One day after I came home from college, my phone suddenly lit up because of a spam of messages I was receiving. It was my best friend Lisa, who by the way hates chatting with a passion just as much as I do, so my immediate thought was that she had either A) been stupidly drunk and regretted what happened so much that she'd never do it again (for the sixth time) or B) found some old pictures of Jensen Ackles and his children and wife on Instagram and she didn't want me to live in a world where I didn't see them. Surprisingly, the reason behind her unusual spamming session was neither of those options. Instead she was showing me images and price lists of some amazing deals she had found online, all of them including flight tickets and hotel bookings to places in Italy. I was already mentally preparing myself for my annual summer tour to Germany, Poland and Norway, and a potential trip to either Milan or Rome only added some extra excitement to my summer plans. So after zero hesitation and a little bit too much impulsivity than is probably good for me (and my bank account), we booked our 4-nights-trip to Rome.
We stayed at an Ibis Hotel, relatively far away (which we all know means 'more than we would've wished') from the city centre, but since our hotel room with two separate bedrooms, a mini fridge that didn't charge you money simply by moving the bottles to put your own inside, and a local transport system that never kept us waiting for longer than five minutes, we didn't really complain. Although we were relatively (here we go again) dissapointed by our first Italian meal which offered us the portion size for a small toddler at the price of 15 Euros, at least our next culinary adventures were far more promising.
Since this was our first trip to Rome, of course we had to mutate into serious tourists with the intention to suck out all the culture of Italy we possibly could within three days. As you would expect from any tourist, we got ourselves a Rome pass to get into the colosseum. This means that we could conviently skip the cue that usually lasts for about three hours, with the only guide being all the signs inside and us occasionally listening to other enthusiastic tour guides that talked just passionately enough for us to hear and pick up on some information and key facts. Being inside was like going back in time; who could've thought that some old massive rocks could leave you speechless? Rome's ancient history that was immortalised through its architecture completely blew my mind. We also visited some museums and to my surprise, I didn't just learn about Italy's notorious engagement in art, but also impressive amount of revolutionaries. Through learning about the Italian's constant rebelliousness and temperament, both regarding their driving style and in politics, one might finally understand how Italy's history has influenced their mentality and way of living now. But let's not get into their current state of government, I was, after all, just a tourist, trying to survive when crossing the streets as Minis and Vespas rushed past me.
On our next day we went out to visit our good ol' friend Francis. Or, well, at least where we'd have the best chance of seeing him hanging out with his squad of nuns, which we saw walking around everywhere in Vatican city. It was inhumanly hot, but never did we have to wait longer than ten seconds after complaining about melting in this heat before someone came up to us and asked if we wanted to buy a bottle of water. One for 2 Euros and two for the amazing price of 4 Euros. They really must've hoped the heat was frying away our brain cells. We booked a tour to get into the Vatican, which were 51 Euros spent on something that we could've preferably spent on more pasta and seafood than on a tour guide, who spent more time complaining about other guides and calling his group "PEOPLE THAT I LOVE!" as if we're part of his sect, instead of actually talking about the history behind the buildings and art pieces we looked at. It was definitely worth it to go inside and be amazed by Michelangelo and Da Vinci's artwork, how they tried to get closer to reality by putting more emphasis on creating a 3D effect through shadows and details, and the Vatican Museum looked pretty much how I'd imagined the gate to heaven to look like.
And the food, oh God, the food. Although it sounds very stereotypical, it is no exaggeration to say that I had the absolute best pizza, pasta and ice cream I have ever had in my life. On our second day, we made sure to explore some of the hidden alleyways and narrow streets instead of going to the places that were full of tourists, only to get that real experience of what it would be like to eat at an Italian restaurant. Eventually we found a small bistro, where the owner enthusiastically gesticulated with his hands as if that helped us understand Italian. It was my first time eating mussels, which we ordered as a starter and which I'd happily do again, before we continued with seafood pizza and pasta that had a type of cheese on top of it that I'd never tasted before. I imagine that's probably what magic tastes like.
Except from our last evening, where we went out to go to an open air bar near the river, spent 10 Euros on a cocktail (which only strengthened my love for Bourbon so it was almost worth it), 5 Euros on a 'music tax' so we could enjoy some live blues, but most importantly admired how even more picturesque and romantic Rome looked at night, we usually sat outside on one of our little balconies, talking carelessly about nothing but most importantly love and boys and our unforeseeable future while sipping on wine. Our nights spent outside, busy roads and hectic cars adding an additional touch to that Italian flair we were lucky to experience, were probably one of my favourite parts about our trip. Going to Rome is by no means a relaxing holiday. It was an experience I'm glad I've had, but probably wouldn't do the same way again, so winding down and talking to my dearest friend who's been putting up with me for so long, I've moved countries TWICE since we became friends, made our short trip more than complete.
Grazie mille, Roma. It was a short but sweet romance, I hope we get to do it again sometime.