Roamin' through Roma!

Onward to our mini-day in Rome. We arrived at our hostel around 1 or 2 PM and found that the beautiful weather we had in Venice decided to abandon us. Instead, we were left with grey skies, clouds and a constant drizzle. We made a stop for a quick lunch then  set out on our path to the Vatican. Something about the rain seemed to make everyone want to go into the great chapel, leaving us face to face with a line that went ALL the way around Vatican city. 

I think when I lost my foreskin, I also lost the urge to wait in line for an hour and a half to see shrines to Saint X, Y and Z. 

from the Vatican, we journeyed to the Spanish Steps which gave us a beautiful view over the streets and rooftops of Rome - its amazing how even here, over 1000 km away, I was reminded of the french rooftops that I had seen a month before in Paris. Then we moved onto the Pantheon - a Massive Roman temple converted for use in the christian faith. 

After these cultural experiences, we found a great restaurant where they offered us free wine. How could we resist? We enjoyed a delicious meal and headed to the Trevi Fountain, Rome's most romantic spot. 

Legend is that upon visiting the fountain, you are supposed to turn your back to the water and throw a coin over your shoulder while crossing your heart - Throwing one coin means that you will return to the fountain, throwing two means that you will fall in love at the fountain sometime in the future. Oh, and if you DON'T fall in love there before you die? You should have come back to the fountain at least one more time.

You can't make this stuff up. 

After the fountain, we wandered the streets, soaking wet as we ate Gelato and roasted chestnuts on our way back to the hostel. Once again, we sat in the lap of luxury and had a private room with a private bathroom. Never mind that the shower didn't have hot water until the morning, it was still pretty awesome. 

The next 2 days were spent at the Italian Farm stay, our foray into Agro-tourism. Though relaxing, it was a little frustrating that it rained all weekend. Most of the activities at the farm involve being outside and dry - something that simply did not work out for us. No less, we still had a good time and enjoyed the company of the other families at the farm - the meals were delicious, and Cait, Brian and I had a miserably wet adventure on saturday including the most awkward experience of our young lives! Still, very fun. By the time we left on Monday Morning we were sad to leave, and a little angry to watch the sun come out as soon as we hopped on our bus back to Rome. 

As we basked in the glow of the bright yellow sun, we hopped on a Metro and stopped by the Colosseum to see it in all it's glory. It's pretty massive, especially when considering the ancient Romans didn't have the tools and technology of today. After our hasty traipse around the magnificent structure, we hopped on our trains and planes and made our way back to the kasteel for a week of classes before our Croatian adventure. 

Oh man, we had no idea what we were about to get ourselves into...