When I last posted, I was in the middle of my second day in Rome. The second night sparked many firsts for my trip to Rome. With what little cooking ability and equipment that we have here (by equipment I mean that we have to light the gas on our stove, which to me is very strange and also a bit nerve racking) we proceeded to make ourselves a small pasta dinner and then proceed to explore the city of Rome. One of the things that is very difficult for me to get used to is the timetable that Rome functions on. Lunch happens around one or two and then dinner generally takes place around seven or eight which means that once dinner is over (it generally takes a few hours, you are already late in to the night) So after our pasta dinner we proceeded to go out and explore the city. When we left our apartment to go out and explore I got to experience my first ride in a Roman taxi. Even now describing hoe the drive is nothing like experiencing it. They weave in and out of traffic at very high speeds, quickly turning down side streets and darting through what few traffic lights there are. I feel like the taxi drivers in Rome could easily be stunt car drivers in the movies. (Another side note about the Roman driving is the absence of lanes. The streets of Rome are like a very complex puzzle and the cars move a such high speeds it is a wonder that there are not more accidents) So after our ride in one of the death taxis, we began to explore around different parts of Rome. Essentially this was just a bunch of wondering and we didn't actually see very much, although I did get to see the Tiber river for the first time.
Day 3
As day 2 ended late, thus day 3 began late, which was alright for me because I enjoy sleeping. The first thing on the agenda for day 3 was a tour of our neighborhood and an information session about the apartment that I will be living in for the next few months. The apartment tour was very basic, but the neighborhood tour was very informative. Piazza Bologna, the area where I am living is a very vibrant community, and our tour consisted of a trip to many different types of shops that are in our area, specifically the store. In the store we had a quick session on how to shop in a Roman super market. The foods and products that I saw were very different than anything I had ever seen before. After we left the supermarket, we proceeded to eat lunch at a pizzeria right down the street from where we live. (On the way to eat I also noticed that we have a bakery right below us where I can buy fresh baked bread and other delicious treats, such a chocolate croissants). At lunch I ordered one of the specialty pizzas in Rome. It was fries and sausage on a garlic based sauce pizza. The fries were very small and the sausage had a very smoky flavor, but overall it was very good. After lunch we went to the CEA headquarters where we had to file our permits to stay (essentially just for the police to have record that we were living in Rome.After this we returned to our apartment and rested up until we went out to dinner.
The dinner that followed has been my favorite thing that we have done so far. My roommates along with some friends that we have made decided to take the metro to the Colosseum and then find a place to eat dinner somewhere near by. After we took the ten minute metro ride, you could see the Collosseum immediately when you stepped out of the metro. It is stunning to believe that something so big has been around for so long. The architecture is impressive and I found it to be an incredible sight the way it is lit up at night.
From the Colosseum we proceeded a short walk up the street to a nice little Italian cafe. It was such a nice night that we were able to sit outside. For dinner I had bruschetta along with a salami and mozzarella panini.The salami had a very different flavor, but was extremely tasty, and the atmosphere of the restaurant was wonderful, we were even able to see the Colosseum in the background while we ate. The cafe was called Piece of Mind and the log was a drawing of Albert Einstein with his tongue stuck out (hopefully you know what I am talking about, but if you don't you should google it because it is a very strange picture)
From here we proceeded to take the metro to the stop where the Trevi Fountain is located. We took the metro to the stop where it was supposed to be, but it took us a while to actually find it. It is very fun to wander around looking for these famous monuments. You get to really get a look at Rome on your way to see some of its most famous architecture.
After seeing this we decided to call it a night, because we had to be up the next morning early for a crash course in Italian.
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