Wonderlust: Rome, Italy

Ok, I know, I've been a delinquent with my blogging, but I've been busy traveling and living in the moment. However, my nine day stint in Italy has sadly come and gone and now it is time to blog about my wonderful week-long Italian holiday. First off: Rome. I got to Rome feeling dejected and alone on the 10th of June. Being that Melanie had left me the day before and that I had never traveled on my own before, I was a bit lonely. After checking into my hostel in Rome I decided to allow myself to nap and watch a couple episodes of Sex and the City to get myself back in good spirits. I know, I'm an asshole, get over it. I did.

Anyways, after napping and pretending I was Carrie Bradshaw I dragged myself out of the hostel and walked down the street. And what did I encounter upon walking for 10 minutes? The Roman Colosseum. 10 minutes from my hostel. Unbelievable. It is strange walking down a busy street bustling with cars and being confronted by such an old structure. Visions of Russel Crowe screaming "Are you not entertained?!" entered my mind more than once as I circled the colossal structure (see what I did there?). If that didn't pull me out of my doldrums, then the gelato I purchased on the nearby "Gay Street" certainly did. As I sat across the street from the Colosseum eating my gelato I couldn't help but say to myself, "Stop feeling sorry for yourself, you douchebag, you're in f****ing Rome" (pardon the language, but it's true). From that point on, Positive Attitude Alexandra came back to life. I went back home after walking around the area for a bit and found that my room had manifested 2 other American girls while I was away. That evening we all (the other guests, too) had a big pasta dinner in the hostel, everyone drank a lot of wine, and there was much dancing (my god there was dancing!). Great first day in Italy.

The following day I woke up for the free walking tour of Rome which met outside the Spanish Steps in the Piazza di Spagna. The tour guide took us around the city hitting up the bigger and more well-known sites in Rome such as the Spanish Steps, the Colosseum, Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II, as well as a few others. After the tour I went back to the hostel for a nap and to meet some other people. I met a nice Australian guy named David who I hit it off with. That night was the EuroPride Gay Rights March and Lady Gaga was set to perform at the Circo Maximo for free near the Colosseum. However, not allowing enough time, David and I missed the concert. *sad face*, but not letting that get us down we went to a few bars and drank a few beers.

The next day I decided to make my way to Vatican City to see what all the big hooplah is about. I think we all know how much I just love organized religion. However, as I stood in St. Peter's Square what really blew me away wasn't the religious atmosphere, but the astounding amount of work and workers it must have taken to build everything in the area. Huge, intricate, ornate buildings and decor abound. It really is a testament to what man can do when he feels he has something he has to do. Us. Dust. Wind. Dude. And now I come back to reality. After standing in simultaneous awe and disgust in Vatican City I crossed the bridge over the Tiber and found a cute place to eat lunch. After lunch I traipsed around the area a bit more before returning to the hostel and taking a nap. That evening I went on another tour of Rome to the lesser known spots. It was this time that I finally fulfilled my Fellini fantasy (say that five times fast) and got to see the Trevi Fountain. It took every fiber of my being not to pull an Anita Ekberg and wade into the water in a long strapless gown before calling, "Marcello, come here!". After the tour, I went with David to grab a pizza and some wine back on Gay Street (ahhh home sweet home) and hang out. Then we walked around Rome at night, visited the Trevi Fountain again, grabbed some late night gelato and then headed back to the hostel.

My last hours in Rome the next day were spent visiting the Pantheon and aimlessly wandering around the city that I had at first disdained and later absolutely fallen in love with. Later that day I caught a train to Florence, another city that I adored.

The Colosseum