Chaotic, fun, and did I mention chaotic?
This past week was a blast, though the highlight was our weekend girls' trip to Rome. Five of us headed for the Thessaloniki airport on Thursday morning to catch our flight. We flew to Athens first, where we endured a four-hour layover, then hit the skies for Rome. Landing in Rome around 5:00 pm, the five of us loaded onto a bus that took us to the city center. This is where the chaotic part comes in. I hope you're prepared for a long story.
Two weeks ago, we booked an Airbnb apartment for our stay in Rome. This apartment was some distance from the city center and required the use of public transportation, which thankfully, is abundant. Our host was messaging us about where we were and mentioned changing our apartment but at the same address. The messages were in Italian, so we used Google Translate for help. Upon arrival at the apartment, we became confused since there were no keys in the lockbox for us. Since it was now supper time, we decided to grab some food and find WiFi to check in with our families and friends, as well as figure out our AirBnB situation.
We came across the cutest casual restaurant around the corner and settled in. They had a deal that included an all you can eat buffet and drink for only eight euro! We dug in, and it was delicious. The staff was extremely friendly and helped us translate our AirBnB host's messages. It turns out, Google Translate was a little off. We were given a new apartment at a completely different address, 40 minutes away via the tram. The funniest part was, the new apartment was a couple of blocks from where we had started in the city center!
The new apartment was easy to find, though it was only accessible through a locked gate. Our host was a little unresponsive while trying to get in touch with him about getting through the locked gate. Finally, we got it all figured out and settled in for the night. The next morning, we had an authentic Italian breakfast of croissants and began our adventure. First stop: Vatican City.
To get to Vatican City, we hopped on a bus down the street from our apartment. Upon arrival, we decided we needed to fuel up with coffee and ordered espresso all around. Then, the five of us headed over to view one of God's most glorious creations. Our main goal was to see the Sistine Chapel, so we got in line to enter the city and museums. Our wait was only thirty minutes, and we were even able to use our student ID to talk down the price to only eight euro! We're killing it in Italy at this point.
Everything inside the city is absolutely beautiful, and I think it's safe to say all of our jaws dropped. To get to the Sistine Chapel, you have to go through a number of museums and rooms, all holding an immense amount of history and art. It took roughly two hours to walk through all of this until, finally, we arrived. Upon entering the chapel, I immediately teared up a little. The place was STUNNING. I mean Michelangelo did THAT?! Other artists can also be attributed, and the detail all around is just a complete dream. There are no pictures allowed inside the chapel, but enjoy these pictures of the trek through the museum. :)
After our walk through Vatican City, we decided we needed food, stat. We searched for a supermarket and bought salami, bread, cheese, fruit, jelly, and wine. The store didn't have any cups though. Our plan was to have a picnic in the park, and we found a spot in front of the city hall. Our setup was so cute and felt so authentic. The no cups part became funny as other tourists took pictures with our picnic and wine in the background.
Throughout the day, we saw other sites like the castle along the river, hidden fountains, glorious buildings, the Pantheon, and the Trevi Fountain at night. We also shopped at some cute little vendors along the river and bought some funny postcards and beautiful paintings for only one euro. An Italian McDonalds was also discovered, in which we found out they are so much fancier through serving macaroons, cheesecake, and other excellent desserts. Also, before the Trevi Fountain, Erika and I stopped for gelato and may have gotten two Italian boys' numbers. How much cooler can we get?
Tired and hungry, the five of us went back to the apartment to rest before finding food. When we left again to get that food, we found a group of five other college students trying to open the Airbnb safe lock box outside the gate. I had a hunch and asked them if they booked an apartment with Alfonsa, the name of our host. They said yes and gave us the details on where they were supposed to stay. They were also having a hard time getting in touch with the host, so we told them they could stash their bags in our room, and we all went out to grab pizza together. We think the host had double booked our original room, changed us to this location, forgot about this new group, and double-booked this room. Oops. It turned into a fun night with new friendships, and the other group found a nearby hotel and got refunded through AirBnB for the mistake. We parted ways, wishing them good luck with their stay and time in Rome.
The next morning, we began our adventure with a walk through the Colosseum. It was pretty cool, but also a little anti-climatic. At least now I can say I have been inside. This took up several hours of our morning due to the long wait in line, so when we finished, we headed straight for lunch. We indulged in pasta, though the service at the restaurant was a little disappointing. After lunch, the five of us found some shops and a cool vintage market. I'm talking Versace from the 80s. My heart was telling me yes, but my wallet was telling me no.
We snagged gelato from a cute little shop in a very local neighborhood - we were the only tourists there. After fueling up with sugar, we headed back to the Trevi Fountain to view it in daylight. Still cool. The Spanish Steps are located near the fountain, so we walked the few blocks for this historic monument. While taking pictures, Des looked to her left and lo-and-behold, our new friends from the night before were right next to us! What are the odds?! We all laughed and talked about our day, then documented the moment with a big group picture. Parting ways for the final time, my group climbed the steps and enjoyed a beautiful sunset.
The night before we left for Rome, Des, Erika, and I met this girl named Nikki, who has previously lived in Rome and wants to move back. She emailed Des an itinerary of what to do, see, and eat during our stay. Her biggest suggestion was to grab dinner at Momart Cafe, claiming it was the prominent and upcoming place in the city. We took her up on that suggestion, and met Costas, his sister, and her friend at the cafe for dinner, as they had been in Southern Italy the previous two days. The food was divine and only cost twelve euros for a buffet and drink. The cafe was in another very local spot, and again we were the only tourists in sight.
That night, we had not booked a place to stay, since our flight was leaving early Sunday morning. Instead, we roamed the streets of Rome for a while and finally called it quits at 2:00 am. We grabbed our bags from a hotel storage room where we had stashed them that morning and boarded the bus to go back to the airport and sleep a little before catching our flight back to Thessaloniki. Upon arrival at the airport, we changed into comfier clothes and found the check-in area. Scanning the departure flight list, we didn't see ours. We went to the wrong airport! We had flown into the Fiumicino Airport, so we didn't even think to consider that we would fly out of a different one. Thankfully, we had plenty of time until our flight yet. After asking for help, the five of us hailed a taxi and drove to Ciampino Airport. Our driver was awesome and got us there in fifteen minutes, with the dash reading 145 kmp, which translates to 90 mph! We were booking it! We made it to the right airport with plenty of time to spare, still fitting a short nap in before boarding the plane. When we got back to Thessaloniki and our dorms, every single one of us passed out and slept the day away. What a weekend.
Stats from our trip: walked 10 miles each day, spent too much money on gelato, and shared more belly-aching laughs than I can count.
Until next time,
Amanda