Well, I guess I may as well sum it up. Me and my friend almost got put in jail for three days. We were on the train and then these cops came up to everyone asking for our papers and we made copies of every single page in our passport because we were told that was alright when traveling within Italy. So the cops checked ours and said we need originals and we said we didn't have them and then we found out copies are not acceptable. Luckily, they let us go with a warning. Then, we we got to the hostel, we found out that they needed real ID too and that usually we'd be put in jail but for now they'll let us stay. We were soooo lucky but seriously, now we are attatching our passports to our hips.
2. The Colesseum is not a place to go when it's snowing.
It has been said that it has not snowed hard in Italy for 15 years, so you have to think, when is it really going to snow again? The chances are slim to none. Oh, but boy was I wrong. Waking up on Friday, my friend and I decide to go to the Colesseum bright and early so we would have the whoel rest of the day to go sightseeing. It was drizzling but we tried to be optimistic, and then we thought, maybe we shouldn't go today cause you want ot see it when it's sunny. But our friend that we met, Josh, he told us to suck it up and to go that day and see it, so we agreed. By the time we arrived there, it was raining a lot, but we had our umbrellas up and were ready to see the infamous architecture. We paid our twelve euros and went upstairs. It was amazing! I got one picture of the inside and then what happens?? It started SNOWING! Out of the 15 year break of no snow, it snows, the day I'm there, paying money. Then it's a blizzard and we don't even know what to do with outselves. We have to go inside and warm up because our fingers and toes were beyond frozen. Then a woman comes up to us and says that because of the snow, the building is closing. So we paid 12 Euros to go into a building, take no good pictures, and freeze our butts off, and got no refund out of it. Was not enthralled at all.
However, last night i got to back with a kid named Mitch and take some pictures of the Colesseum at night and I have to say that I think that made my bad experience here turn good because the pictures I got out of it were incredible and made me fall in love with Rome even more than I already had. Beautiful right?
3. 24-Hour Bakeries are the most brilliant invention on the planet.
So, when we arrived in Rome on Thursday night, we were starving and nothing in Rome was open. (Definitely not like New York City). But we heard from the guy Tim at the reception desk that there was a bakery that serves food 24 hours a day and it's baked fresh. So we respond to that by running down the hallway, grabbing our coats and shoes and money and headed out the door. Our new Australian friend Josh, came for the walk with us. We kind of got a little lost but eventually we found it. When I walked in, I could've sworn I heard angels. It was like a gift from God. They had fresh pastries being made and the size of everything was something that you couldn't even believe. After eating our troubles away of almost getting arrested, we walked back to our hostel incredibly satisfied.
4. Go to the Trevie Fountain when it's very sunny out.
Luckily, our day with the blizzard had to continue with more sightseeing so we headed to the Trevie Fountain. My friend ordered me to visit there and take pictures so I knew it had to be visited in the time that I was in Rome. For some reason, a miracle occured and it got sunnier, not warmer, but no more ridiculous weather. When we arrived at the Trevie, the sun was out and the fountain was flowing and it was the single most amazing fountain I've ever come acrossed. I didnt' want to leave because I just kept staring at it just mesmerized by the sights it had to offer.
5. It is possible to walk all over Rome, but know exactly where you're going.
So, walking home with my friend back to our apartment on Saturday we tried to go a long way, over a bunch of different bridges and taking a lot of pictures and getting as many sights in as possible. But we decided to not open the map until we found some place to go to eat. Bad idea. Because of course i think we found the one road that had not one food place on it. So we ended up wlking down this one road that pretty much took us into a residential district. We tried to find it on the map at that point and for the first time I had to say, "I think we're off the map." So a bus, adn about 4 miles later of walking, we returned back to the hostel ready to not move our feet for the next couple of hours. At least we got some good pictures out of it:
6. The Spanish Steps...yeah, they're just steps.
I don't care what the historical significance was or why they were built, but the Spanish Steps...they're just steps! There's nothing special about them. Even if it is beautiful, which I'm sure it is in the summer with all of the landscaping, i just think it was a sight that i would have been okay with missing. There was nothing there that really caught my attention. My house has steps, the hostel I stayed in had steps, I see them everywhere! I want to be able to see sights that will take my breath away and the only thing about the Spanish Steps that took my breath away was walking up them.
7. Never underestimate a hostel, you may meet the friends of a lifetime.
On Thursday night, my friend and I walked into the hostel in Rome and all we saw were people drinking and screaming and running around. We literally looked at each other and almost turned around and left because we didn't know what to expect. Little did we know, this hostel changed our view of Italy in the most dramatic way. I met the most amazing people, every worker was so friendly and helped us with anything; it was a place I never wanted to leave. My roommates were so amazing. First there was Mitch from Canada who is so cool and so much fun to hang out with. Then there's Victor from New Zealand who was a bit older but acted just like the rest of us. There were two other people I didn't know because they were never there but the last one was Josh from Australia. He had to be one of the sweetest people I've ever met. Me and my friend fell in love with him and had such a blast hanging out with him. He even let me straighten his hair. (You know, to go with that gay image of being a shoe salesman) Then there were other people from just the hostel. Lawrence and Aaron were always the very very drunk ones from Australia but they were a blast to be around. I hung out with them every single night. And I can not forget about George/Sjorn. That curly haired kid from Holland. Then the workers Tim and Angus, were soooo amazing. They drank with all of us and cooked and were so helpful with anything we needed. It was mindblowing. Everyone there was so nice to me and it made me think of my friends back home and how much I miss them. If I could have stayed in that hostel longer, I don't know if I ever would have left. This hostel made my trip to Rome above and beyond anything I imagined.
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