Rome Part I: Overtaken

Rome overtook me.

I should have known from the moment I arrived that it would be the city that really took me away. Kate and Steph were staying in a different hostel from Dani and I so after getting off our train around 5 p.m. we made plans to meet at Trevi Fountain at 7 p.m. The simple walk to meet them had me in complete awe and it took all the self control I had not to start clicking away on my camera. Had I taken all the pictures I had the urge for I could have provided you with a flip book of the entire walk there!

Our hostel was a next door neighbor to the Vatican City and a five minute walk from St. Peter's Square. The immediate site of this was one thing in itself. Then we crossed the bridges, lined with statues and seeing building after building constructed partially by stone remains had me thrilled. Our hostel had provided us with a detailed map of the city with all of the major buildings and sites pointed out and from the looks of it, I had a lot to look forward to.

I'm going to tell you straight up. I could go on and on about Rome, because something happened in the three days we were there that changed me and changed my perspective on the entire trip. I do not know if it was Rome itself, the fact I was exploring it with three others, or that it was my last stop in Italy in a ten day tour. Even the first night, after finding Kate and Steph at the Trevi Fountain and doing the touristic duty of throwing a coin into the fountain (backwards over your right should and make a wish!), we also hiked over to the Spanish Steps before scouting out some pizza.

Let me go ahead and give a little rant on pizza. We were slightly hesitant to purchase any in Rome initially due to the fact every streetside shop we walked into did not have priced and sliced pizza. Instead there was a price per gram on the pizza, which mad it difficult for us to estimate whether or not it was a good deal or not. However, in the end our hunger won out and we settled for one of these places. What did we learn? Completely worth it!! I got a six by six inch slice of mozerella, basil and tomato along with a four by six inch slice of cheese for FOUR euros! (For us this was CHEAP for that much food--because believe me, it was enough to stuff us!) I fell in love with style of serving pizza fresh from the store front! I am positive I had it at least once a day, and pizza was most definitely something I NEVER came close to getting tired of as it has a completely different taste to it than anything you find in America. What I would give to be able to walk into a store and point at a piece of pizza through a glass window, have them heat it up for me and have it taste THAT good in the states... it most definitely does not happen.

Anyway, we enjoyed our pizza sitting next to Trevi Fountain as the night came in and the fountain was completely lit up. The area was always crowded with people and we were constantly amused by tourists (particularly the older group of Canadians and their guide who was extremely loud.) I think taking moments to stop and just enjoying BEING was a key part of my love for Rome. It had been a long day of travel (five hours on a train) and all of us knew that we had a week or less left abroad.