Italy Spring Break I: "Well I guess I have a day to myself?"

So I took my spring break this year in ITALIA!  I had a plan to travel to Rome, Florence and Venice over break, yay!  I was fortunate enough that my boyfriend Matt was able to make the trip to come with me.  Here's how the first few days went...

I arrived Friday night, March 18th and Matt was arriving the next morning around 7am.  I came from the airport on the train, found our hostel and went to sleep.  Before sleeping, though, I found out that no only did my phone (which I purchased for the sole purpose of having a phone in Italy because my other phone NEVER arrived) not have service, but that also our hostel, which reported that it had internet, was WiFi free.  I was completely cut off from any mode of communication.  Now, this would be fine except I was in a foreign country where  I didn't speak the language and I had someone coming in on a flight the next day.  I was a bit worried.

This worry increased the next morning as I got up (around 6) to go pick up Matt.  Upon leaving I found a note on my door that said "Problem with your boyfriend's flight.  Call this number" and proceeded to list a 10 digit number.

Now I had no way to check this.  No internet.  No phone.  As it was so early nothing was really open so I headed to the train station to try and use a public phone.  That was COMPLETELY impossible to figure out.  Their public phones have the STRANGEST system and so I went to ask a travel agency person for help since they were the few people there.  The woman mentioned to me, upon receiving the number, that it was too long.  10 digits.  European ones were only 9/  CRAP.  The guy had given me the wrong number?!  I just decided to get on a train to the airport.  If Matt's flight was late I woul just hang out.  Well it isn't until I am on my way to the airport that I realize that AMERICAN NUMBERS ARE 10 DIGITS!  Wow.  Cannot believe that didn't occur to me.  Unfortunately I had left the number with the woman.

When I reached the airport I found that Matt's flight had arrived, but he was no where to be found.  I finally found some internet and found out that Matt had missed his flight.  Imagine my reaction.  I was so upset at first.  He missed his flight?!  How do you miss an international flight?!  He had caught one to Frankfurt at 10:50pm and had one from there to Rome that would get in around 5:20pm.  I calmed down on the train ride back though and just thought about how upset and worried he must be.  I later found out that he went to the wrong airport.  His flight was out of Dulles, but he went to BWI for some reason.  He still feels really bad about it so we don't bring it up :-P

SO.  I had some time to kill in Rome.  I decided to wander around a bit.........or a lot......See this is what happens when you are raised by people who spend EVERY WAKING MOMENT of a "vacation" sightseeing.  I walked for hours.  In fact, that was pretty much the whole week.  Get up early, walk all day long, come home exhausted but having SEEN A LOT!  Before I left I encountered a very interesting parade...



After that, I started out with the Colosseum...

I was so surprised about how IN YOUR FACE it was.  I just turned a corner from our hostel and BAM!  It was right there.  Surrounded by the ruins and Palatine hill on one side and a VERY busy road on the other.  Stuck between modern and ancient.

From there I wandered around Palatine Hill, past Constantine's Arch....

 ....past Circo Massimo, and over to the Palatine Museums and the view of the ruins over there.

From there I wandered to Piazza Venezia which housed my favorite wedding cake figure of Rome.  The Vittoriano!

Built as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier/Memorial to the first King of the United Italy, the Romans hate it.  They think the marble is too white and doesn't fit with the older surroundings (this is true you can see the damn thing from just about anywhere), and they think it is too grand.  But I mean COME ON!  This thing is SO COOL!

So I decided to eat lunch on this Piazza.....here's the view from my table...

I specifically remember thinking, "This is amazing.  I cannot believe I'm sitting here eating lunch with this view.  I envy the Romans."

From here I wandered to the Pantheon, but DID NOT GO IN.  I wanted to save that for Matt and I.  It was still pretty impressive from the outside.

 I is surprisingly round as a building.  The diameter of the building is also as tall as it is which may be why it seems like such a low, fat building from the outside.  Not from the inside though!  Although those pictures will come later.

From there I wandered over to Trevi fountain, which I always thought was in a plaza and not hidden amongst some buildlings, and from Trevi I hopped on the train to go pick up Matt.

He got in just fine and I was SOOOO happy to see him.  We grabbed a taxi back to the hotel and headed out to grab some food around the Vittoriano.  It was a gorgeous night and the lights were beautiful, especially the fun lights!

Then we headed home and prepared for the next day of touring!  Even though he was late, I had a LOVELY day in Rome!