Home Meets Rome

With the holiday season fast approaching, nothing could have been a more perfect early present than having a best friend from home visit me in Rome.  Becca is studying in Amsterdam this semester and recently decided to book a trip over here, much to my delight!  Our visit was brief, but we packed a lot of sights into such a short time, caught up over Dutch stroopwaffels (a new fave sweet treat) and tea, and enjoyed the blast from the past that always accompanies reunions with old friends.  It is nice to know that no matter where you are or how long it's been, when you reunite with a close friend, it's like no time has passed at all.

Friday afternoon, I took a mid-afternoon bus to meet Becca at the Terravision café and give her a huge, much deserved hug before we started our day.  We had little time to lose so we headed over to Vatican City so that she could get a glimpse of St. Peter's basilica and snap the essential tourist photos of Rome.  We did a little loop around the Tiber, making our way past Castel Sant'Angelo, over the Ponte Helio and to my school.  I hadn't thought about it for a while, but she made me realize again just how pretty our school building is.  I can't say it's always a whole heap of fun studying in it, but I definitely appreciate its amazing location, even more so when a new visitor points out just how special it is to be Tiber-side.  After that little section of our city tour, we enjoyed gelato from Gelateria al Teatro, one of the most famous spots in Rome, just a five minute walk from IES.  Becca opted for pure chocolate and coffee, while I changed things up a bit and tried a fruit and cheese flavor.  It was definitely a bit strange, but totally delicious.  Rome's gelatified version of cheesecake...perfetto!  

We caught the 870 bus to return to Monteverde and enjoy a little down time before dinner at Lumie de Sicilia a few streets over.  Kristen, Megan and I discovered this sweet little gem over fall break; the adorable owner loves to chat us up in English and offer the best recommendations.  The authentic antipasto included thinly sliced squid, a few cuts of savory meat and various marinated and breadcrumb-crusted veggies, but our ravioli variations were the winners of the evening.  Bex and Sar opted for ricotta in cream sauce, while I ordered the pasta with sea bass and artichokes...I am going to miss this carb-filled existence!

After dinner, we prepped for a night out with Susanna and her friends.  Blowdryers were handed off like batons in a track race and hands were flying with everyone furiously grabbing for tops and applying eye shadow.  Just your typical weekend night in an apartment with 7 (this weekend, 8) girls! We drove over to EUR, Mussolini's utopia in Rome (really a sight to be seen--the buildings are very futuristic in an almost unsettling way!) and attempted to get into Pure, our first choice for a night of dancing.  But it seemed that private parties had completely reserved all of our top choices (or Susanna's recommendations--the American girls are not all too familiar with nightlife in that section of Rome) so we decided to check out Futura Arte.  It was an interesting experience to say the least...a lot of 30 and 40-somethings dancing to a combination of 80 percent Italian music I haven't heard and 20 percent random American jams like "Summer Lovin'."  Now, I love Grease, but this was a little bit weird.  Still, we all enjoyed changing things up a bit, learning some traditional Italian dance moves from Susanna's friends and not having to sweat up a storm while breaking it down to David Guetta for a change.

Saturday was an ambitious attempt to fit Rome's most important sights into a one day period.  First stop: lunch at Piccolo Buco by the Trevi for gnocchi with four cheeses and a mushroom pizza, fuel for the day.  Unfortunately, the forecast for "scattered showers" wasn't what we were hoping for, but we made the best of the rain and took some cute shots with our cheap umbrellas tossing our coins into the fountain.  Next, we made our way over to the Spanish steps and scaled the entire building (okay, it wasn't that difficult...it probably took five minutes) for another credible view of Rome's rooftops in their rainbow of pastels: awe-inspiring splendor.  Luckily, Bex has an insane camera so I will have to steal a couple of photos from her to provide the full effect.  I know, you're all probably getting sick of the superlative adjectives, but I'm being sincere I promise!  We needed a break after all of that trekking and stopped for a drink at Dolci e Doni, a cute little café on a sidestreet.  Unfortunately, the waitress didn't understand when we asked for ice tea, no sugar...we ended up with what essentially tasted like 4 euro Snapples, but you just have to laugh at the little blunders.  We sipped, quipped and flipped over how crazy it was to be in Rome together.  After finishing our sickeningly sweet beverages, we made our way over to the Pantheon.  Right before we entered the piazza, rain started pouring sheets upon us and we sought shelter in Tazza D'Oro, a famous little café, before I freaked out, realizing that the Pantheon is most beautiful when you see raindrops pouring through its central opening!  Luckily, we were able to catch a little bit of the drizzle when we arrived at the monument. It is actually unbelievable--you feel like the heavens are opening up and you have the front seat to the show.  I only wish we could have caught the view of the rainy spurt from inside.  Finally, we enjoyed a nighttime view of the Colosseum where Bex carried out a little photo shoot: moonlit cobblestones, hands on the Colosseum's travertine columns, every angle of the massive ampitheatre.

After our long day at the city's center, we met Sara in Trastevere for dinner at Aristocampo restaurant. Before we arrived though, I had to take Becca to our favorite cannoli place with ricotta filling to die for and pastry with just the perfect amount of crunch.  Dinner was fantastic. Meals here (as you all know by now) go: pasta, pizza, repeat, pasta, pizza, repeat.  We toasted, talked, and tasted each others' yummy dishes and had just enough time to make it to the Trastevere chocolate festival before heading home.  Bex and I ended up enjoying a cozy night in.  We had more than enough to catch up on and were able to relive our high school slumber party experience with a rom com.  Except this time, we were in Rome.  So surreal!

A daytime shot at the Colosseum from History class this past week!

MD + Emory/Rome friends in one place...at
Lumie di Sicilia...awesome and delicious!

Bex marveling at the embarrassing amount of change
I laid out for our meal at Piccolo Buco.

So cute!

Coin tossing in the rain!

Bex + Lex + rain + Rome = A-ok! :)

At the top of the Spanish steps!

It was hard to say goodbye to Bex this morning and face the mountain of work piling up as finals lurk right around the corner.  This also means that I leave in less than 2 weeks.  And I can't lie, it's definitely getting to me.  I start to think about how drastically different "abroad problems" are from real world issues.  Seriously, my roommates and I have crafted a mental list of our "crises" here and how silly they can be.  Case in point, today's abroad problem from Megan: "I hate when my socks are different thicknesses."  Yes, it's a joke, but we're also not plagued with constant deadlines.  There are no travel barriers.  There's no limit to how far you can wander or what you can do tomorrow morning or next Friday night.  Losing that will be hard, but I have to remind myself to smell the roses while I can and take everything one step at a time.  I hope I don't sound terribly redundant with these thoughts, but they keep striking again and again.  Still, I am so looking forward to seeing all of my loved ones so soon.  What would life be without you all?

Love,

Alexi