My Walking Adventures in Rome (mostly)

So much to say so little time: 3 days here feels like 3 weeks at home. I'll just try to hit a few of the highlights of Rome so far.

Rome has been inordinately warm, and once I got to my apartment it got worse since it has no air conditioning. This is not such a highlight as the bane of my experience here. I have never before wanted air conditioning so badly. Rome is gorgeous but I am ready for fall because so far I just never feel like I cool off, anywhere. I also packed for fall and therefore am running out of things that I can walk around in without feeling feverish. All things considered though I can deal with the heat in order to be in Rome.

My roommates are actual highlights. We entertain each other and have all napped every single afternoon at the same time. The apartment is adorable but extremely old. The drawers always collapse in the wardrobe, the tiles on the floor are uneven, and there is no microwave. A realtor would say it is "cosy" and has "character." (Which it does...but a living/dining room larger than my bathroom would be nice too...)So far we are all afraid of the old gas stove in the kitchen and have therefore not cooked anything yet. Next on my list of adventures actually is to buy coffee grounds and a lighter and figure out how to use the Roman espresso maker (which looks like a miniature tea pot) left in our apartment because I miss coffee!

Most of the week was orientation, which was rather boring and lasted forever but it gave me an opportunity to get used to the walk to school, which is 35 minutes if we do not use any public transportation. I have the walk down perfectly so that we pass a patisserie and I get what I think of as the croissant version of a donut (complete with glaze). The only problem is that while I refuse to wear my tennis shoes because I do not want to be a tourist, my feet continue to walk the several hours a day I am traveling/getting lost. They have gone on strike by developing so many blisters that I can’t wear any of my shoes. We will just have to see who has a stronger will, my feet or my fashion.

Yesterday (Thursday) our entire program went to a gorgeous lake north of Rome. It was absolutely beautiful. On the bus ride there I met a girl who not only knows a guy I know at W&L, but who knows one of the only 2 people I know at IU because get this, she cycles in the little 500 for her sorority and is well acquainted with Cru there! Several other people know people from W&L which has been great, because I just tend to assume that people wont have even heard of it. But then all Americans here seem to be our own little click. When my roommates and I were walking to dinner (people eat at 9pm here) we walked past a group of 4 girls eating we didn’t know. Turns out that they were too, and lived in our neighborhood. We proceeded to exchange numbers and hang out later than night at another friend’s apartment. We were all friends immediately, and so far that has been true of every American college kid I have encountered, regardless of where they go to school. I could get used to these feelings of instant camaraderie!

Today I was supposed to go on an optional fieldtrip at 9am but I am still not used to a 24 hour clock so long story short I set the wrong alarm and missed it. I instead attempted to get to the Ostia beach by myself. It was quite an adventure. Using my trusty guidebook (for the first time) and the advice of those who went earlier in the day I walked to the tram stops, looked for the correct bus stop for 30 minutes and finally got on it. Everything seemed worth it though when I realized that this bus was driving me past all of the major tourist sights first. It brought back so many memories, and reminded me of why I was in Rome, to see the coliseum, forum, Spanish steps, national building, etc. I then took a train (which also didn’t have air conditioning) to Ostia Antica which is the ancient port city of Rome which connects the Mediterranean to the Tiber River. I got too confused on which bus to take to get to the beach, but I did explore the old city until I couldn’t walk any further. It was huge and nothing was guarded. For once you could touch antiquities! So I made my way back home and after figuring it out without the help of the guidebook, I finally arrived back in my neighborhood an hour (or more) later where I promptly laid down to take yet another nap. I was going to get gelato but in Rome (like Spain) everything closes from 2-4 for lunch and naps actually. Gelato will be my late night adventure tonight instead along with finding dinner.

Which is truly an adventure for the record, finding things that is. Last night we wondered around for an hour attempting to find a particular restaurant that we had heard rave reviews about.  U have decided that you only finds things right away when you are not looking for them. Getting lost here is what you do for entertainment though. While I napped my roommates literally went out to wander the area we were last night to try to find the restaurant again. There are just so many beautiful piazzas and churches and fountains that walking is never boring, and your feet definitely want to commit suicide long before you get bored with exploring.

Ok so this is a monstrosity of a post. It is so long, and I completely understand if no one even reads it. But from now on I am going to try and blog more often and only cover one or two events (with monologue-ing of course).