Colosseo/Palatino/Foro Romano

Well it took me a few months to make it actually inside the Colosseum. Rome was starting to get crowded with tourists, so it was better to get inside before even more people started to come. The ticket you buy to get in gets you in to the Colosseum, the Palatine Hill, and the Roman Forum. So it's a pretty good deal.

We started off at the Colosseum, and it was amazing!!! I actually liked it a lot more than I thought I would. I mean you kind of already know what it looks like inside, and there really isn't that much left of it. But it's so massive! And for as long as it has been around, it's crazy how much of it is still standing.

You walk in on the ground level and can walk most of the way around. Everything is so tall! It's crazy being inside such a historical monument. Just imagining what went on inside thousands of years ago and actually standing there is a crazy feeling.

There are several levels of it, and unfortunately you could only go on two levels. And the stairs were really steep since they are the original ones. I really wanted to go to the very top, but I didn't see anyone up there. And then I saw a group up there! But it was a tour. And there was also a group on the level below the ground, which is where I wanted to go too! I found out that only special tours can go on those levels, but apparently they're really expensive. I was so bummed, but at least I was in the Colosseum! I can't really complain about that.

After the Colosseum we went to the Palatine Hill, which is one of Rome's seven hills. It was so pretty! And a lot bigger than I thought. There were more ruins, but it was more nature-y. So many pretty trees and flowers.

A nice view of the Colosseum

The Palatine is connect to the Roman Forum, which consisted of more ruins. That one was smaller than I thought. I've seen the Forum just passing by it and I thought there was more once you went inside. But there really wasn't much. But it was mostly ruins. It's crazy to imagine what it once was though. It was probably a booming city with people walking around in togas and leather sandals.

Even though Rome is filled with ruins, these places were amazing to see. This city has changed so much and is full of history, that you can't not appreciate it.

Musei Vaticani

Well tourist season is slowly beginning, so I decided that I need to see some tourist-y things I have yet to see before the crowds get bigger.

The Saturday after Abruzzo I went to the Vatican Museum. It was pretty crowded since it was a Saturday, but I had to go inside. While walking there so many people approach you doing unofficial tours and they're so sketchy and also annoying. So I just avoid them, but still hate them.

We got in just fine and it wasn't too bad of a crowd, but it wasn't empty. Everyone I know who had already gone in the museum said they spent about 6 hours inside. I had no idea how that would happen, so I didn't know what to expect. But after getting a map and seeing the inside, it is quite massive!

If you didn't know from my previous posts, I'm really not a museum person. But this one was a little different and it was gorgeous! You just kind of follow through hallways that takes you around the museum and it ends in the Sistine Chapel.

It was a nice sunny day and you walk through courtyards which were really nice.

You go through a lot of rooms with sculptures and paintings, and one had really beautiful tapestries. You also go through the Papal apartments where older Popes used to live.

Unfortunately there weren't a lot of signs to tell you what you were looking at, unless you bought an audio guide. So I just had to eavesdrop on a few English tours that I passed. There is a lot of work from Da Vinci and Michelangelo. Unfortunately that's all that I can tell you. But like I said, it was all gorgeous!

What I thought was interesting was that they had other exhibits in the museum, not related to the Vatican, so I was a little surprised by that. That had an Egyptian exhibit which was kind of random.

After you go through everything you FINALLY reach the Sistine Chapel. There was so much anticipation since they save it for the end. And it was a lot of walking.

I walked in and thought to myself "oh , the Sistine Chapel". Like it was no big deal. I was a little disappointed, because it wasn't as impressive as I thought. That's a terrible comment to say, but it's true! You had to be silent and you couldn't take any pictures, so everyone was just standing in there. It was a lot smaller than I thought. In Angels and Demons they make it seem huge. But I've come to learn that movies are false when it comes to Rome. It was gorgeous inside! But it just didn't exceed my expectations.

I was daring and snuck a pic of the ceiling. 

But it was crazy to think how the month before the Papal Conclave took place inside of the Sistine. Just imagining all of the cardinals being locked in there trying to elect the new Pope is insane. It's those kind of moments that it hits me how significant these places are. It all still seems like a dream.

Overall the museum was really pretty, and I did enjoy it. We spent a little less than 3 hours inside, so I'm not sure how others spent 6 hours. I'm glad I got to see it before I leave!

Cool exit

Chillin with Papa Francesco

Abruzzo National Park and Making Pizza!

We had a school trip to the region of Abruzzo, which is about 2 hours outside of Rome. We had to pay for it, but it was so worth it! Definitely one of my favorite experiences.We took a bus, which was a nice long ride. We went to a small town called Villavallelonga. One of the professors led the trip.

Part of the town

 In the town we went to this small house where these Italian women prepared breakfast for us. They made Pizza Fritta, which is like a fried pizza. It was basically just fried dough covered in sugar. It was flat and the taste was similar to a sugar donut, but way better.

Pizza Fritta

We took a walk around and were led by two ecologists (I think that's what they were) who showed us plants that grew in that specific place. What I didn't know was how close to the mountains this place was, so it was freezing cold, rainy, and I was not fully prepared. It was warm in Rome that day so I thought it would be the same. But anyway...

The view

We came back to the house to prepare a huge batch of dough. We made the dough to be used for pizza, pasta, and bread. All made by the same dough. The dough was basically flour and water, probably some thing else, but they put a type of potato puree type inside of it to make it softer and increase the amount of dough. We all got to help knead it, which was fun and quite messy.

Me and my messy hands. 

We left the dough to rise and drove down to the Abruzzo National Park, which was 5 minutes away from the house. There's a certain type of bear only found their called the Marsican Brown Bear. The professor told us this, and with her accent I thought she said Mexican Brown Bear, so I was a little confused. But I really wanted to see this bear! The way this trip was described it seemed like we would be in the wilderness and seeing some exotic animals, including this bear. Obviously I didn't want to see it up close, I would prefer I cute little cub.

Start of the trail

Parco Abruzzo

So we start on the trail, and we're surrounded by nature, and it was really pretty. Also very cold and still rainy, which put a little damper on this long walk. And it was a very, very long walk. Probably at least 2 hours. I was on the look out for some bears, and as we turned the corner we saw...cows. There a whole line of them just chillin in the middle of this trail. Apparently they're not dangerous because we just walked right by them.

We kept walking and saw more and more cows. Nothing else. So I was a little sad we didn't see any bears. But walking through the park was gorgeous! It was so green and so many mountains. It kind of reminded me of the Sound of Music. When walking back we went through the fields and I just wanted to run and be like "the hills are alive.." okay I'll stop there. I tried to take a Sound of Music pose but everyone was staring at me.

The hills!

 So we went all the way back to where we entered while having to avoid an obscene amount of cow pies, but we did see some bones lying around.

We drove back to the house to prepare for lunch. The dough was nice and risen, so some people got to roll it out and cut out the pasta. I sat and waited to eat for this part. While we waited some of us went to see the ancient brick oven that they use to cook the food and pizzas in. I was actually a little far from the house. We had to walk down a ways since the town is kind of layered on a hill. And it was in its own room with a door. It took less than 5 minutes to walk there, but I was surprised that they took all the food there to cook and bring it back.

Brick Oven

The Italian ladies prepared all of the food, and it was sooooo delicious! They cooked the fresh pasta in this soup/sauce thing, which was the first thing we ate. After that they brought out sausage and potatoes which were also delicious.

After that deliciousness I helped make the pizzas!! I got to stretch and roll the dough and put the sauce and cheese. They ladies were telling me what to do, but I couldn't really understand what they were saying, so I just piled on more cheese. I also helped to kneed more dough in to bread loaves.

Pizza ingredients

Then it was time for dessert of course! They made this pie-shaped cake thing that was made with ricotta cheese, but with a lot of sugar obviously. It kind of tasted like cheesecake, but more breaded. Whatever it was it was tasty!!! They also made these two bread things with one shaped like a girl and another was shaped like a chicken. They typically make them for children on Easter since they are sweet. And sweet they were!! So stinking good. It was a mix between bread and a cookie texture.

Desserts!

If all of that food wasn't enough it was time to cook the pizza and bread loaves. We all went down to the oven to see the pizzas and bread get cooked. They put a bunch inside the oven and they were done so quickly!! It only took a few minutes. Crazy! I had the one I made which was just cheese, but they also made one with slices of potato on it, which was surprisingly good. And we had the fresh bread, because you can never have too many carbs, right? But they all tasted amazing!! I mean when else am I going to make and eat fresh pizza and bread while in Italy?! It was awesome.

I was basically in a food coma the whole ride back to Rome, but it was definitely all worth it. It was a good cultural experience and one of my favorite trips. Still wish I saw a bear though.

But I did see the cutest dogs!