Camping? In Rome???

You'll understand the title of this blog shortly...

Ok, so a sleepless 12 hours in the airport (you can read about this experience in the post below for Spain) and we are on a plane again, headed towards Rome. Upon arrival we take a bus to the metro station, we then hop on the metro and head to a train station, we then hop on the train and end up here...



So this wasn't quite what I expected. I'm not going to lie. We needed to get yet another shuttle that would take us to our hostel...so we marched across the street to use a phone. Wish I had pictures of that...cause once again the international payphone stumped us. But we've tackled pay phones in Amsterdam, Paris and Spain... we were up to the challenge and eventually figured it out. The shuttle arrived about 15 minutes later and we climbed in...relieved to say the least.

Now let's get on the same page for a minute. 12 hours in an airport with no sleep, crappy sleep on the plane ride, and quite the journey to get to the hostel... we were tired. And it was hot. While I was rather excited about the warm weather...I was also tired and had luggage... to be honest, I was looking forward to an air conditioned hostel room and a nap. Ok...so now we're on the same page.

We arrive at the hostel...but wait. It's not really a hostel. It's a camp ground...and I've never been camping.



So we're a little confused but are kinda stuck. So we take our map and set off to find our rooms on the camping facility site. Mind you I'm wheeling my suitcase over gravel roads.... And well, um, I found my room.





I'm not going to lie. I kinda cried. I got over it though and will admit that it turned out to not be that bad. The community shower facilities were fairly clean, they had a pool and a restaurant which served really good food, and a shuttle that took us to the train station every day. So what's a few bug bites and a crappy room...right? On the site there were the mobile units that we stayed in and then spots for RV's and tents.

I layed by the pool while Erica and Larson took a nap. We then headed in to city center Rome for dinner. The inner city was a lot nicer and much more what I was expecting. Now everyone knows that when they go to Rome, they have to have gelato. It's like an unwritten rule. While we were walking around, this girl passed us with the most amazing cone of gelato. Erica and I both double taked and then said, we have to find out where she got that. I deduced that since there wasn't much eaten off of the cone, that she must have obtained it recently from an establishment near by. And we were off...and we were on a mission. Success- we found it. And we went there every day. No need to try a different place, we had found perfection.



Ok so we all know that Rome wasn't built in a day, but what you might not know is that you can see it all in one day. One very long day.

First stop: Basilica
I've never seen such a long line...or so many nuns. It was really cool actually because you could tell that they had come from all over the world to see the church where the Pope addresses his community and followers.





Stop 2: Vatican
I was incredibly excited for the Vatican. It was another long line but was also well worth the wait.











*Note: behind me, is part of the old Vatican library. I'm guessing since not even the Pope gets to go into every part of their library...that I'm not going to get a chance either. Rats.

Fly by: Castle



Fly by: Court



Fly by: Fountains...





Stop 3: Parthenon
Absolutely amazing... I can't believe how well this structure has held up. And it has an opening in the top of its ceiling...so rain comes in to the center of the structure all the time. I guess they don't make em like they used to.





Stop 4: The coolest fountain I've ever seen





Stop 5: Old Rome





Stop 6: Colleseum



Roman picture anyone? Heck yes...I'm such a sucker for this type of thing. But, while I hate to admit it, I finally (and let's keep in mind that this is really my last trip) was suckered and exposed for the tourist that I am. So I was told the picture would cost 5 euros. We take our picture (with my camera mind you) and then once we've said cheese and it's all over...they say "that'll be 10 more euros". Huh? I already paid you 5. No...it's 5 per person. And then the guy takes the money right out of my hand. 15 freakin euros for this stupid picture. I was livid to say the least...and more than anything just felt dumb. To even out the costs, I sat outside the colleseum instead of paying the 11 euros to get in...and reflected on my dumb moment.





There was a bonus to me waiting outside while Erica and Larson went inside the colleseum. I'm sitting there and all of the sudden what do I hear? Why...it's the University of Southern California marching band. Of course...exactly who I'd expect to be performing outside the colleseum. ???





Stop 7: Memorial for un-named soldiers
Here lies one nameless soldier who died in the line of duty. The body represents all of the soldiers that are missing or have been found but were not able to be identified. Two guards stand outside the memorial 24 hours a day. The idea is that families can come to mourn...and they can hold on to the possibility that their loved one may be the body being guarded.



Stop 8: Gelato
Ok, so let me explain why this stuff is so good. My combo was, choc chip, mixed berry and raspberry on a cone...and then they top it with this cream stuff that's kinda like whip cream but 10 times better. Erica and Larson experimented and tried melon, pistacchio, mixed berry, coconut and a couple other flavors. But I'm really funny about that kind of stuff. If I find something I like I usually stick with it. I guess that's why I ate only turkey sandwhiches while growing up with the exact same condiments. I'm working on the whole branching out thing...while in Paris I learned that I loved to eat Kiwis. Go figure. The year that I found out that I liked cream cheese...that was a good year too. Anyways, the Gelato was amazing.



So that was Rome in a day...we saw about a million other things in between the main sights. The next morning we headed in to town early to have one last gelato and pick up the t-shirts that we had seen and knew we wanted to buy. And then it was time to head back to the airport for one last flight.

So it's time for us to land...we actually should have landed 15 minutes prior when the captain gets on the overhead and says that we can't land at Standsted or Luton airport and that we are going to land at Nottingham (???don't even know where that is). We then found out that there plan was to put us on a bus (for free of course...yay for us...pick up on my saracsm here)that will take us to Stansted airport where we were supposed to land. This bus ride will take approx. 2 hours. And then we'll still have to get home from Stansted which is a 45 minutes train ride and then a 35 minute tube ride. It was funny to listen to the other passengers...they were not pleased. All of the sudden I look over at Erica and she's got a bloody nose...lol The stress of it all was just too much! Look at the poor girl...



Courtesy of Larson, this is a picture of Nottingham. I debated with Erica if we count this as a day trip outside of London.



After a little while the captain got back on to let us know that they had changed their minds and the new plan was to refuel and then fly back to Stansted airport to land. The ironic part was, when we planned this trip we had paid extra to take the earlier flight home because I had to be at work the next morning and didn't want to get home extrememly late. Oh well...you can't have everything you want.



And we're enroute to Standsted...who's excited???



And that's my trip to Rome. Final thoughts...it was a dodgy area anywhere outside of the city center but once you got in...wow. And I think we all know how I feel about gelato.

Hablas Espanol?

Erica, her boyfriend Larson and I recently played hookey for a week. Part one was Salmanca, Spain and part two (to be found in a seperate post) was Rome.

Larson's cousin Katie is currently studying in Salmanca and her sister Anna was visiting during the same time that we were. Can't tell you how great it was to have a local to show us the city (and to help us order food in Spanish). A bit of background on my espanol skills. I took 3 years of Spanish in high school but haven't used it in quite some time thus my skills are mal (bad). I took Spanish from Senora Perez who was great but was also quite the stickler in regards to tardiness. And I think I was tardy practically every day as I had Spanish first period. Thus, I remember having to complete 900 make up minutes in one semester to make up for my tardiness. Funny thing is, when you made up time, you were only allowed to study spanish or use the spanish program on the computer to practice vocabulary words and conjegating verbs. Thus, my grades in the class drastically improved. Mom, I was only trying to be a better student by being late...I think that's a valid argument backed by cold hard numbers (test scores).

Anyways, we were pleasantly surprised to find that our hotel was located on the Plaza (the main plaza in Salmanca).



We were not as pleasantly surprised to find that our hotel room bosted a bathroom with a glass door and a shower with a clear glass door.







Just so you know who's who... the order is as follows:

Erica, Larson, Katie, Anna


Below are pictures of the Plaza at day and night time...







And if you're curious about how they keep the plaza so clean...see below. It's like one big vaccume.



I spent quite a bit of time in the plaza as it was a pretty small city and the plaza was the hub of activity. Mostly I sat and read...but I also had the opportunity to practice my espanol. There is an elderly gentleman who spends every day in the plaza and will talk to you regardless of if you want to or not. Every day he came and talked with me though most of the time I just smiled at him and said no comprende...and when asked if I spoke espanol my response was un poco (a little). On my last day, he came to talk to my twice so I really gave it a good effort. I had to substitute words with things that I knew and hope he understood. We actually did have a bit of a conversation though...was kinda fun.

Every morning we started our day out at a juice bar. And I'm not lying when I say that this is the best juice that I have ever had. You can get practically any combination of juice...my combo was orange and strawberry. It was fresh and thick...and amazing.



There is a tradition in Salmanca. For a bit of luck with their exams, students go to a specific wall to find the "frog". If you are able to locate the frog, you will have good luck on your exams. I found the frog (the bit on top of the skull). I also took a picture but not to worry. I took a close up, so if you ever get to go to Salmanca and are searching for the frog yourself, you will not know where it is. Thus you too have a chance at finding good luck.



Salmanca is basically a college city with not much aside from the University, the plaza and one cathedral. Thus, we did what everyone else was doing....euro shots (think the equivalent of dollar shots).









And finally, the cathedral.





Then it was time to head back to London, so we could head out to Rome. Funny thing is, there was a 12 hour gap between when we landed in London and when we'd take off again. We landed after 6pm and we were scheduled to take off at 6am. Now we could have gone home for a bit, but it really wouldn't have been all that long when you factor in how long it takes to travel to and from the airport in addition to needing to be at the airport 2 hours prior to the flight. Additionally, it would have been expensive to travel home...thus we made camp at the airport. It wasn't all that bad, until an elderly man next to me decided it was time to get ready for bed. I looked over and he had a blow up mattress and a sleeping bag. I'm thinking, man he's smart. But then he took off his pants and his shirt, pulled his silk sleeping mask over his eyes and crawled in bed. I was baffled to say the least...

Being the lightest sleeper ever, I didn't sleep a wink at the airport. The naked elderly man did, but I sure didn't. And that's where we'll leave this story. To be continued in the Rome post... (I know you're on the edge of your seats)