So, our last night in Venice turned out to be a huge
success!
Dani and I ended up going out on a double date, or so you
could say : )
We paused after dinner to take some pictures in Piazza San
Marco for one another, and two adorable guys passing volunteered to take one of
the two of us together. They asked where we were from and where we suggested
them going to get some dinner. They, of course, like millions of the other
travelers we’ve run into, are from So Cal. Their names: Sam & Arman, both
handsome Armenian men from good old Southern California, so you know they had
good style and those flirtatious attitudes! Haha So we pointed them in the
direction of some food and Dani and I ended up walking around Venice for about
an hour. We decided to turn around and walk back in the other direction to see
what we could stumble into and low and behold we come across Sam & Arman,
coming from the opposite direction we had pointed them in! It was quite
comical; I’d have to say!
The four of us ended up walking around together and
eventually we found the boys a nice restaurant to eat at and they invited us
along with them. They entertained us with a bottle of Champaign while they ate
their dinner. The conversation was nice and refreshing, and after finishing up
at the restaurant, which I have to say was outside in this gorgeous little
courtyard, candle lit with flowers and everything (haha), we started off again
to find some gelato, which we also did not have to pay for! These guys were
great, seriously! They were sweet, funny, and were becoming quite the little
worldly travelers themselves. They had actually just spent the previous two
months living and working in Greece just for the hell of it (making bank
working at a bar/nightclub). But hey, it worked for them and of course they had
a blast doing it- they’re normal guys! It was really fun and, yeah okay, a
little romantic, but really not possible with perfect strangers, roaming the
streets of Venice. I guess it’s safe to say it was just the atmosphere. The
funny thing is, between these two and my Italian Stallion Luca, from Lido, I
was having more luck with guys in Venice than I had in Paris for an entire
month! **Please note, this is not to say I was looking for anything, because to
be totally honest, guys are so the farthest thing from my mind, especially on
this trip (So fear not mother, I won’t be “falling in love to never come home”
within the next week!)!
After gelato, we strolled the streets of Venice, which
unlike Rome and Paris, shut down super early! We wandered around and around
until we found a bar bumping heavy music, Snoop Dogg nonetheless, and we
stopped in for a drink before ending our cute little romantic evening. As many
of you know, I’ve got about four close girl friends and then the majority of the
rest of my friends consist of guys, so if anything, hanging out with Arman and
Sam was refreshing to be around guys (there were none to hang with in Paris or
from our program). I started really missing my California boys from back home
and that Nor Cal understanding that is our culture, and of course started
getting excited to get back to Seattle and to my wonderful friends in the
PN-dub.
So, by the time we got in it was about 1:45am. We had to be
up by like 3:30 am to get our stuff down to the water bus that left at 4:20am.
Basically, what happened was I set the clock on our cell phone for one hour
ahead by accident and I ended up getting about a good 40 minutes of sleep
before having to get up and get going. Dani on the other hand, passed out well
before I turned in. We got our stuff down to the floor just below our hotel and
realized about the time and sat on the floor for about 40 more minutes and then
took off to the waterbus. It was still super dark at this time, so after
hopping on the water bus to get to the bus station where we’d take our shuttle
to the airport, we got to watch a Venetian sunrise (SIGH). Yes, please do it
with me! Ready, “SIGH.” Hehe
Getting on the flight to Rome was so much easier than
getting on in Paris. Unlike Paris, Italy actually has customer service, THANK
YOU JESUS! There were no problems with the weight of our bags this time, so
that was absolutely a heaven-sent! The flight was only about 45 minutes and the
next thing we knew we were on a bus and then a metro and at our hostel! We got
to take one of those crazy old elevators with the manual doors to the second
floor (really the third floor) to get to Pensione Ottaviano. We checked in,
dropped off our stuff and were on our way to enjoy our first day in Rome!
We took a bus straight to this HUGE open market on the edge
of the “T*,” the river that runs through the West side of Rome, in the
Trestevare district. That was so much fun! I felt like a little girl again,
when our family used to go to the giant flea markets and I used share the giant
pickles with my mom : ) haha Everything was so cheap in comparison to Paris! I
mean it even only cost us 2 EUR to get from the airport to our hostel! In
Paris, it would have been much more! After walking only a portion of the market
in the blazing sun, we decided we’d had enough and hopped on another bus over
to the Colloseo, or the Colloseum! That was soooooo legit! I mean purely
“Gladiator” status! It made me want to go watch the movie! Haha I even had a
mixed moment when I felt like screaming “THIS IS SPARTA,” but then realized I’d
be completely out of context and would probably look like an “American Idiot.”
Thus, I refrained. The Colloseum was a cool experience, however trying to
imagine what it used to look like in its prime was pretty tough, as it used to
be adorned with gorgeous stucco patters on its columns, as well as decorations
and such. But, even harder to imagine was what the “gladiators” or slaves and
prisoners felt just before they were thrust into the field only to know their fate,
which would lead to death. I definitely got a knot in my tummy thinking about
it… ICK!
After the Colloseo, we wandered over to the Platino and Foro
Roman ruins, where training used to go on and other military junk We got to go
into the house of Augosto, but had to wait for a long time as they only let
about ten people in at a time for safety reasons, in case it were to collapse
because it’s so old. We grabbed lunch from one of the traveling carts. They
even sold partially frozen water, and thank goodness because staying hydrated
in Rome was quite the mission. The weather was much hotter than in Paris, and
still not as hot as what I have to look forward to in Vegas. Let’s just say
that since shorts were so taboo in Paris, I didn’t pack any and by the time I
reached Rome, I TOTALLY regretted it!
So Sunday, we covered most of the major ruins in the center
of Rome, and were super beat, but because it was Sunday, I wanted to make sure
that I made it to a church, if not for mass, just to sit and pray for a while.
Where we ended up happened to be “Basilica Di San Pietro in Vincoli,” or Saint
Peter in Chains. This was amazing. From the painting on the ceiling to the main
alter that lead below to the little crypt that held the chains Saint Peter was
held captive in before his execution… this place was a perfect place to be
right after having visited the ruins.
Next, we ended up in the location by which both Peter and Paul, the apostles,
were held captive before their executions. The “dungeon” (or what I’ll call it)
was very small. It was about a little smaller than the size of the key on a
basketball court. The post where Peter was chained to was still there, but
since an alter with an upside down cross, representing his upside down
crucifixtion, has been placed in there. I can’t imagine being there during that
time, in such a small space with bodies all around me. So intense. I definitely
was feeling uneasy being under there knowing what I know.
Dani and I decided to turn in early because we were both
beat from no sleep the night before and decided it would be best to get up and
get and early start the next day. We had dinner and shared a pizza. It was so
cheap for the amount of food we got! Gosh, Rome was great for getting the most
bang out of your buck! Haha
Anywho, that was mostly it for Day One in Rome!
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