How Many Tents Do You Have?

I’m my mother’s daughter, camping is not for me. Why sit around a camp fire in the woods when you can sit at a spa in a 5 star hotel? But this weekend started off interesting and it ended...interesting.

Thursday- Thursday...J-Force’s Friday night...enough said. Campo dei Fiori was the place to be! A guy named Dan turned 21 and about 20 of us went out for his birthday. We ended up at the drunken ship. A bar in this piazza where everyone is just out and about drinking and having a good time. It was a great chance just to be outside and getting to know people. I randomly met a guy from my high school there. How crazy is it that you can be over 5,000 miles away from home but still run into a high school friend? A disco was the next spot to head to. We went to Mood off Campo dei Fiori, it was my kind of place, a great DJ and room to dance. It was a little Americanized...but that is what you are going to get in Campo dei Fiori, But we walked in and they were playing Single Ladies..that was enough for me to get on the dance floor!

(L to R)
 Me, Mallory, Chana, and Christina

Friday- What’s the best thing to do when you get back to J-Force at 3:30am? The Colosseum and Forum of course! Xander Evers (see previous post) gave a lecture at 10am about what we would find at the Forum because if you are not a licensed tour guide you can get arrested...and we don’t want Xander to get arrested! I love Ancient Rome, the history is just amazing! Just look at the Colosseum (Actually called the Amphitheater of the Flavian Dynasty..in case you were wondering) and not be amazed to hear that they used to flood the floor and re-enact naval battles. And that there was a huge canvas canopy that used to cover the seats. That thousands upon thousands have lost their lives battling each other.

I’m such a history nerd. Also the Forum was the center of Ancient Rome, the senate house was there, basilicas (The King’s Seat, this is before Constantine people...Rome was still pagan) This is a Basilica that is literally astounding. I’m standing at the bottom of the arch way. Can you even see me??

Walking along the Via Sacre, in the Forum, you have to realize that the Roman Army would walk down the same street with their spoils of war and bring them to the temple of Jupiter, also known as the State Treasury. There is a sculpture on the Arch of Titus showing the army carrying the Jewish Menorah when they destroyed the temple of Jerusalem...but the Arch of Titus is not seen as a triumphal arch. And if you want to believe the Menorah is in the Vatican Vault...go ahead Conspiracy lovers. Xander says it’s more likely that it was melted down to pay for a war or something.

I can not imagine living near the Forum and Colosseum and not be in awe every single time I walk past. Even if I do live here I think I would still need to stop by these massive monuments. Thinking about it- I still walk down Michigan Ave in awe- staring at the building and how big everything is. I do the same with the lake. Why wouldn’t I do it with something that was built a little under 2,000 years ago?

Friday Night- Try running to the Termini from the Metro stop, getting a train ticket- getting on the train then realizing it needs to be validated..sprinting off (with less than 5 minutes before it is supposed to leave) to get it stamped and still make it back on to head to Terracina.. yes that was my friday night. We got on the bus by J-Force at 7:15, our train left at 7:50 and somehow we made it. All problems solved right??

Wrong. We get to Terracina...a smaller town than expected and soon realize there is only one taxi. Wonderful we will have to wait over an hour at 10:30 at night to get to our bungalow. A family let’s us bum along with them with a hired car service that takes us to “Camping Villiago Settebello” Oh shit. Camping. It will be fine. Until the lady says, “How many tents did you bring?” Double Shit. Did we book the right place? The guy said we had a bungalow. She sighed and said “Men..what can you do?” Yes exactly what can you do for us? 

She found us a mobile home, I’m not kidding, a little trailer home in the compound.  Which is like a camping resort with tent sites, RV hook-ups, mobile homes, and beach bungalows. It wasn’t ideal. But we had a place to stay- and there are tons and tons of families around. There was tight security at the door- we felt safe. But the thought that I couldn’t get out of my head was of 1970’s commune or something. It was such a weird place!  Then walking past the “disco-pub” and seeing everyone doing the Waka-Waka dance did me in- we just had to laugh!

Saturday- We slept in and headed to the beach! How many college students can say they spent their Saturday on the Mediterranean Sea? Well we were those lucky few. It was a beautiful day and we were ready to lay out in the sun. The water was a little cold to begin with but it was so much fun! Look at how beautiful it was!

We decided to leave early and come back to Rome Saturday night. It was cheaper and we now we have this day to chill and relax before classes start up again. We got a driver to take us to the Train Station and we headed back to Rome. 

For dinner we decided to go to the McDonald’s by the Spanish Steps. It’s something you just have to do while in Rome. And it was actually really good. As we were walking we happened upon the Piazza del Popolo and got a chance to walk around Via del Corso too. I also had to take a picture of me at the street sign for Via Margutta. In Roman Holiday Gregory Peck (Joe Bradley) has an apartment on the that street and he tells the cab driver to take him there with Audrey Hepburn after he finds her asleep by the forum.

All in all it was a great weekend with some ups and downs. It was a lesson that not everything goes as planned, but sometimes it turns out even better.

Ciao Bella