel about it. Plus it was a 2 1/2 walking tour just to finally see the Sistine Chapel which was more crowded than a NYC street. We were packed in there like sardines surrounded by tour groups. The effect was completely lost on me. My roommate, later that day, asked when we were going to see the Sistine Chapel and I told her we already had– she couldn’t believe it.
After the Vatican we visited a few more sites before heading back to the hotel. For dinner we met our roommate who came to Rome on her own. We went to an area recommended by a local Roman for its local cuisine and atmosphere. We had dinner for four hours. We ordered so many delicious things off the menu– mussels, pasta, etc.– and talked for hours. It was one of the nicest nights we had the entire trip.
The next day we visited the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain and many more. I loved seeing the Trevi Fountain, although it was much smaller than I’d imagined. And I really enjoyed the Spanish Steps. It was such a simple site visit but so wonderful.
—> At the Spanish Steps
Later that day we had a five course meal. WOW. There was so much food– we were stuffed. We had fried vegetables, followed by two different types of pasta, followed by eggplant Parmesan, and ending with tiramisu. We were exhausted afterwards.
I was so happy to have gone because it’s such a beautiful city. It’s definitely different than I imagined. I always thought Rome was so small but it’s actually a large city (at least to the eye) that has historical sites located in spots all over. Overall Rome was great and I loved Pisa, Elba Island, and Venice, but honestly Florence is just a great city to live in and stay for a month. It’s very touristy but it feels more like New York than a foreign land.
Me and my roommates Sophie & Awedra in front of the Trevi Fountain