my overseas adventure // part 3 of 4

12.23.07, day eleven

The train ride to Rome took us three and a half hours. During the trip, I listened to my iPod for the first time during our vacation. I also slept. And that’s about all.

Our hotel is a few train stops outside Rome’s city center. It’s pretty nice – four stars. After we check in, there’s not much else to do but look around and get dinner from a nearby pizzeria. Oh man, the pizza here is good.

I’m really itchy. I think it’s because all my clothes are dirty.

We watched a German holiday ice skating gala thing that helped us get into the Christmas spirit. Cathy and I watched a Spanish news program afterwards; we understand it more than the Italian programming.

That’s definitely a plus about this hotel – though we’re sharing a room with the ‘rents, our sleeping quarters are split, so we can have a little privacy at the end of the day (we had separate rooms in Venice and shared a room in Florence). Thank goodness.

Notable quotes:

• Me: Mom sleeps with a frown on her face.
  Cathy: I know! Like, have a drink or something!
• Dad: You don’t get tired of pizza?
  Cathy: You don’t get tired of Chinese food!
• Mom’s wearing her sleeveless vest…
  Me: Woah, Mom’s showing off her guns!

I’m thinking about home. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

12.24.07, day twelve

We spent the entire day at the Vatican. We didn’t get to St. Peter’s Basilica (we’re hoping to squeeze it in tomorrow), but we did see a good portion of the Vatican museums and the grounds. I got myself a rosary bracelet. In the evening, we stood out in the plaza and watched the revealing of the nativity. A pretty cool thing to do on Christmas eve, actually.

Rome is nice. It’s hard to get a feel of the city because it’s so freakin’ huge. It has a lot to offer and is teeming with history.

Today was also our first real rain of the trip. We still managed to forge through the day.

Oh, at the nativity, an a cappella group was singing Christmas music for the ceremony. That made me miss home and my friends real bad.

We fly a week from tomorrow. The countdown begins.

12.25.07, day thirteen

Buon natale! I’m exhausted and my sinuses are KILLING me, so I’ll make this short and sweet.

Today’s agenda:

(1) Circo Massimo (by train – 13 stops via one transfer)

(2) Arco di Costantino (by foot)

(3) Colosseo (by foot)

(4) Palatino and Arco di Tito (by foot)

(5) Roman ruins (by foot)

(6) Fontana di Trevi (by foot) – got gelato, yelled at street vendors, made wishes

(7) Piazza di Spagna (by foot)

(8) Piazza del Popolo (by foot)

(9) Bascilica San Pietro (by foot via Ponte Margherita and Via Cola di Rienzo)

(10) Dinner to go on Via Aurelia (by foot)

(11) Back to Hotel Pinewood (by foot)

If you were to trace our route on a map, you would see that we walked across the entire city of Rome, my friends.

Whew!

Highlight of the day: Christmas mass at St. Peter’s Basilica! One in Latin and one in Italian. Truly moving. We also saw St. Peter’s tomb. Cathy and I finally realized how much religion means to our parents. I found it nice to know that while we can argue and disagree about a whole lot of things, our religion is something we share as a family, without question.

Let’s hope tomorrow is a slow day.

12.26.07, day fourteen

Today WAS a slow day. Yay! We woke up at 7:00 a.m., were out the door by 10:00 a.m., and spent the day shopping near the massive Roma Termini train station. Most stores were closed today, though – probably an extended holiday.

Tomorrow, Mom wants to visit Tivoli and/or Napoli. It’s also our last day in Italy, after spending two whole weeks here.

Via di Boccea, near the Cornelia metro station and our hotel, is where two of our favorite food stops in all of Italy are located – Blue Ice (gelato and crepes) and Antica Pizzeria (incredible pizza and roast chicken). Our last dinner in Italy will include food from both places. Yum!

12.27.07, day fifteen

We went to Napoli and Pompei today, both of which were a little disappointing. Napoli was a little bit creepy, and it cost 11 EUR per person to see the ruins at Pompei. We didn’t have much time because of the train schedule, so we just ended up walking down the street of Pompei and returning to Rome for dinner and last-minute shopping.

We’re all packed for our flight to Barcelona tomorrow. It’s the last leg of our trip. As much as I can’t wait to get away from my parents, I’m gonna be kind of sad when this is all over.

I miss hearing the English language.