When in Rome

So it's about 2:30 AM over here and I can't sleep because Wofford is about to play the College of Charleston in the Southern Conference championship game to try to make it to the NCAA playoffs for the second year!!!  Such an important game that I'm going to follow online... I don't think I can watch it online but I can listen to it I think or at least get score updates!  So lucky for me I don't have class until 3:45 tomorrow so I can sleep all day tomorrow if I need to :)

GO TERRIERS!!!!!


So this past weekend I went to ROME!  Martha and Ellis are studying there this semester and Elizabeth, Claire, Virginia, and Sara all came too and we had such a good weekend.  I was the last to arrive because everyone else could go Thursday but I didn't get there until Friday afternoon.  Martha and Ellis were on a field trip but Sara and Elizabeth came and picked me up from the train station after I left the airport.  It was so good to see them!  We met up with Claire and Virginia and since I hadn't eaten lunch yet (it was about 4:00-yikes!) we went to a restaurant where I had my first real Italian pizza and we had a few glasses of wine.  Martha and Ellis met us there- it was the first time I had seen them since we left so it was very exciting!!  We headed back to our hotel which was conveniently on the first floor of Martha and Ellis' apartment and freshened up a little bit, went to the grocery store to get some more wine, and got ready for the night.  We just hung out at their apartment for a while which was so nice since I live in a homestay and cannot just hang out with friends whenever I want.  After lots of bread dipped in olive oil, wine, and of course some singing to our favorite songs, we went to Martha and Ellis' favorite restaurant.  I had this amazing lemon linguine... I have been craving it since then and I'll probably never have it again...or at least not that good!!  It's killing me haha.  We stayed really late at the restaurant and just enjoyed all being together.  After having some post-dinner gelato we decided it was best to head home and get ready for a day of sightseeing the next day.

Saturday we got up (relatively) early and set out.  Our first stop was the Colosseum. WOW.  It was so incredible.  Since my camera was stolen last week I had to steal some of Martha and Sara's pictures off of facebook because y'all have GOT to see them.  So I don't take credit for these!
















Don't forget- if you click on the photos they get bigger and it's easier to see!
No big deal...we're just hanging out in front of the Colosseum...  This was so cool!  We went inside and it was even more incredible.  HOW did the Romans do this?? They didn't have bulldozers or cranes or anything.  I don't understand... I'm just amazed.
Inside we walked right by where Caesar would have sat to watch the day's festivities.  We had some strange encounters with some people inside including a group of Asian boys asking us to take pictures with them

We're thinking they were on some sort of photo scavenger hunt based on the "2:00" sign he was carrying around...but honestly who knows!

After the Colosseum we made the trek over to the Vatican!  Talk about surreal.  I have seen pictures of it obviously but being inside of it was so intense.  It was so beautiful and I was able to see everything I have seen pictures of in person like Michelangelo's Pieta.  The detail all over the church from the ceiling to the paintings...just everything... was so beautiful.  I cannot even try to explain.

Here's the group in front of the Vatican:

Our photographer we found outside clearly was not a professional... at least he got all of us AND the Vatican!
After the Vatican we went and got the most delicious gelato I've had in Europe... wow!... and then tried to go to the Sistine Chapel but we got there just a few minutes too late and it was closed.  By this time we were pretty tired so we headed back to the apartment/hotel and Virginia who is studying in Florence and is taking a cooking class made us some Bruschetta which was delicious before we made supper- salad, pesto pasta and grilled chicken!  Eating in was so nice.  After dinner we went to a chocolate shot bar which was really cool-the shot glasses were made of chocolate so you put the whole thing in your mouth at once and it was delicious!  Then we made our way to the Trevi Fountain with a couple bottles of wine.  At the fountain it is tradition to throw coins into the fountain over your shoulder for good luck with love.  Our motto was "everything but bills, cards, and passports are a go"  So nobody had any coins by the end if you can imagine...
Here's the whole group at the beautiful fountain and then Elizabeth, Martha, and I tossing our coins:

The next day, Sara, Elizabeth, and Claire all had to catch flights pretty early in the morning but mine didn't leave until 9:00 PM so I was able to stay for most of the day with Martha and Ellis!  We did a little exploring and planning for travels.  Eventually I left Rome for the airport.  Our flight was delayed for an hour and I don't know what I would have done if I didn't meet two other students studying in Barcelona this semester waiting to go back.  We hung out for a few hours in the airport and on the plane.  It was great to meet them and like I said I don't know what I would have done without them.  My phone was dead so I couldn't check facebook or anything and the airport was shut down so I couldn't even buy a water if I wanted to.  So FINALLY I made it home in Barcelona and slept for a long time since I didn't have class today because of a Bank Holiday!

Anyway, the Wofford game is starting so I will leave you now, but I'm getting ready for LONDON on Friday!!! I seriously cannot explain how excited I am about it!!!

GO TERRIERS!!!
Adios :)