When in Rome! (Part 1)

Hey Everybody,

First off, Thank you Jeffrey for reminding me to use that phrase as often as I possibly can. It may be the most overused phrase ever uttered in Rome.

I arrived in Rome on the 28th of July. In my mind, I had one night to meet as many people as I could, in order to do a proper birthday dinner the following night. Unfortunately, the bar was practically empty, though at around midnight, the bartender gave me a free shot of limoncello.

The first major thing I did the night of the 28th was a free tour. Most major cities offer some type of free tour. The idea is that at the end you tip your guide. While waiting to start the tour, I ran into one of the four med students from Jersey.

Throughout my trip, I have seen these 4 med students in 4 different cities, as well as in 4 different countries.... The probability of that happening is pretty slim.

The tour took us to all the major sights in the heart of Rome. It started at the Spanish Steps, and went through a bunch of churches, the Italian equivalent of the White House, the Pantheon, and finally ended at the Trevi Fountain.

At the Trevi fountain, I ran into a friend of mine from Syracuse. Small World.

After the fountain, I ended up getting dinner with the four students. That was there last night in Rome, so we discussed everything that they did, and I tried to formulate some type of plan in order to best see Rome.

The next day it was my birthday!

WOOO!

As mentioned above, I tried to meet as many people as I could, and that failed.

I decided that I was going to enjoy the day as best I could by myself.

My friend Lainie from home told me that she had the best chicken parm in the world in Rome. Her and I come from the same hometown, and she knows damn well how good the chicken parm is at the Deli. She also knows I am basically addicted to it, so for her to claim that this was life changing was more of a challenge then anything.

I decided to go for lunch. After walking about 40 minutes, I got to the location, but couldnt find it. Then and there, I realized that the restaurant was only open for dinner. FUCK!!!

Zac: 0 World: 1

In Rome, people vow all the time. I VOWED to go back and have my birthday dinner there.

I had hours to kill. I decided to go to Saint Angelos Castle. This is a castle that overlooks the main river that runs through Rome. The castle had unbelivable views of the city, and more mosiacs then one can imagine.

On a side note

I have had to pay full price for all of my tickets into museums. There is a student rate, but one needs to be a European Union student. Even though I graduated, I still have my student ID simply because there isnt an expiration date on it. Thanks Syracuse!

If I ever open a museum, I will charge double for anyone from the EU, specifically students. I will laugh as they cry the tears of shame.

The castle is a quick two minute walk from the Vatican. I wanted to see the Vatican museum, and thought that I was on the appropriate line. Apparently, I was on line to see the Popes tombs. This was somewhat interesting, but not every tomb was there, and the history of each Pope was boiled down to a couple of sentences.

After this experience, I went to the Vatican Museum. I had been given directions, but the tourist information offices I went to decided to not tell me it was a fifteen minute walk, and that the museum closed at 4pm. I arrived at 4:05 PM.

Zac:0 World: 2

DAMN!

I needed to change this day for the better quickly. The World was beating me 2 zip on my own birthday!

I knew of a park that overlooked the city. I imagined it would be beautiful at dusk. I figured that the restaurant wouldnt open until 6:30, so I had some time to kill.

I found a bench where these two girls were sitting. We started talking. They were British, and in their early 20s.

Zac:1 World:2

After spending a couple of hours with them, we parted ways. The chicken parm was scratching at my soul, and I needed to quell the urge.

I got really lost, but eventually found my way to the restaurant. The parm was calling my name.

I sat down after a long day, and decided to celebrate my getting a first and second course. I am CrAzY!!!

First course was just bruschette, but it was good.

The chicken parm came out second.

Da Da Dummmmm

It was really good. Really really good. It wasnt as good as the Delis, but after a full day of waiting, it was worth it.

Zac: 2 World: 2

Afterwords, I decided to go and walk to the Colosseum to see it at night. It was absoluetly gorgeous. Throughout the night I called some friends and family to hear their voices, very pleasant.

Zac: 3 World: 2

I win!

The next day I did the full Vatican museum. It just shows how the Vatican took over the world stealing and pillaging, and then put all of the stuff they stole on display. In other words, I am not a fan of the ideas of the Vatican, but the museum was pretty.

The amount of money that could be made if the Vatican sold half of its assets it could arguably stop world hunger. Hmmm....

Either way, I saw the Sistine Chapel. The iconic image of God with Adam is quite breathtaking. I was blown away by the detail that was in the chapel. The Sistine chapel is also where all of the cardinals vote for the next pope.

The whole museum took about 3 hours, its huge.

The next day I went to Pompei.

On the way down, an older lady started talking to me in Italian. I understood that she wanted me to get her bags. After I did this, she offered me her seat, which was next to four gorgeous Italian girls. After hearing them giggle, I asked what she was talking about. Apparently the older lady wanted to set me up with these girls. It was a great trip!

Pompei is the site where a volcano erupted and buried a full city. Its impossible to see in one day, but well worth the visit. Unfortunately, its about a 7 hour roundtrip. Unless you really wanted to see it, (like me) its much easier to do if you spend the night in Naples (which I didnt).

The city was destroyed before Jesus, so there are at least 5 or 6 temples to various Roman and Greek Gods. The city is still being excavated, so each time you go, different things are open and closed. I saw an actual Roman bath which was pretty sweet. Many of the houses had original paintings of figures in sexual poses. Ah, to be a Roman.

That night, I got dinner with my friends from Munich, and after had too much wine and had to spend the night there. I am moving there today, and my last two nights in Rome will be spent there.

Thats it for now.

Ill see all of you very soon!

Zac