Sunday, September 30th, 2012: Rome, Italy
The morning
began with a pastry and peach/passion fruit tea again. The breakfast came late,
but was delicious. I think my new addiction may be the buttery, flaky,
sugariness that is a breakfast croissant.
The rain
was so raucous last night it woke me up in my sleep. I think there might have
been thunder too. Either way, it was cloudy and humid when we walked out the
door to the train station, conveniently located across the street from the
B&B. Amber and I took a train and then the metro to church. For the first
time in Alison/Amber in Italy history we didn’t get horribly lost. It was a
wonderful feeling.
Church was
good. There was a girl from Salt Lake City who came at the same time as us. In
a feat of great skill and strength, she had biked from Florence to Rome the
past week. She was nice and shared what she had learned during her time in
Italy. There were also lots of missionaries; one set of elders, one set of
sisters and a missionary couple. I sat by a sweet older man who took interest
in my usual sacrament meeting doodles. He thought they were nice and asked me
to draw him. I tried my best to refuse, but in the end compromised by saying
I’d draw the missionary speaking. It was this missionary’s last Sunday of his
mission, so when the service was over, I gave him the picture because a. I kind
of wanted to and b. Amber did too. He looked confused and probably thought I
was a psycho, but I don’t really mind. The old man still said he wanted a
picture of himself someday.
After
church Amber and I made the long trek to McDonalds. Yes, again. Yes, we love
being American. Yes, we took pictures in the beautiful fluorescent light of the
bottom floor of one (of many) Roman McDonald’s. No, we did not win anything
from the Monopoly game the Golden Arches is currently promoting. I just wanted
the free food…
One
post-lunch, afternoon break later, we were ready to head back to the city.
First stop, the Coliseum. We took a bus to the metro and by the time we got
there, the bus was completely full. Maybe you don’t comprehend what I mean when
I say this. I mean the doors could barely shut. I mean people’s faces were in
other people’s armpits. I mean that despite the fact it was cold and rainy
outside, it was a sauna inside. Eventually we made it to the metro and,
although still busy, it was better, because the metro rules all.
Almost as soon as we got off the
metro we could see the gargantuan building. It was beautiful. We took an audio
tour and, incredibly thorough as it was, learned a lot. It also made me want to
watch Gladiator. After the Coliseum, we stopped by the Spanish
steps, got a little lost (darn Italian streets once again) and then went to the
Trevi Fountain. At this point, it was real rainy. Amber and I tried to huddle
under my quickly fading umbrella I had bought my first day in Italy but, in the
end, its time was through and I said goodbye to the friend I’ve learned never
to leave the house without. But the fountain was still so beautiful, and we
both threw in coins to ensure we make it back to the eternal city.
Dinner time was quickly
approaching and we went to a real restaurant like real grown-ups. We had
spaghetti with bacon sauce and fettuccini with porcini mushrooms. We ended with
profiteroles for dessert which is a bignet with cream and chocolate sauce.
Everything was so, so good. I still can’t stop thinking about the profiteroles.
By this point, we were ready to call it a night. We rode the bus the wrong way the first time (because we are experienced tourist, of course), but then got back to where we belong. One cold (yes, cold) shower later and I am still in love with Rome.