Sunday, May 26, 2013

When in Rome

Two of my friends and I decided that, being so close to Europe, we couldn't pass up the chance to visit Rome while we were here.  We made plans, booked flights, reserved a hostel, and set up our trip to Rome for the week of April 10 to April 17.  Finished with class and not yet worried about exams, we were in a perfect mindset to relax and enjoy our time on vacation.  Other people went to London, Amsterdam, Berlin - we went to the sunny world of Rome, Italy.

My one friend and I caught our flight early (and I mean, our plane left at 6:30 AM, so we had to be at the airport by 4 AM, and it took about 40 minutes to get to the airport, so basically I didn't sleep the night before) the morning of April 10th and met our other friend in Rome (she'd spent a few days in Paris before meeting us).  I boarded the plane in Edinburgh in jeans, hoodie, and rain jacket - a typical rainy day in Scotland - and emerged from my plane in Italy into sunshine and blue skies that I'd rarely felt or seen since I left America.  It was a lovely, wonderful, beautiful day to arrive in Italy, and I don't think it rained a single day we were there.  I wish I'd been able to bring the weather back with me - combine my love of perfect, 70 degree Farhenheit weather with my love of Edinburgh.

While this trip was not actually part of my studying abroad (in that it did not take place in Edinburgh or have anything to do with the university), I still feel that it was an important part of my study abroad experience.  I took a flight to Rome that was only three hours, and that was cheaper than any flight I'd taken between cities in the US.  I didn't have to take off my shoes to go through security at the airport. I understand the purposes of our extreme airport security in the US, but it was still a relief to have a fairly non-stressful experience going through an airport.  Rome is also an extremely different city than any I have been to in America, and not just because of its much longer and intensive history.  The streets around our hostel were small and cobblestone, you can't walk twenty minutes without running into something with historic value, the drivers are insane but very capable, not to mention the language difference.  How could I study so close to Europe and not venture into another country at least once?

Our first day was largely resting from our flights - it had been a long day already, and it was only mid-afternoon.  We all grabbed some rest at our hostel after lunch (read: I napped.  A lot.) and then searched out dinner at a small pizza place in the restaurant area of the city.  We picked our hostel well - it was right next to the huge restaurant area of the city, where both locals and tourists went in bulk.

Of course, the food in Rome is delicious - I will never have pizza or pasta or gelato as fresh and tasty as it was in Rome.  We avoided touristy restaurants as much as possible to get some of the true Italian flavor, and I think we succeeded to some extent.  At some points, though, all we wanted was food, and the closest place was the best place in our minds.

Roman Forum

Colosseum

Colosseum

Mount Vesuvius

Street in Pompeii

Pompeii



A cast of one of the people solidified in ash during the eruption
We hit all the big places - the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Trevi Fountain, the Vatican Museums, St. Peter's Basilica, the Pantheon - as well as the Spanish Steps, Circus Maximus, and a day trip to Pompeii.  I have never seen so much history in one city.  We could barely walk twenty feet without running into something with some vague historical importance.  I've never had that problem at home, and it was fascinating - how can you live in a city with all this importance and glory, and yet think of it as just some commonplace thing?  I wonder if Italians just think of the Colosseum as a hindrance.  I've certainly become so used to the castle and Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh that they're just part of my daily life now.  I still wonder at them, but would I be so fascinated if I'd grown up in Edinburgh or Rome?  Of course, I live near Manassas and go to school in Fredericksburg, two of the biggest battle sites during the Civil War, and I don't think anything of it.  The reenactments are more irritating than anything else because I have to listen to loud, obnoxious gunshots all day long.  How can we take something with such historical importance, and treat it so nonchalantly?

Piazza Navona

Tiber River

Pantheon

St. Peter's Basilica

In any case, I've never seen anything was wonderful as Rome from the Colosseum, even in my historical hometown, and I greatly enjoyed my trip.  Most of all, I enjoyed the sunshine.  Edinburgh greeted our return with clouds, rain, and wind - typical Scottish morning.  I have to admit, though, that as much as I enjoyed Rome I still found myself missing my flat in Edinburgh - almost as much as I missed my bed at home when I first arrived in Scotland.  It's strange to think that a new place can turn into a home after only three and a half months, but I had become comfortable in Edinburgh's streets.  As I thought about my inevitable return back to the States, I found myself torn - I wanted to return home, but I didn't want to leave Edinburgh.  I guess it's the eternal dilemma for those who study abroad - torn between two homes.

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