Rome. What a beautiful city…

A close friend and I decided to take a train to Rome for a quick break and to treat ourselves after our first week of classes. The trip was a bit spontaneous! It took one glance at each other at 7:30AM while getting ready for class… With the same adventurous look in each other’s eyes, we decided last minute to skip the Friday class, quickly pack a weekend’s worth of clothes, and hop on a train with only minutes to spare, not even knowing where we would stay the night.

Upon arrival, we walked from Termini to a hostel that I reserved on the train, but were refused because we had forgotten our passports in Siena… CLASSIC… It was stupid, I know I know, but when I was rushing to pack I was just like “we won’t need them, it’s not like we’re leaving the country or anything”. But hey you live and you learn!

At this point I began to appreciate my traveler companion. I know a lot of people who would freak out or stress in a situation like this, but she was all smiles! “Shit happens, we’ll find a better place!” And we did! I got on Airbnb and found a nice little apartment just three blocks away from Piazza San Pietro. It was such a great location, but the place ended up being haunted. No joke, I’m not lying… A lot of crazy shit went down in that apartment. We were too drunk the first night to notice anything strange, but that last night… oh let’s just say I made sure to go to mass the next day.

Anyways… Rome is hot in August. Who knew, right? So after arriving, we waited for the heat of the sun to go down in our limited AC apartment, barely wearing a thing to at least keep a little cool. But when the sun went down, the evenings were lovely! We went out around 8PM and moved with the flow of the night. We walked to Piazza San Pietro and strolled it’s curves, admiring every detail.

We bought gelato and strolled a little more along the Tiber river. The street lights reflecting off the Tiber brought me such tranquility and joy. Italy has made me adore cities at night.

I was excited to see that there was a food and culture festival happening that night! We found a fun Rolling Stones cover band and planted ourselves there for a few hours. One thing led to another… One drink turned into six… and before we knew it we were taking tequila shots with the singer of the Rolling Stones cover band at the tent next door.

The next morning it took us a little longer to get out of the apartment, as the room was still spinning… I braved the torments of a hangover by taking a morning walk and eating at a quaint café near the Vatican. We spent the day exploring the Heart of Rome, eating well, and sweating our asses off.

We didn’t go to any museums or anything, but ultimately I was very okay with that. With only two days to spend, I did not want to spend it in a hot line surrounded by hundreds of other tourists. I felt like we explored Rome as a local. We explored the city itself, interacting with it’s people, eating it’s delicious food, and devoting a lot of time to passeggiata.

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