All Roads Lead to Rome

Settembre 8, 2010

First of all, I'm sorry, but for some reason this site will no longer allow me to add pictures to my blogs. Sad day, I know. However, there is a photo album on facebook titled Rome 2010. I will be adding pictures throughout the year to keep you all in the loop of what's going on here, at least when I remember to have a camera. ;)

*side note* I saw a LOT of people today, tourists, locals, everyone. Upon looking at these people (it's what I do, people watch), I noticed no matter what the age, sex, or expression, the reason Italians are so attractive is their eyes (obviously, there are exceptions both ways). No matter what they are doing Italian's deep emotion embedded in their eyes (angry, romantic, despondent, curious, or endearing)the passion of the emotion is carried over.

Ok, so everyone who knows me, knows 2 things about me. 1-I can be stubborn. 2- I don't curse. Well, this morning starting off, I decided I was not going to look at a map all day, I would just hop from bus to bus, see what I thought I wanted to see and go from there. I hopped on the appropriate two buses and walked a little ways(there was some confusion amongst locals where the street I was looking for actually was, we figured it out in the end) to get to my school so I could talk about my classes and when they'd start and what level I would be at ecc. As I was entering the building, another girl was, it turns out we are going to be taking classes together, and she's from Austria. After we talked about school stuff I headed off to look at some sights, without a map, or direction in general... I walked past San Angelo's Castle then hopped on a bus that took me to Colonna Traiana (a big column that tells about the history of Roman victories), then to il Vaticano (a big deal amongst everyone, especially Catholics), and Fontana di Trevi (a big fountain originally used to show off Rome's water system). It was getting close to time for me to get back to the flat when I realized I had no clue where I was, I had wandered away from the Vatican and knew I had crossed the river, but unsure if I crossed it once or twice... so, I looked for a bus stop. If I could find one that would at least take me to the stazione termini I'd be fine. I couldn't find one... I walked a little while, still nothing... so I found one that said via Salaria, score, I know this backfired last time since I didn't realize how far via Salaria went out of Rome, but this time, I was ok with walking the 30 minutes back to the flat. So I hopped on the bus and went to via Salaria. When I got to via Salaria, I thought, "Poo. This does not look the same." So I started walking anyway. I asked one man where Villa Ada was, he didn't know. I asked another, he gave me a general direction, so I continued that way, then I saw (for reals) an Olympic training center. I stopped and asked which direction Villa Ada was, the guy was very nice and helped me, but felt bad for me because it was a long walk... I continued to walk, and walk and walk... (next time I'm just looking for via Nemorense, it's closer to the flat) I got back and found out from Giorgio e Raffa, via Salaria is one of the five original roads of Rome, it actually goes to Germany and France. I think I might have crossed a border illegally. I made it back in time (barely) and am still in one piece.

While I was "bus hopping" I came around a corner and saw a GIANT building, Victor Emmanuel Monument. While I don't curse, that doesn't mean I don't know how to, just that I know how to restrain myself. While I rounded that corner, the first thing that popped in my mind from the sheer size of the structure was, "Holy f***-tarts!". I know it's not appropriate, and that is why I didn't say it, but I sure did think it, that building was HUGE! The statue in front of the building is of King Victor on a horse. The horse is 40 feet long and Victor's mustache is 5 feet long. It is the largest horse statue in the world. I'm telling you, GINORMOUS.

After the day was over, I went and helped Nico with his homework and we played at his cousins'. When Raffa got home we went and got some books for school for Nico then came back. Nico forgot to mention he had both English AND Italian. So Raffa was working with him and he had been in a tired, I-don't-know-why-i-am-crying, mood and he wasn't making it easy to help him with his work. Raffa got mad, and did some yelling and such, I felt like I was in trouble and I had no clue why. We got everything sorted out, I made some pasta and Raffa made some fish, both dishes were magnifico (the fish was better). After dinner, I went to Fontana di Trevi at night and enjoyed the less populated scene. I stopped at a gelateria for a small tiramisu gelato, then headed home. No hiccups, no missed buses, just on, off, then home. It was a beautiful day.

Sorry for the LONG post, just an eventful day. If you'd prefer shorter, less detailed posts, leave a comment and let me know. KTHXBAI.