This Is What Dreams Are Made Of

Friday, October 8
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Ever since I first saw The Lizzie McGuire Movie (don't pretend you didn't love that movie too), I have always wanted to visit Rome, so I was so excited when we woke up for our first full day of exploring the city!  Although it was difficult to wake up early yet again, we were pleased to heard a knock at the door at 8 am, which turned out to be our breakfast cart!  It was filled with all sorts of amazing things, my favorite being the little jars of Nutella, Lauren's being really good American coffee.  After having our lovely in-room meal, we were ready to hit the town!

Trevi Fountain!

Our first stop was the Trevi Fountain, which was the site I was most looking forward to seeing (again, because of Lizzie McGuire, only when I threw a coin in a cute pop star didn't magically appear...bummer). It was surprisingly empty, which gave us plenty time for of photo ops!  The fountain was so hidden from the busy streets of Rome, but seeing it for the first time was amazing!  From there, we made our way to the Spanish Steps, which we triumphantly climbed, although we were quite out of breath by the end.  We kept walking along to the Pincio, a walkway that boasted the most gorgeous views of the entire city.  Next were the Piazza de Popolo and then Piazza Navona, where they had filmed some of the major scenes of Angels and Demons (Lauren was much more excited about this than I was).  Across the street from Navona was the Pantheon, which was gorgeous inside; it blows my mind that buildings that old are still standing today and continue to look amazing - how they built them centuries ago is completely beyond me!

Our next stop was Campo de Fiori, a large piazza that hosts an outdoor market during the day.  We spent some time strolling through all of the stands, admiring homemade jewelry and fresh flowers, but what really caught our eye was this one stand in particular.  On its table was several bins of freshly cut fruit, and you could choose what you would like to make your own fruit cup.  Since we have been deprived of most fruit in good old London, we could not wait to try this, and let me tell you, it was delicious!  We didn't realize how much we had missed nectarines and bananas!  After our fruit, we realized how hungry we actually were and stopped for a slice of flatbread pizza.  When we were finished, we caught a bus (we have totally got the hang of this public transport thing!) to Vatican City.  When we arrived, we were mesmerized as we walked into St. Peter's Square; the sheer size of it is amazing in itself, let alone of mass of people around and the stunning buildings surrounding you.  We ended up joining an American tour that gave you access to the museum, the Sistine Chapel and much more.  We spent nearly three hours touring the grounds, being lead by Carl, our (cute) German tour guide.  We got to see the amazing ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, the intricate murals in St. Peter's Basilica and so much more; it turned out to be our favorite part of the day!  By the end of the tour, though, we were starving yet again (but really who is surprised?).  Earlier we had seen a bunch of people with these gigantic gelato cones, so with our keen sense of direction, we made our way to the famous gelateria right on the edge of Vatican City.  Our gelato was absolutely delicious, not to mention humongous, and was the perfect pick me up in the middle of the afternoon.  After our snack we caught a bus back to our B&B, where we took a quick breather before going out for the night.

Vatican City

As evening approached, we decided we wanted to see the Colosseum at night, so we made our way on the underground.  When we got there the entire building was bathed in red light, and it was absolutely gorgeous.  We walked around the grounds, which were pretty much empty except for two other couples walking around.  When we passed them, I couldn't believe me eyes; it was my family's friends from home!  After the initial shock of seeing each other, I talked to them for a bit, took a picture, and we went our separate ways, but I could not get over it!  Such a small world.  After that excitement, we ended up meeting two of our friends from the BU program (who go to Villanova with Katie), and we all went to a nearby restaurant for dinner.  We all enjoyed wine under a canopy of ivy, and of course had plenty of pasta and bread to go around.  We then explored the surrounding area a bit more, of course stopping for an after dinner gelato on the way, before calling it a night.  We had had a whirlwind of a day, and had ended it with the perfect evening in Roma.  We were looking forward to the next day of adventures!
   xo Carolyn