Travels Revisited: Roma! Italia! June 2019

Roma! Italia! Venezia! Lol but really me Jenny, Libby and Kimmy went to Rome this weekend!

May 31st- we left so so early for the airport so we could get to Rome early! We had a tour of the Vatican at 2:30. Our air bnb was right in the city center next to the ruins of the Forum of Augustus. So cool! So much history just all around Rome there are ruins everywhere which is crazy that they’re still uncovering and discovering things. Rome had a really cool vibe, definitely energetic and louder than Prague is lol. Once we got to our air bnb- which was 10 mins walking distance from the Trevi Fountain and the Coliseum-we booked it over to the Vatican museum and spent hours walking through that labyrinth. Each room was massive, filled with old statues and the ceilings were all painted and decorated ornately. The best room was this really cool gold ceiling and the room took 20 minutes to walk through one side to the other. The walls had pictures and maps of the islands and the old names on one side and the new names on the other. We also got to see the Sistine chapel in the Vatican- it was impressive definitely crazy to think about one guy painting the whole room and all of the ceiling looked 3D. There were so many people there though, which made it hard to walk through quickly. We went to St. Peters Basilica but we didn't make it inside because we got there too late. It was really pretty from the outside though, the pillars surrounding it made it look more expansive. We checked out the ice bar that night, super touristy and americans were the only ones there but it was cool, literally. Our drinks were served in ice glasses.

June 1st- We woke up late!! So nice. Then we had lunch-only pizza and pasta the whole weekend but it was amazing Italian pizza and pasta. The wine was also so good and cheap. We had a tour of the Coliseum at 3 but we walked to the Trevi Fountain first and took typical tourist pics as we threw our coins in and made a wish. Then we got gelato, one of 5 times. Then we made it to the Coliseum entrance but it wasn't where we needed to be for the skip the line tour., so we had to go to the Roman forum first-which I liked better than the coliseum. I thought the hill and the ruins were really unique and different than anything I had seen before. The ruins were crazy I just couldn't believe it was thousands of years of Roman history just sitting there in the middle of the city. Luckily I had just taken ancient mediterranean world the semester before so since we didn't do a walking tour or really read much I knew some of the history. I think it's really important to know the history of a place or it's just a bunch of buildings. I read up on Venice before we went for that reason. That's the whole appeal of Rome anyway-the history of it. Restaurants are super interesting in Rome too- the service isn't great, they're pretty slow, but there's a lot of competition so they have people outside trying to get your business. We went to this one place that gave us free champagne while you waited. We had to go to bed pretty early for our train ride to Venice at 6am, but we went to the Trevi Fountain at night and got gelato again.

June 2nd- early morning train to Venice- it was a bit rough- but Venice was worth it! The place was so cool, very different than anything I have seen. A unique city for sure. The canals and bridges were gorgeous and the buildings were so colorful. I think avoiding the tourist areas is the way to go because my favorite part was the side streets and small restaurants we saw that we're away from the main street. There was laundry hanging between buildings in those backstreets and I think that's part of the charm of Venice-the different lifestyle of the locals. Everything is by boat-no cars, we even tried a vaparetto, a water metro basically- and it was so touristy that I am sure everyone that lives there owns a small boat. Our hostel was right in the center which was cool because out the window was a canal. I still wonder how they built Venice. I had a cannoli and gelato-going full Italian.

June 3rd-Long trek back home-bus, plane, bus, metro, tram.. but finally we made it and I rewarded my tired body with a trip to the cat cafe:) I sat in the cat cafe for 5 hours just hanging out and it was a wonderful way to decompress. We went to the mall and the beer museum that night but boy was I exhausted.