When In Rome…………..You must eat a lot of Pasta, Pizza and Panini’s. You must also eat gelato like its nobodies business. And of course you must see all of the great sites, including the Vatican, Colosseum, Pantheon etc. And naturally, being in Rome, this is exactly what I did.

After 10 hours of traveling which included 4 transfers, I arrive in Rome, Italy. Though, this wasn’t without some minor mishaps. I did miss one train. Have you ever been running to catch some form of transportation and you think you just might catch it, but just when you arrive the doors close. That’s the worst feeling. For some reason my train scheduled for 3:15 left the station at 3pm. I got off my proceeding train at 2:57 and by the time I found the departing track, it was too late. But there was one leaving at 4, so it wasn’t that bad. However, I did have another one of those, buying the ticket with only 2 minutes left until the train leaves moments again for the train proceeding that one. Fun times!!!

 My first night in Rome was great. I met this Korean/German girl in the computer lab (she loves my name and has never heard of it before, seeming there are probably negative Ebony’s in both of the countries she has lived in) and ended up going with her and her roommates (one from LA and the other from Brazil) to the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain. Both were crawling with people and very lively, lovely to see all illuminated at night.

Of course one of the first things I did was eat pizza. Good thing I was really hungry because I had one the size of a large plate to myself. It was fresh and delicious.

The next day I got up early to see all of the sites: The Colosseum, Palestine Hill and the Roman Forum in the morning, then to Capital Hill at Piazza del Campidoglo in the afternoon and the Pantheon and Piazza Novona (piazzas are pervasive here) in the evening. Then I walked over the Tevere River, which is lined with vendors, to the Trastevere neighborhood.

Mishaps of the day – I got on the wrong bus trying to get to the Pantheon from Piazza Venezia which is not that far from the Colosseum. I ended up way out of the way. I still don’t know where I was. But my hostel near the main train station, so most buses lead that way.

On the menu: Pasta for lunch, pizza for dinner and gelato for dessert. The gelato is soo much better here then in the states. So much better. Every sandwich is a panini here. They are all pressed and heated, but a lot less fancy then ours but still good.

Today, I spent most of the day at the Vatican. The Vatican Museum which houses the Sistine Chapel, is free on Sundays. Naturally it was crowded. I have never stood in a line this long. It was four long blocks and easily had 5 thousand people in it. I waited for about 1 hour and 40 minutes, which wasn’t too bad. I always bring a book to read, so it actually went by fast. My favorite was the the Chapel of course, its a masterpiece and you can get a crook in your neck just checking out all of the scenes on the walls and ceiling. You are not suppose to take pictures or you get kicked out, naturally, me and everybody else stole a few shots. I am a rebel, what can I say. Haha. There were also many rooms painted by Raphael, which puts a normal art museums to shame because every inch of the wall and ceilings if full of paintings, as opposed to a few paintings on an otherwise white wall.

After the Vatican Museum, it was over to Piazza St. Pietro (Peter) for the Basilica, which is basically the church. As a side note, for entrance into these places you must to respectfully dressed, so people with no sleeves, short shorts or skirts were turned away. The basilica was impressive and downstairs are the tombs of the popes of the past.

Randomness

My hair is now long enough to put in a pseudo ponytail and off my neck a bit. Horray!!!

The metro here closes at 11pm. Who ever heard of such a thing.

All in all there is much to see in Rome and I have worn my feet absolutely out. My hips even hurt. I liked Rome, but wasn’t necessarily blown away, but it was impressive.

The piazzas are my favorites because there are always nice fountains, art or other types of vendors and they are live with people.

There are many many scooters here. I was gonna rent one until I asked someone at the hostel who had rented one, how it was…..she said, quite scary actually and I couldn’t figure out the road rules nor where I was going. I was also reminded of the number one thing they tell you not to do in foreign countries is drive, so I decided to use my feet and public transit.

I had a gelato milkshake today………DELICIOUS!!!

Somebody asked me the other day was I home sick. I had to think about that. Not really, at times

I am sad that I am just missing the events of being in close proximity to whats going on in the lives of people I care about. I get tired of site seeing and traveling at times -mostly when my backpack is feeling heavy or my feed hurt. I sometimes wish my friends or family were here to experience some of this with me, but I wouldn’t say I necessarily want to be or go home. I can see me being ready to go

home at the end of my months though. What I miss most is having a sense of normalcy.

I was talking to my mother last week and she informed me that she is going to throw a Birthday,

Thanksgiving, Christmas and Valentines day party when I get back to commemorate all of the holidays I missed. Another excuse for a party, I am down with that. I just thought that was quite funny….Turkey, Birthday cake, boxes of chocolate and roses. What kind of music do you have a such a party?

Some Aussies and a Swedish guy I was talking to back in Nice were saying how they want to go to America (oh and always get extra cool points for being from NY….EVERYBODY I meet wants to go there) to eat at all of the fast food places they hear about on TV. Taco bell was named…can you imagine such a thing. I was repulsed and very much amused. I told them they needed some Soul Food…of course they did not know what that was. I said, please skip taco bell and burger king and get you some good fried chicken and mac and cheese. Just remember….Soul Food…they wrote it down.

 Next stop is Florence…….more to come.