Rome update

Sunday, Andrea and I headed out into Rome with no particular plan in mind except to take the bus to Piazza di Something where there was a HUGE open air market. We ate lunch there and bought a few things here and there. I found a new silver necklace for my triquatra for like 3 euros and it was real - the 925 stamp and all. I also found a better backpack since the pink Roxy one I bought in France is currently incredibly dirty, a little small, and whatever else. The purse I had bought the other day was also bleeding onto anything lighter-colored than it - aka my jeans, my shirt, my hands, etc. Cheap cheap cheap! Anyway, this bookbag I bought only cost me 10 euros and it's very comfortable, has lots of space and pockets, etc. I'm really excited to have found it. It's made our daily trips around Rome easier because I have everything I need for the day in a comfortable back pack! After we finished browsing at this open air market, we caught the same bus back toward Termini station, but we got off at this huge white building/monument/whatever instead. Right next to it there was a museum, of which I currently forget the name, but those idiots wouldn't accept our French student IDs from UCO/CIDEF to get the student discount so we arrivederci-ed those dumbasses and took our business elsewhere. I hate Italians. They're rude, loud, and make no sense.
After climbing up the top of the big white monument/building thing, we noticed that we were super close to the Colosseum and the ruins. I had to pee something fierce by this point, but I actually didn't find a bathroom until well after our tours. When we got to the Colosseum, we decided it'd be worth the extra 8 euros (12 euros for entrance) to get a tour of the Colosseum and score a free guide of Palatino and the Forum. Ani and I both thought at the beginning of the Colosseum tour that it was going to be interesting because the tour guide was really funny and made lots of jokes. Eventually, however, after continuing his antics and making quite a few rude, inappropriate, and entirely sexist remarks, I decided that I really wanted to kick this guy in his Italian manhood with all of my strength. If that guy's married, his wife must be one stupid woman to have married such a putz. So very, very fortunately, we switched guides for Palatino and the Forum. This time around we ended up with an mid-20s American named Cielle who had been living in Italy for the past 4 years. She was very nice, knew a LOT about the places she was giving us tours of, and actually knew better than to make anywhere near the same comments that last guide did. At one point during our tour of Palatino, we entered a part and she asked for a volunteer. There were nearly 20 of us, I'd guess, but nobody volunteered...so I did. Typical, I know. She was standing beside a piece of white marble jutting a few inches out of the ground and told me to stand on top of it. She then said that I was named Empress of Rome and to give my best Empress pose. Ani took a video of all this, so you will hopefully see it soon. I was declared Empress of Rome on the very spot where former Roman Emperors' throne was and where he would speak publicly. So I was declared Empress. True story.
After she finished telling us about everything, she left us to roam through the Forum on our own and we actually found out that she would be giving a tour of the Vatican (and museums), the Sistene Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica the next day, starting at 9:30. Because it's Holy Week this week, it is VERY, VERY, VERY hard (apparently) to get into the Vatican for everything without having to wait in line for hours on end. Romaround Tours (the company she works for and who was giving these tours) already had a reservation for a tour and all we had to do the next day (Monday) was show up at a certain place at 9:30am. We got up early Monday morning, left the hostel around 8:30am, and took the metro to the right stop. We actually showed up well on time and were able to grab some foodstuffs for breakfast before our tour. We paid 35 euros (student price) and got a very thorough tour of the Vatican and all that accompanied it. She was really, really good! If you ever go to Rome (which I don't recommend, but that's another story) and need recommendations on a tour company or something, use Romaround with Cielle. She's the bomb.
After finishing up everything at the Vatican, St. Peter's Basilica, etc., we were lured into a nearby pizzeria for a late lunch. It was actually really good! We drank a glass of some sweet white wine, but we don't know the name of it, unfortunately. After FINALLY finding our way back to a bus stop, we got onto the bus in very miserable conditions. It was so crowded, I swear to you there wasn't even enough room to THINK about breathing. We finally found ourselves back at Termini station and walked back to our hostel. We found a grocery store on the way and grabbed some snack/breakfast food stuff for the next couple of days. We were completely exhausted so we both slept from after 6 something until nearly 8. We then got up, got dressed again, and headed back to Termini station...this time in search of Fontana di Trevi. The only way to see it is at night, DUH! We took a bus that we thought went near it (it was a bus we'd taken before that had gone by signs pointing to it), but we ended up in Piazza di Venezia again - where that big white monument/building thing was. We finally found our way to Trevi and we both threw our coins in the fountain. I have videos of it that I can upload and show you. The tradition is that if you throw a coin into the fountain and it lands in the water, you will return to Rome. They definitely make it hard for you NOT to make it land in the water, so of course mine did. I, however, HATE Rome so very, very much, so I am going to try to avoid coming back here (even Italy in general) at ALL cost. This is the WORST country ever - mostly because its people are so rude! You know how people say that the French are always rude to people, but most especially Americans? That's a lie, first off, but even if they were rude, they would be the nicest people you'd ever met compared to these stupid Italians. We should ban Italy from the planet...After Trevi, we had some marvelous gelato and headed back to the hostel. The night didn't end quite there, as we stopped for a very late dinner at a restaurant at the corner of the street our hostel is on. One of the waiters asked me out for drinks. Who was I to turn down free drinks with a cute Italian guy?? I dragged Ani with me and we went out for drinks. I had my first Cosmopolitan and I felt very "Sex and the City-ish" because of it. ("Why did we ever stop drinking these??? ... Because everyone else started!" -- movie reference) We finally broke away from my new Italian lover (just kidding but omg) and his sketchy friend who wouldn't stop hitting on Ani by pretending we had to catch a train to Perugia to see a friend at 8:30am...when in actuality our train wasn't going to leave until nearly noon. It was only a half-lie. You would have done the same thing. Somehow I've managed to make an Italian guy fall completely in love with me in less than a week. Merde to the complete max.
This morning while heading to Termini station to leave for Perugia, we took a slightly different route to the station to avoid the restaurant. If I'm going to lie, I'm going to cover my tracks. I'm not an idiot. The last thing I need is some Italian guy falling all over me and then making a scene out of this cluster---- of a situation. I really, really hope to escape Rome without ever seeing this guy again. It's not that he's not nice or not smart, etc. I'm just not really interested. He's Italian for one and I don't ever plan on coming back to this country. Hopefully...at least not anywhere near Rome. Anywho, Ani and I got to Termini station, bought our tickets to Perugia and boarded the train. We arrived in Perugia around 3pm and had one heck of a time trying to figure out where we were supposed to be meeting Alissa. We went the wrong way, had to go back, etc etc. We finally got to the "minimetro" and took it to the top - Pincetto. Alissa was waiting just outside the turnstiles for us. I swear to goodness that almost as soon as I saw her and realized it was her, I started crying. I didn't realize just how much I'd missed my darling, lovely Alissa. What would I do without my Meredith girls??????? I miss her again already. My bella Alissa!
Alissa showed us around Perugia. If I weren't so tired I'd tell you more about it...but I think I'm going to go to bed. Maybe in the morning I'll tell you more about my day with her. :)



♥,
jh

ps - you might have heard there was an earthquake the other night about 65 km from Rome. Apparently a lot of people felt the tremors but I didn't feel a thing. I slept through it entirely. Sad day. First earthquake and I missed it! ha ha ha.