Rome: City of Romance, Pasta, and Hairy Men

I couldn't push the snooze button five times like I usually do. I had to "shit, shower, and shave" and be ready to greet my Spanish bus driver at 6:30 a.m. Not a minute more. I was taking the bus to the metro that was in turn going to carry me on my merry way to Madrid International so I could meet up with my two American friends, Liz and Sam. We were catching an early flight on Ryanair to the romantic, beautiful, melodic city of Rome.

We were excited as we finally settled into our seats with no long delays or snafus. We found our check-in counter perfectly, the line at the security check was short, and we got the emergency exit seats, so we had plenty of room. The only bummer thing I can think of is the lady at the security check took my hair mousse. Besides having to deal with a possible horrific fro in Rome, I was on top of the world! I was fortunate, however, for my buddy Liz who lent me a little of hers. What a lifesaver! I wouldn't have to worry about knocking over a small frail Italian grandmother with my atrocious curly locks.

After we landed, we took a short bus ride into town. Along the way, we passed so many ruins and ancient decrepit stone buildings. They weren't even the ones the tour books write about! Just little pieces of history sitting along side the road. It was VERY cool. Once we got downtown, we checked in to our hostel, The Yellow, and were pleasantly surprised. It was a great neighborhood close to some cool restaurants, the metro, as well as a hip bar conveniently situated downstairs. The bar, which is also owned by the hostel, had cheap and delish breakfasts each morning. I think I paid 2 euro for french toast with a banana on it and it was the same for a egg and bacon breakfast sandwich INCLUDING coffee or orange juice. Now, that's what I'M talking about!

The three of us walked around aimlessly for a while and eventually settled in at an outside cafe because we were literally about to eat our own thighbone, we were that hungry! The waiter was loud, hilarious and kept shouting random things. Typical Italian! HAHA! He was flirting with us ladies and even gave us an extra plate of red peppers and other stuff mixed in oil. I admit, I can't tell you what it was exactly, but it was good.

After we ate, we decided to check out some used books and postcards table booths. There were tons of book booths all down one street. The first one we went to was pretty interesting. I found these three mini books in a small fitted cardboard book box that I was interested in. Well, for whatever reason, these damn books kept falling out of the little book box. I was like WTF? I even had the opening closed. The woman who managed the stand looked over at me. I looked around and then picked them up. I started looking through the books again, and BAM. The books fell on the ground again. Liz looked over at me and I'm like WHAT? I'm not even doing anything. I started laughing and picked them up again. Finally, for a third time they land on the ground and the woman comes storming over and grabs the books out of my hand. I was still a little in shock, like WTF is going on? Liz is laughing and finally I realize that although the little box looked completely fine, it was actually caving in on one side. The lady just looks at me like I am a complete idiot who has no respect for her books. I was thinking in my head, "Lady, I freaking love books and would not just throw one on the ground for shits and giggles, I am sorry I did not know your little book container was broken! Why don't you tape it for God's sake!" Well, she must have been a gypsy too because she read my mind and went back to her sitting area and began taping the little book box. I wasn't even going to try to get them back.

To top it all off, Liz was looking at antique postcards, some even with writing already on them, that were in a box labeled 50 euro cents each. Liz gives the lady the post cards to purchase, but the lady tries to charge Liz double. We look at each other like WTF? Liz put the cards down and we start walking away. Another woman, who looks like it could have been the other lady's mother, mother, stands up from her chair and starts pointing and yelling at us in Italian. We just kept walking.

We decided to take the metro to explore more of Rome and headed out towards the Colosseum. We decided to take pictures here and there and not go in to any places. We were waiting for our third friend, Glenn, to arrive later that day so that we could visit all of the major sites the next two days. We did manage to find a quaint restaurant overlooking the Colosseum to hang out at while drinking some much needed Baileys and coffee.

The next day was action-packed and ambitious. We started off the day by heading over to the Vatican. We stood in line for what seemed like an hour and a half. It wasn't too bad. It was a beautiful day and I am sure you can agree waiting an hour and a half in warm and sunny Rome, just can't be compared to waiting in line back home. Every few minutes, various tour guides would come up to us asking us if we spoke English and if we wanted a tour. Finally, Sam told one of the guys, "No habla ingles." The guy turned back and looked at him, "Yeah right, your from Ohio!! You look just like my American friend!" He was caught red-handed.

The Vatican was AMAZING! Vatican City is a walled in sovereign city-state that is the central governing body of the Roman Catholic church, home to the POPE, and is also home to some of the most famous art in the world. St Peter's Basilica, includes architects ranging from Bramante, Michelangelo, Giacomo della Porta, Maderno and Bernini. The Sistine Chapel is famous for its frescos, which includes works by Perugino, Domenico Ghirlandaio and Botticelli as well as the ceiling and Last Judgement by Michelangelo. You are not allowed to take pictures inside the Sistine Chapel, but my friends and I couldn't resist. We went down on our knees so we were blocked by the crowds and took pictures up into the air of the frescos. I would't advise doing this because some got caught. I guess we were just feeling a little adventurous. After spending a few hours inside the Vatican, we ate some awesome Italian food. Isn't all Italian food awesome? And of course some Gelato! We meandered through Rome taking pictures of the miscellaneous statues, fountains and ruins. I can recall the Trevi Fountain and Fountain of Four Rivers. After that, my mind is blank. There are so many exquisite pieces of history to recall.

On Sunday, we got an early start and headed off to see the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Roman Aqueducts, and the Pantheon. We walked from day until night from one attraction to the next. After accomplishing nearly all the major sites in Rome, we began to ponder visiting the coast. We had been talking about it throughout our trip. We were leaving the next day, extremely early and would not have time the next day. So at 6 p.m, we boarded a train to the town of Ostia. It was very chilly and starting to rain, but we didn't mind. We were in ITALY! We walked up the promenade and took pictures of the Mediterranean ocean, pictures of fisherman, kite-surfers, stray kitties, and desolate beachfront resorts. After walking in the cold, we craved some grub and coffee and decided to settle in at a beachfront restaurant and discoteca called Shilling. While my friends conversed over coffee, I decided to make nice with the bartender. I ordered myself a glass of local red wine. The bartender got very excited when she heard my English because she had just returned from working as an au-pair in Washington DC a few months earlier. We talked about her life and where she grew up, her struggles with loving Italy but not being able to afford it, and her life ambitions. She really wants to move to the U.S, but she said our economy is as bad as Italy's and no one will give her the three month contract she needs to receive a visa. I felt bad for Sara. I could see had many goals she wanted to accomplish, but she was having to essentially put her life on hold and ride out the waves. We exchanged our email addresses, Facebook ids and discussed a possible reunion in the future.

Once our drinks were empty and our tummy's bloated, we decided to set back on foot towards the train station. A short time later, we arrived back to Rome, greeted by crazy thunder, lightning, and a torrential downpour. None of us had our umbrellas or even hoods for that matter. So we did what any other logical person would do, WE BOLTED AND RAN THE WHOLE WAY TO OUR HOSTEL IN THE FANATICALLY POURING RAIN! Although, we all looked like soppy sewer rats, we were all laughing! Or at least some of us were! Once we got back into the warmth of our hostel, some changed, while I blow dried my hair. My pants were soaked and they were the only ones I brought so I was out of luck. We ended our last night by eating some delicious Italian cuisine at a small joint down the street from our hostel. I had chicken cacciatore and spaghetti carbonara with gelato. It was SUPERB! After we stuffed ourselves to the max with the best Italian food in the world, we headed back to the hostel to await our alarms that would be sounding in exactly three and a half hours.

Beautiful sites. Check. Mouthwatering Food. Check. Hairy Italian Men. Check. Melodic Language. Check. Exploring Italy with my three friends surviving only on mere hours of sleep. PRICELESS!