I know I haven't updated in a while, but that is only because my parents came last weekend and school has been so hectic with midterms coming up! I have had an amazing past two weeks and discovered new and exciting parts of the city-- like the Vatican area and Colosseum area.
My parents came last weekend and I had an absolute blast with them. They got in Thursday and we went to sightsee all day Friday before their flight to Ireland on Saturday. On Thursday, they came to my apartment, went grocery shopping, and then we all went to the Trevi fountain and to Giolitti's (the best gelato place in all of Rome). Friday was crazy busy as we woke up at 8 am to tour the Vatican. We first went on St. Peter's Basilica tour, which was my favorite part of the experience. It was breathtaking and is full of so much history! I got a rosary there and then we trekked to the Vatican Museums, where the Sistine Chapel is. The museums are a ten minute walk from St. Peter's Square, and are annoyingly positioned so that visitors have to tour 1-2 hours of galleries BEFORE getting to the Sistine Chapel. It was ridiculous because we were on a time limit and just wanted to see the Chapel. After that, we took a cab right over to the Colosseum and took a tour of that and the Roman Forum! That tour was also really cool and we took a ton of pictures there. For dinner, we got eggplant parmesan, pasta, and lasagna at La Carbonara in Campo de Fiori. After, we got gelato and then pizza at Dar Poetas (best pizza i've had here)!! I made sure my parents tried every staple of Italian food that was available! On Saturday morning they left and went to Ireland for the week, which they loveddd! I am excited to go later this semester!
Today was the first real fall day in Roma because the temperature finally fell below 75 degrees. I went for a run to the fruit markets and then me and Meg went shopping! It was such a fun day and we even managed to find a Burger King, so obviously we stopped and got burgers!! I am officially more than a month into my abroad experience and once fall break hits (Halloween week), I will be 2/3 of the way done!! I absolutely LOVE it here and can't wait to travel Italy more. Sometimes I get waves of homesickness, but then I go out with my friends in Trastevere and realize that Rome is so beautiful and has so much culture and history that I haven't even discovered yet.
All my friends and I went to an AS Roma soccer game, and boy was it an experience. People here take soccer so seriously! There are two teams in Rome- Roma and Lazio (Lazio is the region in Italy where Rome is located). There is a bitter rivalry between the two teams, so much so that going to a Roma vs. Lazio game is extremely dangerous because of the fights that break out. I went to a Roma vs. Siena game and it was still pretty intense! They sing long chants in Italian and light sticks and flags on fire and throw them on the field in the middle of the game! It was a really fun/interesting time and I definitely want to go back! I even got a Roma soccer jersey!
Colosseum
Me and Mom!!
The most AMAZING fruit ever that I got from a market close to school this week! They have the freshest and best produce here. I am going to miss it when I come homee!!
I am almost done planning my trips! Before I leave, I will be visiting Venice, Amalfi Coast, Berlin, Prague, Amsterdam, Paris, Ireland for Thanksgiving(Dublin, Galway, Cliffs of Moher), Tuscany, and hopefully Austria! I am kind of disappointed that I won't get to London or Spain, but it's impossible to travel to all the cities I wanted to go to in such a short time! I am super excited for the fall weather and can't wait for the end of October so I have a week off to travel! I also budgeted my money so that I can buy leather boots and a Longchamp bag in Paris! Ahhh I am so excited because the shopping is great in Rome and I imagine it is ten times better in Paris! That's all for now because I have to get back to studying!
