The night I got home from Cinque Terre, I walked into my
house--attractive with my lack of sleep, showers and makeup--to find a couple
beautiful people sitting at my kitchen table, a good looking American guy, Tom,
and a pretty Argentine/American girl, Flor. They both actually go/went to BYU;
Tom is studying at Cambridge for the summer and Flor has been living in France
for the past year! I decided to head into Rome with them the next morning--they
wanted to see some of the tourist sites and I needed to get my passport and
pick up the money that my mom wired me. I got to the American Embassy around
1:30 to get my passport and had to wait until 2 to get in. The guards, in
typical Italian fashion, were more than friendly--the first two I met offered
to show me around Rome afterward, one offered to come to Bracciano and visit
me, and a third suggested I meet him for drinks that night (haha). I was
allowed inside the embassy, under 'emergency circumstances', went through
security, and made my way up to American affairs where I was denied a
passport because I didn't have cash on me (and they wouldn't let me pay with my
parent's card number). In a crunch for time, I went down to pick up the money
that was wired to me; however, I was informed that I couldn't get it without a
passport. So there I was, lost for a solution--no passport without money, but
no money without a passport. I went back to the embassy, explained my situation
and they agreed to make me an alternative document that I could use to pick up
the money, but then told me that I would have to come back the next morning to
pick up my passport--which I did. Quite the hassle, but everyone was so
nice, I actually think I might go back to visit again now because I've gotten
to know so many of the employees! :)
After getting my passport, I realized that I didn't have a
plan to meet back up with Tom and Flor, and they didn't have a phone...A+
planning, eh? I decided to go sit near the Colosseum, where they had mentioned
they were going. No luck. Then my phone rang, I answered, and some lady replied
speaking Italian 942 words per second. I told her that she had the wrong number
without even trying to understand what she was saying. I decided to pay more
attention to her (she kept talking, so it was either that or hang up), which
was lucky because she ended up being Flor's aunt (Flor had used my phone
earlier to call her); although I didn't know where Flor was at the moment, I
was able to meet up with her and Tom when they were meeting up with her aunt.
Bellisimo! We enjoyed some fruit juice, before seeing some of the most famous
sites and eating some gelato.
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| Tom, Flor and I in front of the Trevi Fountain |
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| Daniele, Tom, and I in front of the Roman Forum |
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| My favorite gelato flavor. |
Because I had to get my passport the next morning, I decided
to stay in Rome that night at my friends, Fausto and Daniele's house which was,
conveniently, where Tom and Flor were staying. Although I didn't bring any
extra clothes, I ended up staying an extra night because I was having so much
fun; so if you've noticed that everyone's clothes change in the pictures except
mine, that's why.. :) We all toured Rome during the day and Fausto made us
a delicious Italian dinner the first night. Flor spiced it up with
some authentic Argentine cuisine the next night, and had us all rolling on the
floor laughing when she told us about her obsession with Enrique Inglesias, mamma
mia, I wish I had recorded it! It was a great couple of days, it doesn't even
feel like anything negative (like getting my bag stolen...) even happened. It's
amazing what some good friends and Roman magic can do to boost your mood!
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| Me (day 3 in same outfit), Tom, Flor, Fausto, Daniele |
The
last night Tom and Flor were in town, everyone wanted to see some of the Roman
monuments at night, but after a draining couple of days, Tom and I were the
only ones that ended up going. It was late, so the metros were closed and we
decided to try our luck with a night bus. We found the correct one, N12, and
squished in between the 927 sweaty men who were already on the bus (slight
exaggeration). After 20 minutes of driving around in residential areas, we
realized something wasn't right; Tom asked someone sitting near us and it turns
out that we had gotten on the RIGHT bus, but in the WRONG direction, and spent
an extra hour riding around and getting a tour of Rome's residential ghetto. :)
No complaints though, it was worth it. The monuments in Rome at night are
absolutely BEAUTIFUL! We got to see the Trevi Fountain and Piazza Venezia (Tomb
of the Unknown Soldier)! We also learned that gelato can be purchased around
the clock, that you can walk down the middle of the street at night without
getting hit, and that you should not worry about the creepy man who appears to
be robbing the fruit stand by the Trevi, he actually lives there... Going on a
week night ended up being really cool as well, most tourists are in bed
preparing for the next day of sightseeing and most locals are in bed preparing
for their next day at work or school. How many people get to feel like they
have one of the busiest cities in the world to themselves??
So, basically I have zero complaints and only positive things
to say. I live in an amazing place, I get to meet wonderful people, and I'm
making memories that I'm sure I will tell stories about for the rest of my
life. :)
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