When in Rome

Week 3 was a special one for sure. There's a lot to tell, so I think I'll start with school and work my way towards Rome. It was easily our busiest week so far, with homework in pretty much every class, including research for our Enmodes project. I willed myself to knock out all my BMEN homework, and then made the mistake of waiting to do my research over the weekend. Of course, I barely touched it and paid for it with lack of sleep Sunday night. One of my goals for this trip is to learn how to do homework during the week rather than the Sunday before. But, it was still a good week despite the stress: I had Mandu like three times and we managed to plan a last minute trip to Rome for the coming weekend. Also I think it snowed, it feels so long ago but we definitely had a huge snowball fight out in the park and built a giant snowman, that we promptly destroyed after we were done with it.

To prefice, Rome was amazing. It’s chock full of things and places that I used to read about in history class, and to actually see it in person was hard to fathom. But aside from the awe, the trip was nonstop. I think I walked 36 some odd miles, over the course of the weekend, and while I got to see a lot of Rome my body is still sore days later. To get to our early flight, we had to sleep in Bonn and catch a bus to the Cologne airport. The flight went smoothly, and we quickly figured out public transportation in Rome, and found our way to the city. Then, we walked to a sketch hostel in a laundromat that some of us were staying at, and then toured the coliseum. Later we struggled to check into our apartment, got settled, and went back out. Friday night was one of my favorites, because even though the Palatino and Forum were closed, we got to see just how special Rome is. Just from walking around, we experienced several churches that were all beautifully painted on the inside, and walked to a fountain to chill at for a bit, where we saw some pillars off in the distance. Full of spirit, we walked to them to discover some ruins that were lit extremly well, and looked very cool in the dark. We walked around a little bit more, and just when we thought we were done, we turned the corner and saw a huge building, that we’d only been seeing the back of for the last half hour.
The following day, we went to the Vatican to see the museums and Sistine chapel. The day started with a croissant and latte, and then we totally forgot to eat until dinner that night. Also, it was my birthday, and seeing the Sistine chapel on my birthday, in Rome, was a dream come true. Although the Vatican was packed, it was still a very memorable experience. Especially after the museums, when I accidentally guided us the wrong way around an entire country (the smallest country in the world, but still) in an effort to see St Peters Basilica, which we needed and did not have a ticket to get in. We made it back home and recovered, and then went out to dinner. I had the most amazing carbonara and tiramisu, and the wine was very good too. Our group bonded really well, and bonded even more at the bar we went to that night, where we stayed til about 3:30 ish. European clubs and bars stay open so long, which is both parts clutch and dangerous.
I slept like 3 hours, and woke up to go see the Palitine Hill and Roman Forum. I regrettably didn’t eat breakfast, but I got there in time so you win some you lose some. Both attractions were outstanding, and gave a cool view into the past, next up was Trevi fountain, where I met up with the rest of my group. I threw a euro in, with my right hand over my left shoulder, which I think is how you do it? I also got gelato at the fountain, and Italian gelato truly does not compare to any other kind of gelato. We walked to the Piazza Navona, where we were welcomed by yet another fountain, but this time with live music and the sun. I’m definitely recalling these events in the wrong order now that I think about it, but at some point we also went to the Spanish steps, and climbed all 175 of them to the cathedral at the top. I loved the cathedral and the view, but I think I loved the most the fact that the total number of steps was so nice. It was a busy day in Rome, and we even managed to see the Pantheon. I kept calling it the Parthenon on accident, but the dome of the Pantheon was huge, and I found myself in awe at the Romans engineering and architectural feats. Lastly, we walked to a catacomb, for what seemed like ages. We tried to take a bus there, but with no bus pass, we didn’t want to risk the fine, so instead we braved the 30 minute walk. Normally a 30 minute walk wouldn’t be that bad, but keep in mind we walked to everything I’ve listed for today. We did make it in time however, and managed to take a shorter tour before they closed. Now we’d pretty much crossed off the entirety of Rome (hardly) so the easy part should’ve been getting back. Not so. The first bus that came to our stop did not in fact stop, even though the bus driver looked us right in the eye as he drove past. We still had to time to walk, and we didn’t want to risk getting left by every bus driver that came so we walked to the central area, and tried to buy a train ticket directly to the airport. Unbeknownst to us though, was the fact that that train was not in the same station as us, so after we talked to a person working, we ran to the tram to find the actual train station. We did eventually make it to the airport, and security was easy, and then we got to finally eat, which I had not done since my gelato.
Being back in Cologne after the flight was very relaxing, because we finally were sure about how everything worked, and after a late night bus ride that robbed us ticket price wise, we finally made it home to our beloved Bonn.
I’m definitely sick now because of lack of sleep and perhaps sitting next to a guy on our flight that never stopped coughing, and my feet and shoulders still are a bit sore, but overall it was a pretty amazing trip, and for sure an unforgettable one.