My Italian Lover

Wow. Just kidding you guys. I don't have one, I just thought it made for an interesting title.

I spent one week in Italy... I went with my friend Rike from the dorm here, and she was a great travel buddy! We spent most of the our time in Rome and took two day trips... this entry is gonna be long, but I'm only including the highlights... it was a whirlwind of a week!!!


Tuesday
-- took the bus to the airport
-- I had to get a new boarding pass at the last minute because Ryanair doesn't allow Americans to check-in online... even though I did it... so they made me pay 4 Euro and they stamped my online check-in form with a "paid" stamp and I was allowed to get on the plane... "visa issue" my white ass!!!!!
-- While waiting for the bus into the city center, Rike and I started doing aerobics in the parking lot so we would warm up a bit... the attendant exercised along with us!!
-- We arrived at the hostel laaaaate and were shown our tiiiiny quarters in a cramped 5 bunk room. Discovered there were no rentable towels and I'd need to go buy one.

Wednesday: our most eventful and touristy day the whole time we were there!
-- first plan of action was to get a towel... found one
-- saw some cats at some nearby ruins and some people doing Tai-Chi in a park
-- bought the Rome tourist card (worth it!!!) from a really rude receptionist at the train station
-- walked all day, since we didn't want to use our transport pass till Thursday
-- Spanish steps... the obelisk is under construction and there are people allll over the steps so I never got a good shot of 'em.
-- Piazza del Popolo... we climbed up to the lookout point bordering the Borghese gardens...
-- ate some PIZZA!!
-- walked along the Tiber and climbed up some walls (see pics!)
-- made our way to the Vatican City where I bought some overpriced ice cream and bargained with a black man selling counterfeit Prada bags... I got my price, but I didn't buy the bag, lol...
-- checked out the Pantheon and Raphael's tomb inside it
-- admired the Trevi fountain and threw in our coins after the tradition :-)
-- made friends with a sweet dog on the way home
-- met two American party boys studying abroad in England and we had dinner with them
-- drank some BAD chardonnay
-- slept REALLY well

Thursday
-- with our Rome pass transport cards we took the metro to the Borghese Gardens... Rike got smushed in the door!!
-- in the Borghese gardens we saw a cat being dragged on a leash... it was sooo sad. It was an orange cat and I could tell it did not want to be on the leash. the guy taking it was taking all sorts of short cuts as if he was avoiding being seen and had someplace to be. The cat's tongue was hanging out, panting, and dragging his feet... :-(
-- our reservations didn't go through properly for the museum so we had to reserve for Saturday... we found a bus and rode it to the Colosseum
-- the Colosseum was great! We ran into the two party boys from our hostel.
-- ate some BAD BAD BAD pizza
-- ate some chocolate for dessert sitting on the wall facing the Colosseum
-- ventured onto Palatine Hill... we laid in the grass for almost an hour just enjoying ourselves and the fact that we were in ROME!
-- caught a free tour in the Roman Forum with a really cute tour guide named Jason (Rike wants to have his baby, LOL)... he knew a lot and we really enjoyed it.
-- we took a bus to the old town Trevastere district and had dinner at a traditional Italian trattoria and grabbed some ice cream for dessert
-- haggled for a Rome t-shirt!!
-- almost got my camera nabbed!!! it pays to be suspicious of anyone with hands!
-- IT WAS COLD
-- fell down the stairs at a metro station on the way home, haha

Friday
-- I slept in till 10 am and Rike didn't wake me up, and was waiting for two hours on me!!
-- it was COLD
-- there was a big demonstration going on at the Vittorio Emanuele I monument
-- we climbed the stairs of the monument
-- ate pizza and ice cream near the Pantheon... the best pizza had NO cheese-- just juicy tomatoes, a bit of olive oil, and good ol' oregano!!
-- bargained for some new shades in front of the Pantheon
-- while at a store buying some water, we photographed some nasty looking fish and the guy behind the counter, who came to be known as "The Happy Fish Man" by Rike and I, requested we take his picture... he loves his job.
-- went to the Roman cat sanctuary, Torre Argentina, at Area Sacra... there are over 250 cats living in the ruins and I got to meet some of them!!
-- took the bus to St. Peter's Basilica...  it was WILD. we cut in line.
-- we made pasta at the hostel with this really yummy tomato sauce we found at a grocery store... it has chunks of cheese in it!!!
-- kinda just chilled in the hostel talking to other travelers.


Saturday
-- went and stood in line to see the "Mouth of Truth" sculpture
-- the skull "relic" of St. Valentine are housed in the church next to the Mouth of Truth
-- took the short bus (LOL) to the Borghese gardens
-- for some reason I was convinced that THE statue of David was in this museum and I walked around for half an hour trying to find it... turns out the one my guide was referring to was by Bernini... lol
-- walked all the way to our favorite pizza place... on the way we got kinda lost and ended up in the parking garage of the "Roman Sport Center" building... and ended up back in the Borghese gardens that we were trying to bypass, lol
-- we ate pizza and ice cream... the ice cream guy remembered us from the previous day and he made my ice cream even better than the last time and I tipped him for it :-) he apparently runs the place... we saw him in the back making ice cream (while smoking haha)... the ice cream guy was great, he really loves serving ice cream... it's almost like he's dancing when he scoops the stuff!!
-- went to the cat sanctuary again for the 4pm tour... it was a GREAT tour, we saw the spot where most historians believe Caesar fell, a Roman toilet seat... it was free and there were cats, so I couldn't have been happier!
-- crammed into a bus to the Termini station
-- stopped by the grocery store and bought some more pasta and sauce and ate it for dinner!
-- had some serious chat time with the other travelers in the hostel
-- went to bed early for a restless nights sleep before leaving for Pisa the next morning

Sunday
-- took the train to Pisa and met my friend Renato... I met Renato about 3 years ago while working at the Holiday Inn... I helped him translate some mathematic symbols and he was so grateful that he gave me a thank you card, which is still hanging in my room to this very day! We've been in touch mostly ever since, and he bought us a ticket to come to Pisa (we had to buy one, too, but he paid for the other) to meet him for the day. It was a grand day, we had lunch at a trattoria and laid in the grass next to the leaning tower which, although it was the only thing to see there pretty much, was beautiful. We didn't climb it because it cost almost $30!!! We met an interesting girl in the train on the way back to Rome who had learned 5 languages as a child... I wish I'd had been that lucky in that department, lol. It's a lot harder to LEARN the languages yourself, that is one thing for sure.

Note about Italian trains: cheaper than German ones, for one, and the toilets are open holes and the waste goes right onto the tracks below! That is why you aren't allowed to use the loo while the train is stopped at a station, lol...

Monday
-- took the train to Anzio, a Roman province on the coastline. We strolled the beach and I collected a few shells. We walked all the way to the next province, Nettuno, and took the train back to Rome...
-- we ate chinese food for dinner at a place around the corner
-- chatted with the Aussie girl and a chick from Wisconsin at the hostel

Tuesday
-- it was our last day... we pretty much just strolled around Rome
-- went into a few random churches
-- terrorized some pigeons
-- located the Romulus and Remus statue
-- located the famous "talking" statue of Pasquino
-- of course went back to our favorite pizza and ice cream places near the Pantheon for one last meal
-- went back to the cat sanctuary to play with the cats
-- sorta snuck into the Castel St. Angelo
-- went into the Vatican Museum and Rike ended up not going because the Vaticatholics are totally STINGY... they wouldn't let her in for the student price of 8 Euro (over $12!!!) because she's over 26... she didn't want to pay the full price of 14 Euro (over $21!). How much more money do those selfish ________s need anyway!? ok, I shouldn't judge, but seriously, visiting the Vatican has really stirred up some disrespect for the Catholic church...
-- pretty much wound my way around the place to the Sistine Chapel, just like everyone else. it took a ridiculously long time to get there. I took a picture and tried not to get caught but I got caught and told to leave. I was smart though, and spent some time looking around before taking my picture so by the time I took my picture I was ready to leave anyway!!
-- Rike and I met back at the hostel around 6, made our last pot of pasta and sauce for the week and headed to the airport...
-- took the 00:30 bus from the airport back to Koblenz and split a taxi home... it was a LONG day. I got a day ticket for the bus though and only had to paid 3 Euro more to go back to the airport the next morning instead of 13, so I saved about $15!!

That's it for Rome.....................

Caitlin