On Our Own [part 1]: I Roamed Rome

If you had known me even two years ago, you probably never would have pictured me spending a semester away from home, let alone gallavanting around Europe with just two other friends; but that is what I have been doing a lot of lately. When the group was done in Venice, we were released for spring break to wander Europe on our own. I have never traveled so much in such a short amount of time! Including Vienna and Venice, I spent 11 days in 5 cities. It was crazy to wake up in one country and fall asleep in another so many times in a week and a half. Andrew, Karen, and I left Venice that Sunday on a train for Rome. Rome was a fun city, but didn't look at all like I'd pictured; however, I was just happy to be around so much history. The first night, we walkted to the Trevi Fountain to make a wish, then wandered over to the Spanish Steps, the Obelisk in Piazza del Popolo, and then found ourselves lost in a pretty park.

Terrible photo at the Trevi Fountain. Some guy was mad
at us for being in his way.

Me on the Spanish Steps

The Obelisk in Piazza del Popolo.
Rome has tons; Ancient Roman and Egyptian

Escaping into the gardens of Villa Borghese
Total accident.

The next day we hit up all of the old, cool ancient Roman ruins. By a helpful tip from the front desk of our hostel, we went to the Roman Forum first (the center with the ruins of old government buildings) to get a ticket and tour so we could skip the long line to enter the Colosseum. It is still so amazing to me how piles of old, old rocks can be so interesting.

Roman Forum

More Roman Forum

The Colosseum was really cool, but I felt a little underwhelmed I guess. Maybe it's because I didn't follow a tour guide to get all of the informations, or maybe it's because I was a tired, lazy American who wasn't used to doing so much walking (when Europeans say something is within walking distance, they usually means it could take you at least 30 minutes to walk there). Even though I wasn't completely "wowed", I did still appreciate that I was standing in the Colosseum.

Outside of the Colosseum

A part of history =)

Last that day was a trip to the Pantheon. Andrew had lots of lovely pieces of information about it; none of which I can remember, but he is always more than willing to broaden our knowledge with his little bits of trivia. Our stop at the Pantheon was really quick.

The Pantheon

Our final stop in Rome was the Vatican. As we stood in the main circle of the city taking pictures, we, like at every other touristy place, got ambushed by a tour guide and asked if we spoke English. Normally we would have said no, but the line looked really long and we were given the opportunity to just skip through it. We also spoke with the girl and found out that she came to Rome from Michigan and never left, so having something in common with us helped her out ;) I didn't really know much about the Vatican City at all so I'm glad that I had the guide. We walked through the museum, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica. I wish I had more pictures from that stop, but you're never allowed to take pictures of the good stuff......

Welcome to the Vatican

The next day we headed out to our next destination: Cagliari.