When in Rome! (Spring Break Part 1)

                I’ll admit. This post is a little overdue. In fairness, I when I got back from Italy around two weeks ago, I came home to an extremely full week at school – 30 hours of class, three papers, and a group presentation.  But finally, I am posting about my super cool (I’m serious. It was freezing…) spring break.

                Around three weeks ago, we had our spring break here.  It started out very quiet.  Everyone left on Friday and it felt like Toulouse and the residence that I live in were strangely empty.  I spent Friday evening in town with my two lovely girlfriends from Denmark and Ireland.  We did a little shopping and then had dinner at an Indian restaurant.  I spent the rest of the evening and most of the next day hanging out at home.  I actually really enjoyed being lazy by myself for a little while. 

Our Lovely Group at a Cafe in Rome

                Don’t worry though.  I didn’t spend the whole break lounging around on my couch.  Sunday morning, I woke up bright and early and caught a train to Bordeaux with two friends.  After arriving in first class (student discount rail cards really pay off!), we caught the bus to the airport where we met another friend and departed for Rome!  We flew round trip on Ryan air for only fifty euro.  It was an interesting experience flying with Ryan air for the first time. I had been warned that it was not the most hospitable airline.  While my friend humorously noted that we were being “shuffled around like monkeys” as the flight attendants rather brusquely demanded over the intercom that we continue moving to the back of the plane when we boarded, the flight was not that bad.  It obviously wasn’t ritzy, but it was cheap and in two hours I was in Rome. 

Trevi Fountain

                  One thing that Ryan air is famous for is its strict luggage restrictions.  You are only allowed one carry-on bag (yes ladies, no purses) that fits rather stringent weight and size requirements.  One of my friend’s bags was over the maximum of ten kilograms and resorted to wearing something like 5 pullovers to get his bag under the weight limit.  In order to avoid the hassle and extra expense of checking a bag, I brought only one backpack for the entire week.  This required me to bring only lightweight sundresses and rompers as they didn’t weigh much or take up much space.  I didn’t expect this to be an issue. I mean, it’s Italy, right? Always warm and sunny.  Wrong.  Very wrong. It was in the 50’s the entire week.  Not exactly sundress weather… Nevertheless, traveling with one backpack makes getting around much easier. 

Make a Wish!

                Our first night in Rome we freshened up after a long day of traveling and headed out to find some food.  Before we found food, we found the enchanting Trevi Fountain.  It was lovely.  After waiting for a spot near the fountain to open, we threw coins in the fountain and each made a wish.  After our wishes and about a thousand pictures, we found dinner nearby, and beautiful week of pasta and pizza began.  Afterward, we stopped for gelato and spent the rest of the evening in the hotel. 

The next day we got up early and headed out for an ambitious day of sightseeing.  We started at the Roman forum.  It was so cool walking around and seeing it! My only complaint is that there wasn’t more information about the ruins unless you were on a guided tour.  We still had a great time and had a relative idea of what we were looking at most of the time.  We stopped at one point to read about the ancient art of making glass and its evolution over time.  As we were reading, I noted to the group “I am such a business major... As I am reading this, all I can think about is product diffusion…” to which my engineering friend replied “All I can think about is the chemical components of the glass.” It was a lovely nerdy moment. 

In the Coliseum 

Gelato at Piazza di Venezia

After the forum, we proceed to Palatine Hill which was somewhat of an extension of the Forum.  It was absolutely beautiful with views of the Coliseum and the rest of the city.  It was also beautifully landscaped among the fascinating ruins.  We continued on to the Coliseum after.  The line to get in was enormous and very cold as we were in the shade for most of the wait.  When we finally got inside, we all ran straight into the sunlight to warm up.  The coliseum was incredible.  I really enjoyed the visit although some of the history involved with the ancient sporting venue kind of grossed me out.

After the coliseum we went to the magnificent Piazza di Venezia to meet our friend from Milan and of course get gelato.  After that, we tried to go to the Pantheon, but it was closed for observation of the Easter holiday.  We then went down the main shopping street, Via del Corso.  Even though we didn’t buy anything, it was a fantastic afternoon shopping and drooling over the beautiful designer brands. We ended at the Spanish steps and then returned to the hotel. 

Via del Corso

Drooling Over Dior

That evening we went to dinner at a restaurant recommended to us by our concierge.  The pizza was fantastic! Afterward we went into town to get a taste of Roman nightlife.  Our receptionist had told us where to go when we had arrived the day before pointing out the best piazzas for dinner, nightlife, and men.  We thought the idea of a “Piazza di Men” was hilarious so we went to check it out.  When we arrived, the square was dead, and the only men we could find were statues. 

St. Peter's Basilica

The next day we went across town to St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican.  When we arrived the line to get into the Basilica wrapped all the way around the square.  Surprisingly, however, we didn’t have to wait that long to get in.  St. Peter’s was unreal and probably the most beautiful church I have ever seen.  Afterwards we stopped for lunch at a nearby café before heading to the Vatican Museum. 

One of the Many Art Galleries
on the Way to the Sistine Chapel

The Vatican was beautiful, and the museum was immense.  I have never seen so much fantastic art in my life.  Frescos, paintings, tapestries, sculptures.  There was so much that it was a little overwhelming.  We explored the first art gallery and then started our journey to see the Sistine Chapel.  At first we were all fascinated by everything, reading everything we could set our eyes on (that was in English of course..).  I’m generally the type of person that can spend hours in a museum and loves reading every plaque, brochure, and information board there is, but after about the tenth gallery, we all began to wear down.  That day, all alternate routes to the Sistine Chapel were closed and we had to take the longest route available which wound through literally gallery after gallery.  Each gallery was filled from floor to ceiling of magnificent art, so much so that it became overwhelming and difficult to take it all in.  By the time we got to the Sistine Chapel, we were all exhausted.  It was however pretty sensational.  All of the famous Michelangelo frescos were exquisite. 

The Spanish Steps

Best Gelato in Rome
(Cinnamon, Oreo, and
Dark Chocolate!)

After the Vatican, we took a break, did a little shopping, and got some gelato before heading back to the hotel to rest.  That evening we had a great dinner finished with tiramisu and met up with some new friends we met in Rome.  We hung out that night with them in their amazing apartment and rooftop terrace overlooking the Vatican and the river.  It was such a fun evening with good friends!

On our last day in Rome, it started to rain.  We went to the Pantheon and then had the best gelato in Rome at a place suggested to us by our new friends.  It was amazing! I had cinnamon, dark chocolate, and Oreo!  Afterwards, we walked to the Spanish steps.  We were busy taking photos when a torrential downpour began.  Totally caught off guard, we ran for the nearest Metro stop.  That evening we said goodbye to our Danish friend as she went to meet some friends in Paris for the rest of the week, and the rest of us boarded a train for Naples.