So begins fall break! Which in my case means 11 days of solo travel, so hope you're ready for more of the exact same selfie photo in front of every landmark!
Monday-Wednesday:
Midterms! Very busy few days with tests and finishing up papers so I'm just gonna skip ahead to the fun stuff, but here's a gorgeous sunset from Tuesday:
Thursday:
I woke up bright and early for Ricardo to drive me to the train station and headed off to the airport. Got on the shuttle, made it through security, and grabbed some pastries before my flight. Luckily, I was able to sleep all the way to Palermo where I used my layover to get some lunch a—Caprese panini (technically a panino, since apparently panini is plural, but I digress.)
My flight to Rome went smoothly, as did the train ride to my Airbnb where I had rented a private room. The host was super nice and gave me recommendations for pizza and gelato. Since the sun was already setting, I decided to take his suggestions rather than heading the 20 minutes into downtown. The pizza was amazing—thin, flaky and fluffy—and the gelato was fantastic. Funnily enough Italians (and I think maybe all Europeans?) eat pizza with a fork and knife! My sister, Brooklyn, who we have long mocked for eating her pizza this way claims I have found her people! I returned to my room and headed to bed for some rest, looking forward to exploring the city tomorrow.
Friday:
I started the day at the nearby bakery my hosted had recommended for some breakfast, which was pastries and a coffee—all pretty good! Not a huge coffee fan, but I figured I at least had to give it a shot here haha!
I then walked over to Trevi Fountain and threw in my coin to ensure that I would return to Rome one day.
Next, I headed over to the Spanish Steps and climbed them up to a church—there are so many churches here!
Then toured the Pantheon—which was gorgeous—and headed onwards towards Piazza Navona and a walk along the Tiber River.
I had lunch (bruschetta and a Caprese salad) at a spot in the Campo de Fiori, a plaza street market.
Then it was time to visit another country—the Vatican City! I waited in line for a while to enter St. Peter’s Basilica, where I said the word “wow” about a million times since it was probably the most gorgeous church I’ve ever seen!
I got a ticket up to the dome and was glad only the elevator was open because there were still another 300 steps to the top, so I can’t imagine how many stairs it would take to walk all the way. The stairs are very narrow and slanted (since it’s a dome haha) but it eventually led to an observation deck, where I watched the sun set over the city.
The final stop was the Vatican Museum, which includes the Sistine Chapel. The museum complex is huge and it takes forever to get to the Sistine chapel, which is really what I wanted to see. I was able to sit and look at the ceiling of the chapel which was stunning, although exiting was another maze of its own! They don't let you take pictures in the Sistine Chapel so here are other pretty ceiling paintings:
I tried to find a restaurant for dinner when a very eager hostess stopped me and started pitching the menu of her traditional restaurant that’s been a local staple since 1947. Before I knew it I was seated at a table so I feel bad for any restaurants further down the road because I’m not sure how they ever get any business haha! The food was incredible so thank goodness for that hostess! Fettuccine tomato and basil to start, followed by some of the best chicken I’ve ever had and amazing tiramisu for dessert. Then took the metro back to my room and headed off to sleep.
Saturday:
The day started with pastries and a walk through the park as I made my way toward the Colosseum.
Colosseum tickets also include the Roman Forum (the ruins of the political center of the Roman Empire) and the Palatine Hill (where Rome was supposedly founded) so I was glad I had all day to explore. I spent about an hour in the Colosseum—which was super cool to see—before spending a couple hours exploring the other ruins, including the Senate building where Cesar was assassinated 2066 years ago! Isn’t it incredible that we know that and can still see the place it happened thousands of years later? History is amazing and walking through the living vestiges of it definitely makes you think and reflect.
Two thousand years from now, will people visit Lambeau Field or Fenway Park to see where we gathered to watch sporting events? Will they tour the ruins of the National Mall and see the long-defunct Capitol Building in the distance, wondering how the once grand beacon of democracy had fallen into such despair and turmoil? I pray we can break the cycles of history and avoid the fate of the Romans, but that requires conscious and consistent thought. How will history remember us and what will your contribution be? Let’s all think about that the next time we have a choice between hope and dismay, between compassion and discord, between the better angels of our nature and the worst instincts of our society.
Clearly it was a very pensive morning and afternoon. I then headed to grab lunch at a restaurant nearby. I tried a fried pumpkin flower since it felt appropriately autumnal and it was pretty good, although not nearly as good as my pizza!
Then got some gelato and continued walking around the city, climbing the Altar of the Fatherland for a great view and returning to Trevi Fountain.
When I was there yesterday, I had been corrected after my first throw that you have to throw it over your shoulder. Looking it up today, the legend also says you have to throw it with your right hand over your left shoulder so I went back to fix my form. Upon finishing that article later in the evening, however, I learned that the number of throws also has a different meaning. One coin ensures you will return to Rome, two means you’ll find love in Italy, and three promises you’ll marry that love. The Internet failed to mention how improper throws are counted, so it looks like I will either just be returning to Rome someday or will be meeting my future bride within the week!
Ended the night with a walk along the Tiber as the sun set and a salad for dinner.
Sunday:
I said goodbye to Rome as I walked to the nearby train station to catch my train to Pisa! The three hours passed fairly quickly and the Italian countryside was beautiful, of course! I only had a short amount of time in Pisa, so I immediately headed over to the Leaning Tower! A very gracious guard let me in before my assigned ticket time and I climbed the approximately 300 stairs up to the top! I definitely seemed to feel the lean as I climbed, but it could have all just been in my head.
I looked out at the beautiful view for a while before heading down to check out the nearby church.
I grabbed a quick calzone and some gelato for a late lunch and headed towards the train station just as the sun began to set. I love sunsets, especially along bodies of water, so these walks have been perfect!
The train to Florence was only an hour and it didn’t take long to get into my new Airbnb. It did, however, take forever to find a place open for dinner that wasn’t fully booked. I eventually had the Italian version of chicken parmesan (which is definitely an Italian-American dish, but clearly some restaurants here serve it to appease tourists) and the best bread I’ve had in Italy!
Also, a fun Daylight Savings quirk: Europe changes times this weekend instead of next weekend, so I’m temporarily five hours ahead of Notre Dame now and permanently only eight hours ahead of Arizona since AZ doesn’t change time! I was looking forward to that extra hour of sleep tonight before realizing the time change definitely happened last night, which would explain the early sunset. Thank goodness everything is automated or I might’ve missed my train. Regardless, I headed to bed to get some rest for the rest of my fall break travels!
Vi amo e mi mancate tutti,
Bryce