LITTLE visits the BIG city! (ROME 7)

Ciao!!!! I know that I have missed a week of my blogging expertise but I have so much to re cap everyone on now!

Here we go!

This week was a very special one, my little in my sorority, Lindsay, came to visit me on her spring break from school. She had a week off and decided to jet set all the way to ROMA to see me and Europe! I wanted to make sure that I got to show her everything Rome had to offer. As well as two mini excursion trips when I got out of class on Thursday!

Since I wanted to accomplish everything in a timely manner, I had to make a SCRICT itinerary. Although this required waking up every single day at 8AM, it was well worth it. The first thing I heard after my alarm every morning was “SUSSSSS?”. It was the only way to stick to my schedule (OCD kicking in) and see all the sights and restaurants we NEEDED to accomplish. I knew it was going to be well worth it.

The first day Lindsay got off the plane and arrived to my apartment by 9AM. When she arrived to piazza scotti, our eyes (and emotions) were in shock! We hadn't seen each other for two months, and it was almost surreal that all of a sudden Lindsay was in my abroad apartment!

I let Lindsay rest for approx. 20 minutes (lol jet lag doesn’t fit into the schedule) ! After that we went to lunch at one of my favorite places in Trastevere, saw the pantheon, trevi fountain, grand Emmanuelle monument and the outside of the coliseum. We also managed to add in a taste of the best gelato place in Rome, and make it home in time to get ready for dinner! By the end of the day the smiles in our pictures had faded into a somewhat tired grin.

Our very first dinner we got a liter of red wine, ready to relax, catch up and eat my favorite pasta! The food came, the wine slowly faded from the container, and we had a great time! The second we walked back into my room, we both passed out.

Each day, I had class in the afternoon so we would accomplish everything we could in the morning. Monday was very relaxing since Lindsay had to catch up on major sleep! Right at sunset, we went to the highest point and the most beautiful place of Rome. On Tuesday, we went to the coliseum and found a tour guide right outside. We were allowed to cut the line, and get a 45-minute tour of the history and architecture. We were in! ALSO you got to take a picture with a fake gladiator (normally 5 euros, no matter how attractive they are in case you were wondering) so that was such an ADDED BONUS! Our tour guide LOVED us, and seemed to spot us out of the crowd. Towards the end, I think that he liked us a little too much!

The next two days we saw the Sistine Chapel, the Spanish steps, went shopping on via del corso and went to multiple museums! Once Thursday arrived, we were off again! Once my Italian oral exam ended, we were off to make a train to Florence! Since I don’t have school on Friday, I thought that it would be nice to go to another place in Italy and show Lindsay even more of the country before she left!

Not only were the days hectic and fun but the nights were an important part of the schedule as well. We went to the Rome Ice bar, which was very cool. Everything is super cold and frozen, so you wear huge ponchos to keep you warm while you sip on your icicle drinks! We were one of the only ones in there, considering it was a Monday night and got to photo shoot ourselves around the whole bar. Always so much fun! Another night, we went to a bar with all my friends. It was karaoke night and we all knew what was coming! Lindsay does a great Britney Spears impression so Lucky was the song of choice. In the beginning I had major stage fright, but then I got used to being in the spotlight for the full three minutes ;)

It is funny how so much can happen in 24 hours. Once arriving in Florence around 1030 PM we took a cab straight to our “hotel.” Now I LOVE hostelworld, it normally never fails me. Although, this place did throw me for somewhat of a loop. We got to a five story brown stone and the hotel was not on the first floor, not on the second floor, but on the third floor of a somewhat sketchy building. Once we got to the one floor hotel, there was a very interesting grey haired man watching a horror movie (we think, #languagebarriers) by the desk. He took down our information, did not say a word and then gave us a key to our room. The room itself wasn’t bad, but it was completely silent. This was truly going to be an experience! From there we went to one of my favorite restaurants in Florence, and then out to the clubs. We got home around 4AM and were planning on getting up at 7AM. We then remembered why it didn’t matter what hotel we were staying at. The three hours of sleep could be anywhere!

The alarm went off at 7, 715 & 730. By 730AM we finally pulled our selves together, had the “free breakfast” from the hotel, and headed out. We saw the Duomo and Michael Angelo’s David first. We then went to the leather markets. We went to every stand before we purchased anything, making sure we got exactly what we wanted. We both left with scarfs, bags and belts! We were such smart shoppers, getting amazing deals and bargaining everything! We then went to the best Panini’s and gelato for lunch (thanks jap guide!) and ran back to get our luggage. We were heading back to.. OH NO, NOT ROME! But PISA!

Pisa is on the way to Rome and I have wanted to see the leaning tower of Pisa for a while. SO we took a little detour on our route back, and saw the beautiful structure. It actually didn’t lean as much as I thought, but it was beautiful. We rushed back, after some bus driver mishaps; and hopped on the train back to Rome!

We had one more famous pizza dinner, and then it was time for Lindsay to leave! It did not compare to our other favorite pizza in Rome that we had gone to earlier in the week. There the pizza crust was super thin and all the ingredients were very fresh. We made best friends with the waiters, and even got to help make the pizza/tour the kitchen!

LITTLE: if you are reading this, (YOU BETTER BE!) I hope you had the most amazing time in Italy and saw everything that you wanted to. It was great to prove to myself how much I knew about this city, and to show someone from home all about where/what I have been living and doing for the past few months.

My parents arrived on Saturday and so I am in full force again with touring and being with people I love! It is SO nice to see and be with my family. We are going to Barcelona on Wednesday and I have been leading them around Rome this past weekend. I remember talking to Lindsay and my parents about their visits before I left for Italy, thinking it was so far away. Now it is all happening before my eyes!

I can’t believe how fast the time is going! This is one of my last weekends in Rome; with all the traveling I am trying to fit in before I go home! More to come as always!

All my love,

Ali