Day 4: Monday
What a day! We started off early at 8:30 to get ready to go to the Accent center. Elli and I were so proud of ourselves for figuring out the public transportation, which really was not that difficult at all. If we take the tram and then walk, it takes a little less than a half hour to get to there. The tram passes right by the hotel Mike and I stayed at, the park we went by, and the ancient ruins with all the kitties. The walk from the tram stop is beautiful, and the center is literally behind this HUGE impressive white building, which, once again, I have no idea what it is. We have to walk through this beautiful courtyard and a cute little piazza with a clock tower, which is why it’s called piazza dell’orologio. It was used to film part of Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn, and the building our classes are in was originally intended to be the official bank of the Vatican.
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| Clock Tower in Piazza dell'Orologio |
Orientation was pretty much what was expected since it was all the basic stuff we need to know/have already heard a thousand times, but there was some helpful information about trains and phones and other things. Our guide told us that if anyone is being nice to us it basically means they are trying to steal from us. After orientation, which took about an hour and a half, we went to the phone store and bought phones. I have a cute little Italian phone that is like the 2002 version of cell phones in the US. I even have my own Italian phone number! Then we went home where Elli, Joe, Brandon, David, and I decided to go grocery shopping. FINALLY. Elli and I bought sandwich stuff, pasta, yogurt, and stuff for the apartment. We went home and made delicious sandwiches with cheese and chicken and mayo. I was pretty tired by then and it was siesta time, but we didn’t have time to nap since we had to be back at the center by 4 for our Italian lesson. Our Italian lesson was helpful, but I was so tired I could barely stay awake, and it just kept confusing me because I kept thinking of everything in French. The written Italian is pretty similar, but spoken it is completely different. After about two hours of that, our instructor Mario took us to get gelato, but we had to order in Italian. On our way to the
gelato we were walking down a small alley which Americans would not consider a
road, but of course the Italians do, so we had to keep moving over for cars and
vespas, and at one point a man on a bike came up and Brandon didn’t hear him,
and the man basically pushed him out of the way to go by. It was pretty funny
and very Italian. After that we were free, so Elli, Joe, Brandon, Kari, and I decided on a big adventure. We made our way to Piazza Navona, where we took a couple pictures, and I even met someone from Elk River! Next we encountered the Pantheon, which was awesome just to see. I liked the outside a lot more because it made it look so imposing, but the only cool part about the inside was the hole in the ceiling. Then we walked to Trevi Fountain, which was super crowded, but took pictures and threw in our coins anyway. It is kind of nice to be in the really touristy areas and know that no one is judging you for being American because everyone is a tourist. Also, the other Americans around make you feel better about how much less embarrassing you are than them. Next we made our way over to the Spanish Steps, which were very impressive, but also too crowded. Our final goal was to get to Villa Borghese, the “Central Park” of Rome. Finally, we climbed up the steps and suddenly the city was much much quieter. The sun was beginning to set as we walked along the Villa Borghese wall to the gate, with a beautiful view of the city next to us. By this point our cameras all started to die, so we only walked into the huge park a little bit, since we plan on coming back many many more times.
The next priority was our hunger, so we decided to just eat at a tourist trap restaurant because we didn’t want to go far. I ended up really liking the place we found. We sat down in the basement away from everyone else so it was quiet, except the strange mood music they were playing. We shared pizzas, which were good, but I prefer the pasta here more. We were all exhausted by then, but we had to make our way back home. We walked by the Trevi again and it was pretty at night, but still crowded. Finally, we got back to the tram station, and the last stretch of our journey was before us. On the tram there was a scary bearded man who was sadly most likely mentally insane. He threw his cigarette butt on the seat in front him and was talking to himself and gesturing at the no one sitting across from him. He kept spitting on the window and all over the tram, and at one point he put his hand in the shape of a gun and started making shooting noises, pointing his "gun" at us. By the time we decided it was time to get off the tram and away from him he was shouting something in Italian and everyone was staring at him. It was really creepy so we got off a stop early and walked the rest of the way. After that adventure it was amazing to finally arrive home and shower. Tomorrow is the first day of class and will hopefully be a relax day, since Wednesday is going to be the tour of all tours. Buonasera!
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| Piazza Navona |
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| The Pantheon |
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| Spanish Steps |
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| Throwing our coins into Trevi Fountain |
