Roma - land of pizzas and gelato!

BONJOURNO! Forgive the lack of posting, it's only my 2nd time on a computer thus far, but can you blame me?? It's Rome for goodness sake!

The flight to London was great. Caught up on some well needed sleep and finished a book. Landed in Heathrow for a two hour layover which was not bad. That airport is HUGE! So many shops and used significant willpower not to buy anything and had to constantly remind myself that the lower prices, were in Euro.

The flight from London to Rome was horrible. The plane was small and cramped, the old creepy dude beside me kept falling asleep on my shoulder and babies were everywhere, crying left and right. I felt like someone had beat me, literally in my sleep when I got off that plane. Next stop, navigating my way from the airport to the Termini to meet Megan and the Mike's. There seems to be an abundance of male population with that name lately! I grab my luggage and am approached by two extremely greasy Italian men, looking for directions. I pull the fob card - no engrish! They move on to harass some other poor unsuspecting female. I meet two friendly Aussie sisters who have the same itinerary as I - Rome then Venice. We arrive at the Termini, after what felt like an eternity, as I am in Rome stuck in a tin can (the train) unable to explore. The Aussies and I part ways and I try to find Megan and the Mike's among the thousands of other people. We finally find each other and breathe a sigh of relief. I guess both of us were fearful we wouldn't be able to find each other, especially without a 'plan B'

We head straight to the Colosseum to see it all lit up and I am absolutely speechless. It wasn't until that moment that I stepped out of that train station that I realized, I was indeed in Rome. That's right, you can take the train directly there and as soon as you get out of the station, there it is. Standing in all its glory. Thousand years of history, waiting to be explored. After I wipe the perma grin / astonishment off my face, we head to our hotel and pass out. We both had exhausting days.

DAY ONE
Megs and I get up around 7 to get ready for our day. A full blown day at the Vatican. We arrive to a ridiculous line up, as most people had the same idea as us, to avoid the Vatican on Sunday bc of Sunday Mass. No biggy. Mike A (MA)and I decide to endure the line to see the Vatican Museum, where Megs and other Mike (ML to limit confusion) decide to explore around the area as they have already seen it. I see the Sistine Chapel, endless amounts of artwork dating back to xx BC and after about 2.5 hours, everything begins to look the same. Don't get me wrong, I was amazed and continue to be amazed by the beauty of it all, but to recapture everything in words (with my limited time on the internet here) would take hours. We have a quick bite to eat along this beautiful bridge and head back to the Vatican. We hike up 551 steps to the top of the Vatican and look down to St. Peter's Square. Now remember, I'm already stupified in the beauty of everything else from the morning, but this just put me over the edge. The view is indescribable and when I am able to post pics, I'm sure most of you (and by that I mean the whole 4 of you reading this) will fully agree. I realize at that moment, atop the Vatican that I had rushed through my day and seeing 'everything' as opposed to enjoying the moment. Here I break away from the group for awhile to take it all in - being in Rome, being at the Vatican, being lucky enough to have this experience. Cheesy, yes. Worthwhile, hell ya. After that we headed back to St. Peters Square to take photos, all the while, I'm rereading Angels and Demons in my mind to picture Tom Brown's vision in the book. I am a dork at heart. We decide to head back to the hotel for a short siesta (basically a break or a nap, they're very popular here) but along the way, I decide I need to have gelato bc a) it's Italy and b) it's scorching outside. The gelato is awesome. Amato Gelato my ass. Yes, I said it! This was incomparable to anything in calgary and those who know me, know I don't discriminate against desserts. Well ladies and gents, I am a changed woman.. Maybe..

After our siesta, we decide to have dinner at a pizzeria near the Colosseum and when I say near, I mean, I am drinking wine and cutting my pizza facing this thing. Thats the thing about Rome, I expected all the sites to be far off in some distant place, bus ride required, but it's nothing like that. Everything is in the neighbourhood, in your face beautiful.

DAY TWO
I wake up to a thunderstorm. Yes, I am almost in tears. The plan is to see the Colosseum up close and personal. AND IT'S F-ING RAINING. Not just raining, monsoon raining. Luckily, like Calgary (can you believe it??!) the weather changes like a teenage girl with PMS (again, I said it..) and after breakfast, it's sunny again. Perma grin and all, MA, ML and I head to the Colosseum. Megs has already been there twice. Lucky biotch - just kidding love! We arrive to yet another ridiculous crowd, it is high season afterall. It was really cool to be there and envison all the plays, political speeches and executions that took place here. That being said, I am sadly disappointed. You know when you have this vision of how something is supposed to be and it's absolutely grandiose but when you get there, it is nothing like expected? That was me. There. At the Colosseum. I felt like a fraud, a jerk, a combination of two. Like I was unworthy to be there bc I didn't fully appreciate this. Slightly disappointed, we headed to the Forum and holy hey-zeus, I was blown away. This was the feeling I thought I would get at the Colosseum but the Forum was ridiculous. Destroyed building here, church there.. I wish I could post pics so you would understand!

It was a crazy day after the Forum. Saw the Pantheon which is the only intact building that remains from thousands of yrs ago in its entirety. Then to the Fountain of something I don't remember how to spell. MA and ML decide they are exhausted especially being threatened by yet another thunderstorm. Megs and I decide that no rain can stop us from our last night in Rome so we venture out. Have a bottle of white wine and some more delicious pizza - so delicious, my meticulous and OCD calorie counting inner voice encourages me to eat rather than scowling me.. We then head to the spanish steps but not before grabbing some gelato. Where the owner spoils us with a glass of wine, more pizza and appies. All free. Did I mention I LOVE ROME?! We take some ridiculous pictures at the steps only to realize, we better hurry back before we miss the last metro and get stranded. Laughing the entire way back to our hotel room, we both pass out.

DAY THREE (today)
I have just arrived in Venice, or Pedova to be exact, near Venice but cheaper. 8 hr car ride, I am exhausted. Just thought I'd send a quick update before all the details of my first two days are flooded out by white wine.

I promise I will get pics up asap.

Thanks for reading! It means a lot! Don't forget to comment, comment, comment!

Ciao!

PS - I am trying to pick up as much Italiano as possible. I would love to live here!