A Taste of Spain: When in Rome...

When in Rome...you get to use the phrase 'When in Rome' a lot. And I mean a LOT. Here are some more things to do 'when in Rome':
-Eat a lot. Pizza, pasta, lasagna, calzones, gelato, gelato, gelato, gelato. How can you not??
-BEWARE of crazy drivers, they will not stop for pedestrians. In fact, they will speed up. I still can't believe we all came home alive.
-Throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain--it will ensure that you return to Rome!
-People watch and check out all the different languages. Rome is a HUGE tourist destination.
-And SO much more!

Ok, so needless to say I had an absolutely amazing weekend in Rome. We left Friday morning at 10:00 and took a 90 minute bus ride to Malaga. Granada has its own airport, but it's very hard to get many places from the Granada airport. Because of this, much of the flying I will be doing this semester will require a bus ride to Malaga, a more major airport. The flight from Malaga took about 3 hours. We landed in Rome and got on a bus to head into the city. As is the case in many European cities, the airport isn't really that close to the actual city...it took us about 30 minutes by bus to get to our hotel. After checking in at the hotel, we immediately started the hunt for the amazing Italian food we had been hearing so much about! We found an amazing little place where we ate outside. I ordered Carbonara pasta, which was unbelievable. We walked around the city after that, hitting the Trevi Fountain and Pantheon, which were both lit up so nicely! Saturday, our program had coordinated a panoramic bus tour of the city. We had an awesome tour guide who told us all about the sites in Rome. We stopped first at the Colosseum, which is simply amazing. Although half of it was destroyed by an earthquake, the part left standing is super cool. It is crazy how OLD it is! Thinking about all the history that took place in the Colosseum and the surrounding areas (the Roman Forum, Circus Maximus, and a bunch of other Roman ruins are around the Colosseum) will truly blow your mind. The next stop included a couple churches-one being the breathtaking St. John's, the oldest church in Rome. The other church was much smaller but included steps walked on by Jesus and a piece of the cross of crucifixion. The churches in Europe are so stunning. While on the bus, we saw the balcony where Mussolini gave his speeches, the palace where Napoleon's mom lived (that's right, he was actually Italian!), and the Roman City Hall (this was really impressive!). Our third and final stop on the bus tour was at the Vatican. After our tour guide had finished his information, we stopped at a pizzeria to grab pizza (delicious, of course) and decided to go inside the Vatican. We first entered the Vatican Museum, full of sculpture, tapestries, and amazing artwork. The Sistine Chapel was beautiful as well. There was so much to see in this country! We finished up at the museum and went to St. Peter's Basilica, which may have been my favorite church. There was even a mass going on while we were there! After a long day of touring, we went back to the hotel to rest and then went to get dinner...more pizza this time! We befriended a couple, Jessika and Thomas, from Ireland. They were super nice and it was cool to meet somebody from a different country!

Sunday, we slept in a little bit and headed out for more sight-seeing. We first hit the Spanish steps, which offer a unique and beautiful view of the city of Rome. From the steps, we headed back to the Trevi Fountain and Pantheon. The Trevi Fountain is such a cool thing--so much water and stone! I could have sat on the steps for hours and watched it. We also went back to the Colosseum for a bit and stopped by the Hard Rock Cafe--there are some things you can't miss in any city! We ate our last meal at an extra-tasty pizza place that I would recommend to anybody! I had a calzone, and I really think I could have eaten about four of them. This morning, we left the hotel at 7:15 AM (kill me) to come back home to Granada. We were all glad to be back in our own places with our own beds...I am sure we will all sleep very well tonight!

I really cannot express how much I enjoyed my time in Rome. It was surprising how much English was spoken...I think nearly every Italian person I talked to could speak English as well as I could! The food was incredible, and let me say again how addicted I am to gelato. I rounded out the weekend with 6 (count em, SIX) servings of gelato, including one at about nine this morning in the airport. Breakfast, anyone? I am so glad I had the opportunity to go to Rome. The history is amazing, and I still can't believe that I saw some of this stuff! I think it is safe to say that I left a part of my soul in Rome...I only hope that I will be able to retrieve it some day.

Special shout-out this post to my Nana! Happy Birthday Nana :)
Love and miss you all! Besos :)