Spring Break: Day 4,5,6

Spring Break: Day 4, 5, 6

Rome, Pompeii and Milan, Italy

          Days 4, 5 and 6 took Tym and I to Italy! Taking the train that afternoon from Switzerland to arrive in Rome that same night took only a few hours and once we got to Rome we had to wander around a bit to find our hostel. No worries, we found it after awhile and they had snacks...so I was a happy camper. We booked the same hostel for three nights so we would just be able to leave our things in the same spot each day and not have to lug them around or change rooms. Every hostel is different. Some are just like hotels, some don't offer towels...you have to pay for them, some are like a bed and breakfast which is more like this one was. It was in the basement of an apartment complex and it had probably 4 or 5 rooms and one bathroom to share between all of them. Tym and I were the only guests when we were there so it was kind of nice because it was really homey and didn't feel like we were living out of a suitcase as much as other places did. 

          The next morning we were up bright and early and since it was warm out Tym put on his khaki shorts and I had a sundress on....clearly we were American because the Italians were all wearing heavy coats, jeans, scarves and sweaters. I was sweating in my sundress and they looked cold! Besides looking like total tourists, also because we were pale and Italians are not, we headed to the Vatican since it was only a 10 minute walk from our hostel. The Vatican is very large but beautiful. We did not go in for a tour because the line was unbelievably long but we were able to see the balcony where the Pope stands and walk around the square for a bit. Were I catholic, I think it would have meant a lot more to me or I would have understood more about it (??) but I am still glad I got to see it! 

In the front middle you can see the balcony where the Pope stands to address the public.

Pillars surrounding the circle.

Tym forgot his flag....so he was trying to do a Delta. It looks like he was having some trouble with it :)

          After the Vatican, we headed to see the coliseum. We took the metro there because it would've been a long walk. In Paris, London and other big cities there are at least 10 different metro lines all over the city. In Rome, there is Line A and Line B and they make an X across the city. Makes it easy to find which line you need to get on! There are only two lines because the Romans are afraid to dig tunnels to make the metro underground because they known they will find more ruins and whatnot and they'll have to excavate. Which in turn costs a lot of money and wastes a lot of time. Anyhow, we made it to the coliseum and it was huge! Unfortunately there is a big metal gate going around most of it so some spots are not the best for pictures. We bought our 12 euro tickets to go inside for the tour and were surprised at how big it was! Although it is not all that picturesque from the inside, the outside is definitely beautiful. Because most everything has been eroded away on the inside, it is not as beautiful to look at but something a person needs to see if they're there. 

Inside the coliseum. 

The Arc of Constantine, where the soldiers would parade through after winning a big battle.

Where it is the light brown colored flooring, that is mimicking where the arena floor would have been. Past that is the underground walk ways that were below the flooring. 

A better look at the underground walkways. 

   From the coliseum we could see all of the Roman forums, which are the ruins. Even though they are just old, crumbled down buildings, it was beautiful. They Italian landscape provides the perfect backdrop for great pictures of this area. It is crazy to think how old those buildings actually were and that we could’ve been standing on top of other buildings and ruins that still had not yet been excavated.

           After the coliseum we traveled up to see the Fountaine di Trevi, the Trevi Fountain. We got out at the metro stop and there was a cute little courtyard area with a small fountain in it. I was looking around for a map or an idea of where we were supposed to go from there and Tym was looking puzzled. He asked me why I was looking for a map because the Trevi Fountain was right there and I had to tell him the fountain we were looking for was slightly bigger than that. After wandering for a bit we found the Trevi Fountain. There were SO many people. It was even hard to move there were so many people! We sat in the sun and tried to ignore the constant act of people asking to take your picture so you can pay them. Good lord those people are annoying. Rome is beautiful. Absolutely beautiful and I hope to go back again someday but the beggers and people constantly trying to sell you things are so rude that it nearly ruins the whole day. You cannot go anywhere or enjoy anything without someone in your face always trying to get you to give them money or buy something from them. It definitely takes away from the city’s beauty. Regardless, we waited at the Trevi Fountain for Tym’s Delt friend Charlie to show up. Charlie is an architecture student, also from ISU, who is studying in Rome. It was nice to see him again and he offered to buy us beers as we walked to the Spanish Steps. I got gelato instead, which is so delicious, but those two got beers and sat in the sun drinking. I let them talk for a while and I wandered around the steps and took pictures. 

Charlie took us to see so many different sights after this that I seriously cannot even begin to remember them all. He was a great tour guide because for his architecture classes they have shown him around the city many times and he knows all about the structures and buildings all over the city! We saw so many different things, every time we turned around we were standing on a different landmark. I feel like that in Paris too but Rome has so many more landmarks! By this time we were starving and took a potty break at Charlie’s school before heading off to find supper! Finding lactose free meals is difficult in France but much more so in Italy considering all they eat is ice cream and pizza. And yes I had gelato, but being in Italy, I stomached it for the day because the gelato was delicious. At the restaurant they did not have pasta without cheese so I ordered a calzone with only ham. A calzone with only ham is exactly was they brought out. No sauce no nothing, just salty ham in bread. People in Europe have no concept of not being able to eat dairy. They just look at you like you’re an alien when you ask for no cheese or if that specific dish has milk in it. We ended up having the waitress bring some sauce out and then it was more edible. After dinner we headed back to see Charlie’s apartment and took the metro home from there. It was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun.

           The next day Tym and I took the train down to Pompeii to see Mount Vesuvius and the Pompeii ruins. Now that has been awhile and I can’t remember everything that went wrong that day I will just briefly overview what I can remember, a very creepy strange man hitting on me on the train, almost getting kicked off the train because the ticket checker thought we had the wrong tickets, getting on the wrong metro line because it was not clearly marked, getting harassed by more men on this metro, getting off that metro because it was the wrong one, having to wait 30 minutes for next metro to come, getting on different metro and off again to wait for next line to come only to find the lines were shut down for an hour, waiting in the boonies of Italy for an hour, having to pee so bad I thought I was going to pop and cry, security man watching Tym and I wait for an hour on the security screen, him coming and letting me go pee in the weirdest bathroom in the world, yelling at us because we were “dumb Americans” who were lost, making it to Pompeii where within one block of walking distance we were harassed by so many people selling us tickets and tours that we almost did not even want to go in, coming out of Pompeii to grab a quick dinner which the man said was “the best in the world” clearly not because we watched his employees microwave it….just saying!, and finally we made it back to our train to Rome, tired, pissed and hungry. After so many bad things going wrong we were both in sassy moods and that made Pompeii hilarious. The cobblestone streets were so rough that is was hard to walk and Tym tripped several times and I laughed so hard each time I was in tears. Then I tripped and completely wiped out which was much worse than Tym had done so I go made fun of back, which was completely deserved….I supposed. Pompeii was neat when we FINALLY got there. Mount Vesuvius is huge. Literally huge. If I was alive when that volcano blew I would have been headed for the hills like it was my job. The top is flat, like the top literally blew off when the volcano erupted. Pompeii is an ancient city with all kinds of Roman buildings, a mini coliseum, a theater and whatnots that make up a small city. It was beautiful and that day was warm too so that helped perk us up after the long awful morning. Having just come into Pompeii there was a lady with a strong southern accent who seemed worried and frantic. All of a sudden she goes up to this young Asian man and says very slowly and shakily “ Dooo yaaaa’llll speaaak Ennnglishh?” and he says” Um, yes?” Turns out she had been looking for the exit for an hour and couldn’t get out. Although we felt bad for her, it was a hilarious situation. Probably much funnier in person but still funny.

Mount Vesuvius!

Court yard in an ancient Pompeii home. 

MOUNT VESUVIUS! 

A street in Pompeii.

A view of a vineyard and Mount Vesuvius! 

As you can see, the cobblestones are not the friendliest....

This is right before I ate the cobblestones.

Mount Vesuvius in the background! 

          That night we headed back to Rome and had dinner with Charlie again. This time, the dinner was completely delicious and made me look forward to Westergard spaghetti back at home, woot!!! We said our goodbyes to Charlie and headed back to the hostel to pack up and leave the next morning. 

          We were supposed to go to see the leaning tower of Pisa the next morning but the Italian train lines ruined my dream and we were not able to go. I was rather upset about it but that just means I will have to go back to Italy again some day! From Rome we headed to Milan to catch our train back to Paris. Got to the station just fine, had some last minute gelato and headed to find our train home. Turns out it was at a completely different station in Milan. We realized this too late and spent the next two hours in many different lines, information booths and talking with tourist booths trying to figure out how to get back to France to catch our train to Barcelona the next morning. Turns out they did not have anything until 11:00 PM that night and magically our railpasses did not work for this specific train so we had to pay the full fair and wait nearly 6 hours in the train station just twiddling our thumbs. We were exhausted and upset but after way too long, the train finally came and we got on board. After the longest, most stressful and most completely uncomfortable ride to France we safely arrived the next morning. It was nice to be back in a somewhat familiar place and to go to my apartment to shower and make our own lunch. 

Two sad kids just wanting to get on the train. 

          Italy is beautiful! The people are rude, aggressive, loud and pushy. The men are also 100% first class creepers and I am so glad I had Tym with me because they are very pushy and completely rude. Besides the majority of the people and the travel frustrations we had, Italy was beautiful and we had a great time! Roma is amazing and I would love to go back and spend more time there! Maybe spend a day or too on an Italian beach?