Rome Sweet Rome

The Journey

September 1^st, it is time to go to Rome. I couldn’t have been more excited to go to Rome. I have already been there, but it is one of my favorite places in the world. The only downside is that we had to be at the bus station by 6:45. I also woke up a little bit late so I took a speed shower and rushed out to the street. Luckily, I was not the only one running behind. We ran into Cochran and Noiset in the street. That made me feel better because we weren’t the only ones who got a late start. We made it to the station in plenty of time though. Once we got there that is when the floodgates opened. Out of nowhere, we had a torrential downpour on our hands. In the back of my mind, I was worried that it would be like this while we were in Rome. The bus was delayed but eventually got to the station and we were off. Fast-forward, and we were on the train headed to Rome. It was weird though it seemed like it kept stopping and starting. I was basically in and out of consciousness the entire ride though, so I wasn’t really sure. That’s when I woke up and heard the train would be delayed because of inclement weather. I just fell right back asleep.

Arrival

Finally, after 3 hours on the train, we were all in Rome. I honestly couldn’t have been more excited. We saw more people in the train station than we had seen the entire trip so far. Don’t get me wrong I like Montepulciano, but I have always grown up in a city environment so it just feels more like home to me. I had never actually been to the train station, but it was awesome. There was a little mini-mall inside of it with a Nike store and all kinds of other shops. We had an hour to eat which seemed like a lot of time, but in reality, it wasn’t so almost everyone just had some McDonald’s, but it was still nice to have a little piece of home over in Italy. Once we were all done eating we headed over to the hotel. It was literally right outside of the metro station which was nice because we never had to walk to far. We dropped off our things and we were ready to go over to the colosseum.

Colosseum and Old Rome

As soon as we reached ground level it decided to pour rain again. I just wanted to get out and see Rome. I did not really care that it was raining because all of my stuff was quick dry. I am not sure why, but for some reason I had the urge to just go run out in the rain. A lot of people bought these ponchos, but that wasn’t for me I knew the rain would let up and I didn’t want to carry them all day. A few of us walked outside the train station while it was still raining, but it was well worth it. We got our first view of the colosseum and it was breathtaking. I had already seen it before, and it was still just as breathtaking as the first time. We all took some silly pictures while we waited for everyone else to get out. It stopped raining after about 10 minutes and we were just waiting for our tour guide. He got there and we were off to see the forum first. It was amazing seeing all of it again. I got so caught up in looking at everything that I tuned out everything that the tour guide was saying. I didn’t mean to it was just so beautiful. Eventually, I tuned back in and listened to what he had to say. I enjoyed listening to him talk about all of the history. He was really knowledgeable about all kinds of things, not just about ancient Rome. It was a lot of walking, but that didn’t really bother me. We got to see some of the most beautiful views and places in the world. Once we were done here we said goodbye to the guide and went into the colosseum. The colosseum was by far my favorite place. I am not sure why but I just love being in there. I could spend all day there even though after a while I can see how it would get boring to most people. I just thought about the history of the place, what it represented, and marveled at the fact that it was still standing after almost 2000 years. I wish that we could have had a guide for that as well. Even though it is just one place there is so much to talk about. After that, we headed over to the hotel and got some rest.

Selfie game strong

Wow just WOW

The Hard Rock Café

After a little R&R it was time, the moment we had all been waiting for, we were going to the Hard Rock. I know we had some McDonald’s earlier, but the burger here was beyond good. I could not have been happier. Me and Mike even got some nachos to share. Then to top it all off we had a nice brownie ice cream thing. Had to throw this in just because it was so good. They even played a bunch of the songs from our playlist. I thought they were taking it as a courtesy but wouldn’t play anything. I was wrong and we got to rock out to a bunch of our favorite songs.

The Vatican

After a nice short sleep, we were up bright and early to go to the Vatican. I was excited because we were going up on top of St. Peter’s Basilica. It is a good thing that I do not suffer from claustrophobia because the staircases were tight and I am a skinny dude. It was well worth it though. It gives one of the best views in Rome and it didn’t disappoint it was fantastic. You could see everything around the city. Luckily, the weather was much nicer than the day before and we did not have to worry about the rain. We came down and it was already time for our Vatican tour. Everyone ran around looking for some quick food, but there wasn’t any to be found. I personally just starved while we were walking through. It was fine though because I had the beautiful artwork and sculptures to look at throughout the entire tour. Also, our tour guide was late or there was confusion I am not sure. Anyway, we moved on and were able to see all kinds of precious artwork and sculptures collected throughout the many years. I loved looking at all of it and admiring it. In total honesty, I was a little disappointed in the tour though. It seemed like we were rushing through the tour because of the delay. We skipped the greeting rooms that were painted by all kinds of great artists. Whichever room you were brought to showed how important you were. I was sad that we missed all of that. Luckily, I had seen it before but it just felt like we were missing out. Also, she didn’t seem to be the most knowledgeable about lots of things. We glossed over lots of stuff that was so intricate and detailed I don’t know if it is because of time constraints or what. It was still a fun trip though. We got to see the most famous chapel in the world again though. I love the Sistine Chapel. It is like the colosseum to me, I could spend all day looking at all of the intricacies and details. I even snuck a few pictures in even though they are forbidden.

I am a rebel

What a view

My new friend

Saturday Night

After the Vatican, many of us were starving so we all walked and got some food. Italian food is way better in Rome for some reason I am not sure why. We then went on to see the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain. Those were two little stops that we made on the way back to the hotel. I am glad I stayed and did that because They are both so unique cool honestly, my vocabulary has run out of words to use because of all the magnificent things in Rome. Let’s just say I love it. After that, we ran into this gelato place that you (Justin) recommended everyone try. Let me tell ya, you sir are a genius. That place had some of the best gelato ever and even better it was cheap. We got so much for so little. It was weird Rome, the tourist trap, was cheaper than Monte. After that, we headed back to the hotel because everyone was tired and just wanted to relax for the rest of the night. I mean we had just walked around 20 miles in 2 days.

I wish I was better at taking pictures

Sunday

A bittersweet day, it was leaving day and we had to check out of the hotel. It was still a good day though, as we got to see the Spanish Steps, bike around the park, and throw the Frisbee. It was a really fun day and I enjoyed biking around, but I couldn’t get over the fact that we were leaving. It took me forever to remember that we took the bus home. I literally blocked the memory from my head. It was ok though because everything that’s good must come to an end. I just knew I had my work cut out for me once the week started since many things were due this week. This was my favorite weekend by far and I cannot wait to go back to Rome whenever that may be.

Wow, that man... I mean the Spanish Steps are beautiful