Don't know what the Country's coming to, but in Rome do as the Romans Do.

I did something a lot of J-Force kids look down upon. I stayed in Rome for a weekend. And it was one of the best weekends since I have been here. I spent the time relaxing and sleeping, but also sight-seeing and enjoying Roma as a city. And the most important thing that I have learned is that Rome is more than the few monuments on a quick tour of the city. Roma is worth more energy than the Vatican, the Forum, and the Colosseum. The truth is-the only way to truly understand the city is to actually spend some time in this city and learn to love it with it’s strengths and it’s weaknesses. 

The biggest thing I took to heart from the SLA (student life assistants) is that a lot of students spend their time in different parts of Italy and they regret how little time they have actually spent in Rome. So my goal this weekend was to spend the weekend going to places a little off the beaten path- not on the main tour route. This took me on a great adventure though the city that I will never forget.

The biggest thing about this weekend is that I was able to spend some quality time with my pillow. I know that sounds lame- and I know that I am in Rome and should spend my time drawing the Pantheon or something, but the truth is that everyone needs some down time- a time to relax and recharge the batteries- this is what I was able to do on Thursday. I was able to stay in J-Force and watch Letters to Juliet and go to bed around 1am and sleep till noon, which is actually about my normal schedule at Loyola Chicago.

Via del Corso

Friday is when the sight-seeing actually started to happen. We still slept in and at at J-Force in a futile attempt to save some money. That ended up being wasted on Via del Corso when we finally ended up in town. However, before we even got close to the Vatican- the 913 (the bus we were on) hit a kid that biked out in between two parked cars by a bus stop!! I know! (it’s ok you can read that sentence again) But he slammed on the brakes quickly enough that he basically tapped the kid hard enough that he fell off his bike and hit his head. It was lucky but still a terrifying experience. Also, as a funny side note- I have never heard so many actual Italians say Mamma Mia in my entire life. So yes it actually is a saying people say! Also everyone ran off the bus to help this kid get into a store and make sure he was ok. We ended up on a different bus and heading to Piazza del Popolo. A beautiful Piazza with an Egyptian Obelisk in the middle on top of a fountain. Also it so easy to head down Via del Corso and get some shopping done! I bought a cute black dress that I wore that night!

We stopped at the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and actually went to Campo dei Fiori while it was still light out! As we tried to work our way to the Mouth of Truth at Santa Maria of Cosimedin, we walked along the Tiber and saw the hospital that is set on the island that has been there for centuries.

Ospedale Fatebenefratelli on Isola Tiberina

By the time we got to the Mouth of Truth it was closed. The gates close 5:50, so make sure you leave enough time for you to go! After we stopped to look through the gate we headed up past Piazza Venezia to find a cafe to have dinner. (We were too late to make it back for mensa) We has some wonderful pasta that I forgot to take a photo of. But it was fettucini bolognese and I was in heaven :) 

That night we headed out to an Irish pub called the Abbey Theatre, it had Irish bartenders and a wonderful little concotion called an Irish Kiss. The bar was very chill and it gave us an opportunity for Sarah, Elizabeth and me to just chat and get to know each other. We also had plenty self confidence with our black dresses. 

This country is doing great things for my self-confidence. We can walk down the Via del Corso and see the Carabinieri look at us. It might be the blonde hair or the fact that I look American, but I enjoy it regardless. American men love Italian women because they are exotic-- but here it’s the opposite, we are the exotic ones. Blondes are a dime a dozen in the US, especially in Minnesota, but here we are exotic. I’ve never been considered exotic before. It’s a good feeling.

Mouth of Truth

The Pyramid! And Me!

Saturday we woke up and made sure we could make it to the mouth of truth before it closed. We took the metro to the pyramid south of the center of Rome. I guess it’s a burial chamber for a general when everyone in Rome was obsessed with Egyptian culture (Think Cleopatra and Marc Antony). It was raining but we got some photos and got back on the metro and got off at the Circus Maximus- the race track that was used for chariot races. You can see the wheel marks in the dirt even to this day. However, you need to use your imagination with this one, otherwise it will just look like a field.

We made it to the mouth of truth in time, and while we were waiting it stopped raining. I had this love hate relationship with the mouth of truth. I of course wanted to put my hand in the mouth, but the line was actually quite long, and you need to give and “offering” of 50 cents to take a photo with it. And with so many tourists ahead of you putting their hands in the mouth and no one’s hand got bit off- it kind of ruins the effect. But it had to be done. I gave my 50 cents took the photo and checked off another activity from Roman Holiday.

We headed back to J-Force to get ready to go out again. We started at the Abbey  Theatre and the same bartender remembered us, so we got the discounts for American students again and I watched the Florida v. Tennessee game on TV. Sometimes you need a little America time. A chance to watch some football and hear English around you. It’s a little reminder of home. We are going on a month here and it’s nice to step out of the immersion thing for a bit and let yourself be American. We stopped at Campo de Fiori also- the Drunken Ship was really busy but we got a special student discount there too. But the best part of the night was asking this one bar on the way home to use their bathroom and the owner knew our director of Student Life, Mike, and one of the Classical Studies professors (Xander). Apparently that bar was the official Steelers bar in Italy. They had a Terrible Towel in Italian. It said Asciugamano Terribile. So of course I had to take a photo of that!

All in all, this wonderful weekend in Rome was an opportunity to catch up on our rest explore Rome beyond the scope most tourists. We had time to get lost and walk down winding streets, eat at a random cafe. We never felt rushed to do anything and we could decide to either stay in or go out on the town. Because of course, you will never know what will happen on an evening in Roma.

Ciao Bella