When In Roma: March 2011

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Day 44-Napoli-Pompeii!-Wednesday-3/16/11

Becks and I woke up this morning around 8:30am and stumbled out to breakfast. Our hostel provided free breakfast which was awesome and even better, they had PEANUT BUTTER!!! A dream come true :) Haha I know I'm silly, but at home I seriously eat half a pb english muffin or toast or bagel for breakfast every morning because I don't really care for cereal and it's been really difficult not having pb here, especially when I don't like jelly.

We enjoyed our breakfast and took our time because it was pouring out and we weren't very excited about that. We suited up in our rain coats and grabbed our umbrellas. At the front desk we were greeted by a very perky Italian man, the Australian man must've only worked the night shift. We was very nice and re-went over how to get to Pompeii with us to make sure the Australian guy actually gave us the "right" directions. It was actually pretty funny and a highlight to my morning.

Becks and I walked/ran/sloshed in the rain from our hostel to the bus station that took a little longer than expected to find because we went the wrong way for a good ten minutes before figuring it out. By the time we got to the bus station, bought our tickets and hopped on I felt like a wet dog. It was awesome. Not. It took about a half hour to get to Pompeii from Naples so naturally, Becky and I conked out on the bus ride. We were still pretty tired when we arrived and had to use the bathroom really bad so we headed to a café, went to the bathroom, and each bought an espresso to perk us right back up.

After that we walked a ways and finally figured out where the entrance was to Pompeii. We bought our tickets and an audio guide to share and walk around with. I was really surprised out loud the audio guide got because we could turn it all the way up and walk normally and listen to it, where most audio guides you have to keep at ear level the whole time just to be able to hear it.

I couldn't believe how big Pompeii was! Huge! A ton more was excavated than I had imagined. It was very cool and quite the learning experience. One of the houses we went in still had paintings on the walls! I was shocked! We saw the forum and an old mill which was also pretty cool. We spent about a good four hours there and still I don't believe we saw the whole thing. We were exhausted after those four hours though and our feet hurt because the ground isn't exactly the best in Italy, so we decided to turn our audio guide in and find a way back to Naples.

Instead of taking the bus back we decided to take the train. I was a little bummed we didn't get to climb Mt. Vesuvius the Volcano in Pompeii, but it started thundering and with my fear, I was ready to get the heck out of there! The train was long and crowded and I was so happy when we finally got back to Naples. We were starving and decided to share a Panini in the train station then make our way back towards our hostel. By the time we were getting close to our hostel it was around 5pm and we were getting hungry for dinner. We remembered the Australian guy from our hostel check in had circled two great pizza places near our hostel, but kind of a far walk. We headed to one of them to see if it was open. It wasn't. We decided to find some shampoo and a toothbrush while we were waiting. We sat on a park bench for awhile too.

Eventually, we decided it probably wasn't going to open for at least two hours so we headed back to the hostel and took a good hour nap. Around 8pm I woke Becky up to start getting ready for dinner. Pretty sure we both could've fallen asleep for the rest of the night, but I didn't want to risk it and wake up at 4am wide awake. I got Becky out of bed and as reluctant as she was I got her to go to Gino Sorbillo the place both the Australian guy and Italian guy recommended as "the BEST" pizza place in all of Italy. I had high doubts because usually when someone tells me something is the best it never is and always disappoints.

I was wrong. This pizza place way amazing! We got there and it was packed and people were waiting outside just for a table. I was worried because out hostel guy said it would probably be an hour wait, but when I went inside to put our name down they said they had a table for two right away! It was awesome. Becks and I at upstairs on the second floor. We split a margheritta pizza and prosciutto pizza along with each getting our own German lager beer. It was an awesome dinner, the pizzas were huge, the biggest and best I have had yet, and the cheapest! The restaurant is a family owned restaurant and on the inside of the menu was a really cute note from the owner to his family thanking them for all their help and support through the years.

I am pretty sure it's the same pizza place that was in "Eat, Pray, Love", but not positive so don't quote me on that. Either way, it was amazing and probably what I will most likely remember Naples for, THEIR PIZZA!!! After dinner Becky and I made our way back to the hostel and crashed right away.

Becky and I drenched, but happy to finally be on the bus to Pompeii!

Wet shoes and umbrellas :)

The old mill

Oven

Yup, I'm sitting in the oven :)

Signature Pose :)

Day 43-Roma-Napoli!-Tuesday-3/15/11

Gooooood Morning Everyone! Today Becky woke up super early and left for St. Peter's Basilica/ The Vatican Area. She decided to let me sleep, which was probably a good idea after our night out. I slept in late and slowly got ready for school. I realized for the first time ever I actually didn't have Italian homework which was pretty cool.

I went to Italian class and it was a really nice day so everyone was hounding our teacher to skip our break and get our early. Unfortunately, this did not happen. At the break I found Becky in the computer room and we went and grabbed a bite to eat. I had some mixed vegetables, they hit the spot :) After I headed back to class and she just hung around the school area. When I was done with class Becky, Molly, and I went and got chocolate dipped gelato because I had to introduce her to it :D

We made our way from gelato to the Trevi fountain and took a few pictures and I finally got to throw a coin in! I have been waiting to do that for forever! I was going to do it the first day I got to Rome and visited the fountain, but it was super packed and not worth it. This Tuesday evening wasn't bad though it was around 6pm and we got a few good pics and a coin toss in :D I was really happy!

After the Trevi Fountain we made our way back to the apartment where Becks and I packed up our bags for our trip to Naples, Capri, Pompeii, Venice, and Verona then we headed out for some dinner with Molly. We went to a pizzeria near our apartment that we had seen earlier on Sunday when we were looking for a place to watch the soccer game. It was really good, as are most places here in Roma. We each got our own pizza and a bottle of house red wine to share :)

We were on a time schedule and after dinner we grabbed our bags from my apartment and Becky and I headed to termini to buy our train tickets and head to Napoli. Our train ride was about 4 hours I want to say. We didn’t arrive until about 11:30pm in Napoli/Naples. The train ride was not too bad. It was just Becky and I and another man in our six person cart. A pretty empty train compared to normal. I thought he seemed a little strange, but after he left Becky and I an unopened bottle of beer I decided he was a pretty decent fellow ;) Haha, we have yet to drink that beer.

We arrived in Naples about 11:30pm as I said earlier and it was kind of scary. I had envisioned Naples to be a little nicer than it was, but as we walked from the train station to the bus station there was trash everywhere on the streets and prostitutes on every street corner, plus tons of homeless people. Not exactly the best place for two college girls to be walking alone at night.

We got to the bus stop and talked to this guy who spoke English pretty decently, but after being surrounded by a group of men who did not speak English we decided to head back from the bus station to the train station to get a taxi. It was probably the best/safest move we could've made. There were no places open to buy bus passes anyways and we did not one to get a fine for traveling without a pass.

There were cabs ready to go at the train station so we hopped in and asked for our hostel. He seemed to know where it was and told us the price before we even left which was nice because we knew what to expect. However, when we arrived at our stop, paid the cab driver, and got out, we realized that it was not our hostel. Scared and alone with no idea where we were Becky and I tried not to panic. Luckily, within minutes, even though it felt longer, the cab driver pulled back around and honked at us. He rolled down his window apologizing that he got confused and dropped us off at the wrong place.

I was a little nervous to hope back in his cab, but I never would have thought a cab driver would care enough to come back after we paid him, so I figured he was actually being genuinely nice. He drove about two more minutes and this time dropped us off at the correct stop. Becky and I were counting our blessings and sighing in relief to finally have made it around 12:30am to our hostel.

We were buzzed in and took the elevator to the 7th floor where a nice Australian man checked us in and showed us on a free map how to get to Pompeii and Capri from our hostel. He was very helpful and after getting the keys we went to our room, put our bags in our lockers, set our alarms, and crashed. We were completely exhausted from our night and I didn't even think twice about the four random people I was rooming with that were already sleeping, I fell asleep hard and slept like a baby through the night.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Day 42- Roma!-Monday-3/14/11

     Happy Birthday to ME :) Haha woke up this morning and reviewed a little bit before getting ready and heading off to school with Becky. We stopped at the café under the school and got a cappuccino and cornetto (croissant). It was good :) After I headed to class and Becky went to explore the area. I took my first exam, it went alright. Nerves never help me on tests. I met Becky after my test and we went to get lunch at Scholar's for some yummy nachos, a Peroni, and a birthday shot. It definitely helped calm my nerves down for my next test.

     We walked around the Coliseum for awhile and instead of getting an audio guide I explained to Becky everything I had learned from my class and we read some of excerpts around the outside of the Coliseum. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera at home so I will have to borrow some of Becky's pictures to post. I was pretty bummed about that, but I kind of figured I would be back there again with my parents and could snap a few then.

     After the Coliseum, I wanted to study for the last hour before class so I headed back to school and Becky went off to find some Elephant thing that she had read about in her guide book. I think the second test went alright, I never really know until I get them back. It was hard though and a ton of questions so we'll see. I was just very relieved to be done!! Becky and I walked home and got ready for the night.

     I talked to my friends and set a plan up for what we'd do for the night. Molly, Becky, and I headed out around 8ish to a wine bar on the corner of our street that I have always wanted to go to, but haven't had a reason to. We each got a glass of wine, Shiraz for me, Chianti for the other two, and enjoyed a free plate of meat bruschetta with it :)

     After our glasses of wine we headed to the Campo di Fiori area where Jodine lives and met Jodine, Clara, Liz, and Emily. We decided to eat at an appertivo for dinner. An appertivo is where you buy one drink usually a more expensive one, but then you a free appetizer buffet for dinner. It was really good! I had an Alabama slamma drink! I had to get that because last year for my 21st my 1224 roomates bought me Alabama slamma shots and I had to keep the tradition alive ;)

     After the appertivo we headed off to Sloppy Sam's a bar in the Campo area. I had no idea it was an American bar and was super excited when we walked inside and there was an American flag on the wall, the Twins game was on and the bartenders spoke English!! How perfect!! :) Even funnier, we had some Italian guys come up to us and ask us if we could order them drinks because they didn't know how to ask for them in English! HA HA never thought I'd see the day that happened in ROME!

     The guys ended up buying us a few drinks and we hung out with them for awhile. We found out they were younger and on a school trip. They were pretty funny and an enjoyable addition for the night. After Sloppy Sam's we headed back to the Trastevere area we discovered on Tuesday because we decided to introduce Becky to a Harry Potter shot. Unfortunately, the bar that had the Harry Potter shot wasn't open so we went to Deejay Bar instead.

     At Deejay Bar we had a mixed pitcher between us six girls. It tasted like pears and was surprisingly good. The bar was pretty empty and we discovered a downstairs we had no idea about which was cool. It had couches and tables and we danced around for awhile before heading back upstairs. The last shot I ended the night with was a good ol' shot of jag. I had to, I knew if Dani were with me she would have bought me that as my first shot of the night, so I took that shot in honor of her :) Miss you girl!

     After Deejay bar we headed home. It was quite a walk in high heels, but we got to ride the bus for a little bit of the way which was nice :) It was probably one of the best and will be one of the most memorable birthday's I will ever have :D Thank you to all those who celebrated it with me tonight!