Rome (Sat and Sun)

Pictures: 1) with the Forum, 2) with Coliseum, 3) inside the Coliseum, 4) the Arc di Tito, 5) Spanish Steps, 6) in the Piazza de Navona

This morning I went on the internet for a little bit before leaving my hostel in Salerno and I talked to a guy (Joel) from Vancouver. He is biking around Europe! That’s crazy, but cool. Anyway, he was switching hostels today to one near the train station, so he walked with me there which made the 25 minute walk with all my luggage much more enjoyable. I told him places he should go on his journey, and he told me about places he’d been. It was nice to talk to someone in English!

The train ride to Rome was very quick and it was easy to find my hostel (very close to the train station). This hostel (Legends Hostel) is great! You get free breakfast AND dinner! I’m waiting for the pasta to be ready now (and I’m drinking free hot chocolate). After I got here and put my stuff in my dorm room (which is also pretty nice with an in-suite bathroom), it was about 3 pm. I headed toward the Forum area, and after looking at that, I waiting in a long line to get into the Coliseum. Thanks to my student ID card, I got in for 7.50 Euros instead of 12! That thing is really coming in handy.

I’m glad I went inside - it is really cool and just imagining the way it was in life, with thousands of people yelling and cheering watching the spectacles below…well, it was pretty cool.
I also got to see the Arco di Colnstino which is right by the Coliseum. From there I walked to the Trevi Fountain (which was SO crowded!), but at least I got pictures. From there I just walked back, snapping pictures as I went to make sure I got here in time for dinner ;) You know me - if there’s free food, I’ll be there.

I just ate a lot of pasta (with peas and meat) and I’m stuffed now. This place is great. I’m going to try and find a café where I can get wi-fi so I can post this. Choosing which photos to upload will be difficult though…

I just met 2 of my roommates - Paul and Bell from Canada. They are really nice and I’m going to hang out with Bell tonight, but she had to take a shower so I came to McDonald’s where there is supposed to be free Wi-Fi but it is giving me such a run around! According to terrorist laws, you have to give them all your info to use the internet, and it didn’t accept my phone number (from the UK) so I used Bell’s because it’s an Italian number, but now it’s going to text the password I need to her! Lol Anyway, she’s supposed to meet me here, so I guess I’ll wait for her to get here and hope she has the password. What a hard time! Wireless is really scare here, and now I know why!

Bell and Paul are going to Florence next too, but they leave the day before me. I think we’ll try to meet up there. They’re staying in a hostel, but I’m hoping to hear back from a CSer. Tomorrow I’m meeting a CSer during the day in front of the train station - he’s a tour guide here in Rome and he said he’d be happy to show me around some.

WELL, I couldn’t find internet last night (the text never arrived in Bell‘s phone), so I’m updating my blog now and this will just be a two day blog. Last night I walked around with Bell to the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, and some other places. We ended up chilling on the Spanish Steps for about an hour just talking. She is really cool. We didn’t get back until about 12:30 and then I had to shower so I was in bed by 1:30 and woke up at 9 for breakfast.

I met Gianni (the couch surfer) this morning at 10:30 and we walked all around the city. He took me to pretty much every famous piazza - I got to see the parliament building, the Pantheon, the Templo Adriano, the Piazza Navona (which has a famous fountain in it and where I had my portrait drawn last time I was in Rome), the Piazza Colonna, the Campo de Flori and a bunch of other places. Lol He was very nice and we just walked and talked and he showed me to an AMAZING gelato place where I had a cup for 2.50 with chocolate-orange, kiwi, and banana flavors. Mmmm. At 2 he had to leave to go somewhere so we said goodbye, but I was glad to have met him as he was quite knowledgeable about his city and it gave me someone to hang out with (without constant map consultation!).

Bell and Paul went to some ruins outside the city today and to the Coliseum which is why I wasn’t hanging out with them. I’m sure we’ll all do something together tonight since they leave tomorrow. I plan to do the Vatican tomorrow.

I really love this city because everywhere you walk, there is some beautiful architecture to be amazed by. It is also a very walkable city, so I have only taken public transit once (though my knees, ankles, and lower back are all starting to hurt).