Whena Ina Roma

Rome. Is. Beautiful.

We arrived in Rome on Tuesday January 31st, as predicted, late. Getting off the plane in Rome was quite the experience as we found ourselves surrounded by Italian people reading Italian signage speaking the Italian language texting on their Italian phones and, in general, being Italian.

Welcome To Rome!

We were met near the exit by four WEP Representatives who would look after us for the next four days in Rome; Mickey, Valeria and Pietro from WEP Italia and Linda from WEP Australia. With them, we were also introduced to 9 students from Victoria, 2 from New Zealand, 1 from Belgium, 1 from Brazil and 1 from Switzerland; 33 very excited exchange students.

We caught a bus to our hotel which was quite the experience as the driver drove, not only on the wrong side of the road, but also, like a maniac. Our hotel was called "Casa per Ferie Arso" and alphabetical ordering had me rooming with three other girls; Charlotte from Queensland, Tessa from Victoria and Cèline from Switzerland.

From left to right: Myself, Celine, Tessa and Charlotte

Crazily excited to finally be in the country of our dreams, the four of us went hunting for a view and found it out of a fire escape on one of the upper levels of the hotel. It was the most perfect day, I was even enjoying the 9º temperature.

The view from the balcony found via fire escape

The view from the balcony found via fire escape

After a very good night's sleep, Wednesday consisted of "getting to know you" and general orientation activities. Getting to know the other exchange students was fascinating, especially Ben from Belgium, Luisa from Brazil and Cèline (my adorable Swiss roommate). But even more interesting, we discovered that part of our hotel was actually a primary/pre school. During our free time we went outside and listened to the adorable children (who all had beanies that made them look like animals and could only waddle about thanks to the huge jackets and boots they were wearing) playing hide-and-go-seek in Italian.

Thursday the 31st of February was the day to end all days; we were going into Rome. After lunch we caught a bus into the city, then walked (or rather, skipped with overwhelming happiness) along some adorable cobblestoned streets to get on the double-decker open-roof bus by which we would see the majority of Rome's sights for the first time. We were given headphones on the tour which played classic Italian music; as if we needed to feel more like we were in a movie at that point.

Our first steps into Rome's city

The advertisement for the bus we took

Tess and I

The roofless bus

We all took at least 200 photos each on the tour as we passed historical landmarks, fountains, the Vatican and even the Colosseum! At the end of the bus tour there was time left and so the WEP people took us walking over the river, up and down cobblestoned streets (yes, the cobblestones are one of the most exciting things about Italy so I'm going to keep mentioning them) and even to a little food stall where I purchased some kind of pastry-biscuit-chocolate-almond concoction from an Italian man who must of been deaf, as the 10 words I spoke to him in Italian convinced him I was a local.

My first ever view of the Colosseum

I love these trees, perhaps too much

Luisa and I enjoying the trees

The gorgeous river

These locks are put on the bridge and the key thrown in the water to signify a couple's eternal love. Some couples even had their names and anniversaries engraved on the padlock!

The circular castle

My very first purchase in Italy: food.

Our walk concluded at St. Peter's square where we all stood about for quite some time, in absolute awe of its size and beauty and the fact that it was less than twelve hours from being February and the life-size Nativity Scene and Christmas tree were still up.

In case you were concerned, the Pope is in safe hands.

At least now I can act like I spent Christmas in Rome at some point in my life
...sort of

The Nativity Scene to end all Nativity Scenes

The Vaticano Fountain

Celine and I in St. Peter's Square

My immediate reaction to the vast amount of space I fond in St. Peter's Square

The group in St. Peter's Square

Friday was then our first full day in Rome and we were guided around the city by an adorable 54-year-old local who carried a stick with sparkly green fabric on it for us to follow. Our tour began with the Colosseum. Here, it is safe to say that the photos say it all.

Touching the Colosseum!

Walking up into the inside of if on unusually steep stairs

We then continued through small streets, big streets, main streets, ancient ruins galore, past Vespas and Smart Cars and Pizzerias and Souvenir stalls no more than 10 metres from one another at any time.

THESE. EVERYWHERE.

The things people will do for money in Italy

The group in the Ruins of the Ancient City

Julius Caesar's grave!

The actual source of drinking water in the city. Tasted completely normal, and I survived!

LITTLE DID I KNOW that Rome is Cats galore! Valeria told us that Italy had a problem with there being too many cats, so they decided it would be easier to look after them all in one place, and put them all in the Ancient Ruins in Rome! Everywhere you look there is another cat on some ancient monument, and they are perfectly friendly, no different to your average domestic cat!

Our tour with the guide concluded at the Pantheon, followed by my first real Italian Gelato. In complete honesty, I knew little of the Pantheon before seeing it, but I can now say that, without a doubt, it was one of my very favourite sites in Rome. I could barely stop looking up at the incredible dome ceiling long enough to see the beautiful marble inside.

The Pantheon

Nearby, directly opposite a clothing store named "Dani", was the most incredible Gelatissimo I have ever seen; according to our tour guide, "the very best Gelati in Roma". After a very, very long period of time deciding on only three flavours out of the 50 or so before me I settled on "Mango", "Raffaelo" (for mumma) and "Profiterole" (because I could not possibly comprehend that they had made icecream from miniature profiteroles).

So. Many. Flavours.

Flavours. Every. Where. 

My first ever true italian Gelati!

 We were then lead by Valeria and Mickey to the site we had all been anxious to see; the Trevi Fountain! And it was just as I had imagined. The smiles could not be wiped up our faces as we ran down the steps to the fountain itself and dug up our coins (me from my super-sneaky fanny pack) to toss in. That was, until an italian man (or rather, con artist) somehow, through a lot of confusion, conned myself and 3 others into having him take a photo of us, thinking it was a polaroid, which he then printed for the small price of €10. AND the photo was blurry. I think it is safe to say I have learnt my lesson!

 Finally, to end the day we were taken to the Spanish Steps, then given 50 minutes free time to shop and look around. Myself, Celine, Charlotte and Callie moved quickly in the direction we believed would lead us to souvenir stores. But we were very, very wrong and instead found ourselves very, very lost. Here, I would like to extend my apologies to all of those who were promised a souvenir from Rome...oops. But hey, once we could find our way back, the steps were really, really pretty :)

 In any event I am now, finally, on a train travelling at about 250km/h across the gorgeous Italian countryside, with 10 others who are going to the Milan-Turin area. In about 45 minutes I will arrive at Milano Porta Garibaldi station and be met by my host family (who said they were making Lasagne for lunch!!) and on Monday I will begin school. Here goes nothing!

Ready or not Milan, here I come!