Feb. 16 – Feb. 19:
Last weekend I traveled to Rome with my study abroad program. API, the program I study abroad through, takes us on one international excursion per semester, as well as, other excursions in Spain. For the international excursion they pay for transport, the housing, which includes breakfast everyday and one guided activity. This semester we went to Rome and it was incredible!
We had a full day of travel on Friday, leaving Granada at 9:30 or so and not getting to Rome until 6:30pm but since all the flights and transportation are organized through API the travel is considerably less stressful than it would be if I was organizing it by myself. Once we got to Rome and to our hotel, we got our room. I was sharing with Alex, one of my friends also studying for the year. We dropped our bags and then went to find a place to eat. One of the downsides of traveling with the whole group is everyone tries to make plans to do things together when in reality no restaurant can seat 12 people easily let alone 32, so after long dramatic discussions and arguments of who was eating where and with who, I ended up with Alex and Lui at a restaurant near the Piazza de Popolo.
The restaurant we choose was a bit pricier than I would have liked, but the food was amazing and our waiter was very nice and funny. I ordered the Ravioli and it was amazing! The picture doesn’t do it justice!
After dinner we wandered around for a little bit before going to a bar/restaurant for some wine. We drank and talked until Alex spilled wine on herself and we decided to head back to the hotel for the night.
The next day we had our activity with API; a bus and walking tour around Rome! We woke up around 8:30, ate breakfast at the hotel, croissants and fruit mostly, then headed out on the bus with a tour guide. We took the bus to the Colosseum driving past a bunch of incredible buildings, none which I can remember the names of let alone spell. At the Colosseum the guide told us a bit of the history and we took a bunch of photos :
Then it was back on the bus to go to an ancient church. The inside of the church was unbelievable, made of huge marble statues and incredible relief pieces.
After the church we took the bus near the pantheon and the group went for a walking tour to the Pantheon and a few plazas, but we had a specific time we had to go to the Vatican Museum so Nina and I broke off from the group. We went to a nice little restaurant on the way to the Vatican and I got a delicious pizza!
Post pizza we walked to the Vatican Museum and luckily we bought our tickets online the day before because the line to buy tickets wrapped all the way around the block, and we had friends who waited in the line on Monday and ended up paying 30 euros to get in, the online price was 12 euros! So if you are ever planning to go to the Vatican museum make sure to get tickets in advance and remember the museum is closed on Sundays!
The museum was filled with amazing works of art and artifacts with incredible histories, but it was also packed full of so many pushing and yelling tourists it was a little miserable. The crowd was pushing you along the whole time and it was practically impossible to actually stop and read anything and if you do stop you will get bumped into and then risk knocking someone or something else over. It was pretty stressful and we got through the whole thing rather quickly. We spent more time in the Sistine Chapel but it was just the room with a hundred or so people gathered in the middle while guards consistently ushered in more people and yelled about not taking pictures or talking. Michelangelo’s work in the Sistine Chapel was incredible none the less and I’m lucky to have seen it in person. The environment was stressful and made me want to escape the entire time though, so after that we bailed and headed back to the hotel.
Nina was getting over a stomach bug so she took a nap and I tried to contact Alex and some other friends to meet up. From the point I started texting Alex until dinner was a disaster and was pretty annoying. Alex texted me to say we should meet at the Trevi Fountain, she was already there but would wait for me. I was at the hotel about 20 minute walk away, so I agreed and told her I was on my way. About 10 minutes into my walk she texts and says she in McDonalds using a bathroom, I say ok and I’ll meet her there, I walk to the fountain take a few quick pictures it took 5 minutes max, then go to the McDonalds and look for Alex. I already sent a text to say I was at the fountain and then again when I’m in the McDonalds with no response. I don’t see her in the McDonalds so I go to bench nearby while scanning the crowd and texting to try and find them. I waited 45 minutes with no response before I left to go wander around myself. I decided to go to the Spanish Steps and the Villa Borghese overlook, once I got to the Overlook about an hour and 15 minutes after I last heard from Alex she responds and say she’s sorry, she didn’t have service, she sends her location and tells me to come meet her. I checked the location, it was back the opposite direction, so I told her no and stayed where I was. I suggested she could come to me but she refused and said she would meet me back at the hotel soon. I hung out at the park and overlook for awhile before I did head back to the hotel, when I got there I texted Alex and let her know, she said they were getting Gelato and I was welcome to come, as she was still 20+ minutes away from me I declined. She said she would come back soon and we would go to dinner.
I waited in the hotel just relaxing for two hours before I realized she still wasn’t back, I went to dinner with Nina as she ended up back at the hotel after going shopping. I was pretty annoyed with Alex’s lack of consideration and communication skills so I didn’t hang out with her at all the rest of the night. These are some reasons I tend to travel alone; I love Alex, but that kind of stuff drives me crazy and ramps up my blood pressure and anxiety.
That night, Nina and I went to a cute family run Italian restaurant where I got spaghetti. After dinner we got gelato before going back to the hotel and going to bed. When I got back to the room Alex was gone so I texted and let her know I was back and going to bed, she said she was at dinner and would be back to watch a movie in someone else’s room soon, she said she would be quiet and goodnight. Of course she came into the room loud and obnoxious, turned on the lights, starts asking me questions about where random things are and then leaves. Ugh, she was just on my nerves but I fell back to sleep.
Sunday morning meant the Pope was going to be doing a weekly address and blessing in St. Peter’s Square at noon, I made the mistake of going with Alex, Luis, Kate, Bayeh and Amanda and the plan was to see the Pope then go to the Colosseum to actually go in and then to the Roman Forum. Unfortunately the rain, and I mean the pouring rain, changed our plans very quickly. While we were leaving it was drizzling a little bit, but at the Pope’s speech it was pouring and we were all wet.
I had an umbrella I was sharing with Amanda and Alex bought one on the street, but that meant three people were drenched. I suggested we go to a cafe to warm up and then go to the Colosseum or see if there was anything inside we could do. Everyone was in agreement, but when we were exiting Vatican city we got separated. Me and Amanda were together while Alex, Luis, Kate and Bayeh were together. This was a problem because Luis bought Alex and my tickets to the Colosseum and had them on his phone. PRO TIP : NEVER HAVE YOUR TICKET ON SOMEONE ELSE’S PHONE! JUST NEVER! We were texting and voice messaging trying to figure out where they were but in the rain it was hard to text and no one knew where they were. We found a cafe and texted them our location, they said they were closer to the Colosseum so we were gonna find a different cafe and they would meet us at the Colosseum, we said that was fine, we agreed to meet in an hour. I also asked Luis and Alex if they could send me my ticket just in case but was never able to get a response.
After we ate Amanda and I walked 20 minutes to the Colosseum and texted them to tell them we were there. No response. The time we agreed to meet had come and gone. No response. 20 minutes after. No response. 30 Minutes. No response. At this point I was about to buy another ticket, the line was long and the monument was getting closer and closer to closing time. As I’m about to get in line to buy a ticket Alex responds with, I didn’t have service in the restaurant, sorry, we are on our way and their location, which is 35 minute walk away! I was furious and stressed and annoyed I let this happen to me again! I luckily got Luis to send me my ticket and we got in line while they took an Uber to the Colosseum. I ignored Alex from that point on. We went into the Colosseum, had a great time and made it to the Roman Forum right before the last group was let in, on the walk back to the hotel we went to Lush and bought bath bombs, got gelato and stopped by the Pantheon since I missed it on the walking tour and we got some more pizza. Back at the hotel I ate my pizza and then took a bath with my bath bomb which it was amazing. Then Amanda and I walked to the Trevi Fountain to see it at night and we saw a few other fountains lit up and just enjoyed the night time in Rome. We got to bed fairly early.
Monday morning I got ready and gave my bag to the front desk, we had the morning to explore some more and just had to be back at the hotel for the bus at 1:45 pm. I had another croissant breakfast and then went for a walk. On Monday all the museums for the most part are closed which was unfortunate, but I thought I found one that wasn’t so I walked to it. Of course it was closed but I wandered to the park and gardens of the Villa Borghese and then ran into Alex, Luis and Kate… impeccable luck really. We rented a row boat and rowed around on a cute little pond, checked out a small flea market, bought a final pizza and gelato before heading back to the hotel.
Rome overall was an amazing city, I love the buildings and every unique characteristic each has, the history throughout the entire city is unreal, wandering in a modern shopping district to stumble upon a preserved Roman building from the 1st century, its completely different from anything you will ever see in America. Not to mention the food is to die for and I miss it so much. My experience with Alex through the trip annoyed me, not being able to connect through text or in person drove me crazy. This is why I need to find “my people” for when I travel. Alex is who she is and there is nothing wrong with who she is but she is different from me. I need to try to be less rigid in my expectation of others and maybe I will be less disappointed when things don’t always go my way, since things can’t always go my way. I enjoyed Rome and hope to go back to Italy soon.
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