Rome and stuff…
July 1, 2008Sorry I haven’t updated in a while, just trying to keep up with things (and work).
Well, this past weekend I went to Rome with Jessie on our free weekend. We saw a lot of different things but I feel like a weekend is not nearly enough to explore Rome, we didn’t even get a chance to buy souvenirs! On Thursday our flight got in alright so we had no trouble there, but then our taxi to the apartment (which Jessie’s parents rented) overcharged us and left us a good distance away from where we wanted to be. So we ended up wandering around for over an hour looking for the street we wanted and we had to ask about four or five different people for directions, but we eventually found it.
We got to the apartment but had to wait outside because the buzzer was broken, but after ten minutes Jessie’s step-dad poked his head out the window and spotted us. Our apartment was on the top floor of the building with a very narrow staircase, and the air conditioning wasn’t too great (it worked better later on, though). Then on Friday we went to see the Vatican, but didn’t go inside cause the line was too long. Still, we got lots of good pictures.
We learned that all of Rome is filled with fountains that supply cool water to tourists and the locals at all times, which is apparently cleaner then the water in our apartment. Since I didn’t get sick the whole time I’d have to agree. Afterwards we went to lunch and had authentic Italian which, needles to say, was very, VERY good. I ordered the four-cheese pizza (which had no tomatoes or tomato sauce!) and ate the whole thing! Afterwards we went back to the apartment to cool down, you wouldn’t believe how hot it is in Rome. For dinner we headed out to a nearby restaurant and most of us had pasta, also very yummy.
Then we stopped to get a look at the Pantheon and took some pictures, but I don’t think it was open because it was late. Finally we headed back for ice cream and some shut eye. Then on Saturday we took a tour of the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill (where the emperors of Rome built their palaces) and I got plenty of pictures. After that we had dinner at a nearby restaurant with a good reputation for it’s pizza, and I ordered the mozzarella and blue cheese pizza. It was interesting, but not as good as the one I’d had the day before.
On Sunday Jessie and I had to get up very early to get to the airport on time for our flight back to Germany. We got back a little before 13:00 (they use military time here) and got lunch from cafes before we got back to the apartments. That night was the final football game between Germany and Spain, so everyone was excited, unfortunately for them, Spain won.
Yesterday (Monday) was a work day so I went out and did some sketching and took some pictures. Today was pretty much the same, except we attended another exhibition, this time with some Andy Warhol pieces. Not as impressive as some of the other exhibitions we’ve been to see, but it was alright. I find I actually like it better when we do things together as a group rather then just going off on our own, it’s not much fun to go out alone, even if it’s for schoolwork. 
