For the last stop on our sister Europe tour, Roon and I spent four days in Rome, Italy. We were both very excited for this stop, mainly because of the food. We were also looking forward to some heat after a cool week and a half in Paris then London. Our accommodation in Rome was a step up from our previous ones, because we got a wicked deal on a pretty nice hotel with great location. It would typically be almost $500 per night, but for some reason we got it for just over $100 a night, which is only marginally more expensive than two beds in a hostel. With this hotel we got our own room (obviously) with AC, our own bathroom with color changing lights, and breakfast delivery for a nice meal in bed each morning. It was definitely a nice upgrade to end the trip on. Day 1 Our first day consisted of simply wandering around to see the city and some of it's famous sites. We visited the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and got our first gelato of the trip. Our afternoon plans were to go on a free walking tour, which we had been told was full but that we could show up anyway to see if some people in the group didn't show up. This tour was not Sandeman's :( but it had good reviews on TripAdvisor so we decided to try it out. We were unable to even find the group, so just decided to book the same walking tour for the next day, gather more information on the meeting spot, and spend the present afternoon in the Borghese Gardens. The gardens are pretty big, so we ended up renting segways for an hour and were able to see almost the entire place! Only 15 euros for an hour, and boy were the segways fun! Neither Roon or I had ever ridden one before, so we had a blast. Day 2 We started day two off with the walking tour that was booked the day before. This tour was through a company called Rome's Ultimate, and our tour guide was great. A few things went wrong on this tour though. First, someone on our tour got pickpocketed. The outer pocket of her backpack was unzipped and her wallet was taken from it. This put everyone in the group on edge and Roon and I were very careful with our bags/phones/wallets for the rest of our trip. Second, because of this pickpocket incident as well as a few stops that took a little too long, this tour ended up being 3.5 hours instead of the advertised 2.5. Literally all I wanted was a heaping serving of pasta and I had to wait so long for it, definitely a challenge. But when the tour was over Roon and I got our pasta and it was delicious!! We spent the afternoon sightseeing- Castel Sant'Angelo and the Vatican. We did not actually go inside either, mainly because of long lines, intense heat, and no real deep desire to see what was inside. They were both great from the outside, but we felt the time and money it would cost to do them fully was not worth it with only four days in the city. This day overall was great, we learned a lot about the city and saw lots of famous sites. We also had more gelato (obviously) after our yummy pasta lunch feast.
Day 4 For our final day in Rome we visited the quaint neighborhood of Trastevere. This neighborhood was waayyyy less touristy/ busy than the rest of Rome so it was a nice break compared to the first three days. We visited the Church of Santa Cecilia. This church was quite beautiful on the inside, as was the live organ music being played, but the coolest part was beneath the church. For a small donation of 2.50 euros we followed some stairs underground to see an excavation site, a capsule of the church's long history. As usual with Rome, it was amazing to see remnants so old, but also it was a nice and chilly below the church, which was a nice break from the 96 degree heat outside. In this charming neighborhood we also saw the Church of Santa Maria, watched a movie being filmed in one of Trastevere's plazas, and had an adorable lunch at a restaurant outside. It was a pleasant way to spend our final day together in Rome. The End... The end of our time in Rome brings me to the end of my big Europe adventure. Roon will continue on for a few more days to Florence by herself, while I have to return to Penn State for classes on Monday. One month abroad, and I've seen Portugal, Spain, France, England, and Italy. Plus, tomorrow during a hefty 9 hour layover I will have the opportunity to see Copenhagen, Denmark, and do one final Sandeman's walking tour. It has truly been an amazing Europe trip, I'm still digesting everything that happened and everything that I've experienced. For now my biggest concern is starting back up with classes and crew, but I'm also excited to return to this routine and see how my travels have helped me to grow and learn about myself. Travel really does offer more than new sightseeing and food opportunities, it's a catalyst for learning that can't possibly occur in a classroom. Once I've made sense of this past month a deeply introspective blog post is sure to come :) This month was filled with many new lessons, and experiences, but now I'm ready to get back to State. I get home Thursday night, have Friday at home in Bedford, and drive over on Saturday. Quick turnover, just how I like it. See ya soon PSU!! Comments are closed.
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