Home is wherever I am! Thanksgiving in Rome.

I arrived back to my campus on Monday November 22. On Tuesday night Lexie and I decided while studying for our International Political Economy midterm that we wanted to fly to Rome to spend Thanksgiving with Olivia, who is studying in Rome and Adam who is studying in Mannheim, Germany. Adam and Lexie were both my residents two years ago in Myers hall. Talk about being a good RA.

Lexie and I headed out to Rome on Thanksgiving Day. We arrived around 3pm and met Liv and Adam at the airport train station. From there we headed to Liv’s apartment in Trastervre and shortly after went to the Colosseum which was only a 10 minuet bus ride from her apartment. It was a bit weird taking transportation in Rome because at the time they had Siesta which means a big break is taken from work during the middle of the day. The other weird part was that you could get on trams and buses without purchasing or validating a ticket. If you did see a ticket man coming one would hop off and get on again to avoid paying. Any ways the Colosseum was mind blowing from the outside; unfortunately I didn’t get to go inside because they closed down at 4:30. After that we walked over to other sites in the area and then to dinner. Along the way for dinner we turned a corner and walked past a park. I said I hear bats. Lexie, looked at me like I was crazy and said I don't think so. Next thing I know 100s of bats are flying over head into the trees.

For dinner Adam and I split ravioli and sausage pizza, we all shared a bottle of red wine for 20Euro. It is faux pau for one to drink white wine or coffee with dinner. We were wrapping up dinner when it began to rain. It rains everyday at some point of the day in Rome. Even stinkier was the fact that it was chilly around 50 degrees outside. After dinner we went for gelato around the corner. AMAZINGNGESS! I ordered coconut and cachi (persimmon). Adam had some amazing cinnamon which Lexie and I craved for the rest of the weekend.

We went back to Liv’s apartment to put on more layers in order for us to sstay warm at the Ice Bar and to try El Vino Nuevo a new style of red wine((The wine is made in months and not years.). The Ice Bar is exactly what the name implies. Each month 40 tons of ice is brought in and carved on sight. We entered the bar for 15 Euro and were given a poncho, gloves and one free drink. The drink itself was served in an ice cone cup. The bar was pretty dead for a Thursday but we livened it up by sharing jokes in the igloo.

The next morning we woke up at 6am and headed to Naples. We missed our train by 7 minuets so we waited around looking for Adam who had over slept and had no way of contacting us. I decided to purchase a snack while waiting, a nice apple pie. YUMMMY!

Upon arrival the train to Sorrento and Pompeii was on strike. The weather was rainy and cloudy so there were no available boats to Capri. There were men in the train station offering us taxi rides but Liv said those men were a part of the Mafia. Yikes! Eventually we figured out a regional train to take us to Pompeii because we could no longer see both Pompeii and Sorrento. While waiting around we decided to get pizza in Naples. It was pretty yummy but nothing to go gaga over in the city where pizza was invented. Naples it self is not the best looking neighborhood compared to other parts of Italy. There were a lot of street sellers and supposed Mafia affliated workers on the streets.

After a 3 hour train ride for the cost of 11 Euros we arrive in Pompeii. We began walking to the site in light rain to save money. About 10 minutes into the walk we saw a cab driver and decided to get in. Unfortunately none of us noticed that there was a 10 euro fair already on the meter. In the end we paid 15Euro to go down the block. The tickets for Pompeii were 11 Euro. Surprisingly enough after paying the rain cleared up and the sun came out.

Pompeii was once covered under 13 feet of dirt and was below farm land. Today one would never think so but the excavation still continues. The roads through the city were made of big rocks so water and horse manure could run down hill. The people of the city even put bigger boulders in to act as a walk way (cross walks). Pompeian’s were the first to have running water to their second floors. Unfortunately they used lead for this and in paints as well and in the long run suffered with brain damage. On the streets were fountains that women would get their daily water from and say a prayer at. I could see the indent in the marble from many people leaning over the sides. We checked out the amphitheater which was neat because of the amount of green, red, orange, blue and white marble that was in the floor. After that we stopped by the whore house where men would pick their sexual pleasure and go into a room with the woman where there was a rock bed and pillow. Remember Italians believed there was nothing wrong with sex being an integral part of everyday life. Lastly we checked out some remains of people that died in the Mt. Vesuvius eruption. I think the saddest remain is of a woman who lay on the ground to cover her pregnant belly. For a long time scientist believed the ash killed the people but it is now believed that the hot temperatures from the volcano had the same affect that an atomic bomb would have on the air.

We left Pompeii and immediately ate gelato. At that time I purchased a hybrid grapefruit/orange which wasn’t very sweet. On the way back to Naples I saw the beautiful island of Capri and lots of graffiti covered walls. In Naples we had to take a regional rail train up to Rome. We were assigned seats in a train car room. There we met a cool guy who lived in the US for a bit, was a MMA fighter and played American Football in Naples. We met up with Adam when we arrived in Rome and went in search of a cheap Italian restauarant that served gnocci. Everyone at the table except for me ordered gnocci, instead I ordered fried artichoke which was pretty good. I also ordered seafood linguine (This is when I realized I did not like mussels.) and lamb chops which were filled with bone spurs.

We shared stories about being abroad. Olivia shared her first steak experience, when she couldn’t remember how to ask for a well done steak so said black and that is just what she was served. I erupted in laughter when I heard that. I’m sure people in the restaurant will remember my laugh. We went outside towards a square to find Italians sitting together on steps. Liv informed us that Italians only talk to and date people that they know or are introduced to by acquaintances. That was pretty stinky to hear but understandable because I constantly felt like a tourist that weekend.

The next day we slept in and Lexie and I headed to Vatican City. The lines were extremely long so we decided to come back to see Piazza San Pietro and the Sistine Chapel the next day. We left to come across some amazing thin crust pizza and sweet gelato! Then we started on our walk around the city. We went shopping for shoes and bags, and then walked up a main street filled with lots of shops. This is where I saw the Lush Rome store and some BBoys breaking. We continued roaming until we got to Trevii fountain and then back to the cat sanctuary. During the walk I decided to participate in normal Italian habits and drink from a water fountain outside. I mean an ornate fountain. It was nice to drink tap water not in a bottle for a few seconds. For dinner we decided to have Chinese food since we had eaten so much Italian food. After that we had the wonderful gelato and headed back to Liv’s apartment for warmth and TV. In total we had gelato three times and other dessert that day.

The next morning we woke up at 5:30am to get to Vatican City to see Piazza San Pietro and the Sistine Chapel. The church was breath taking and filled with beautiful marble sculptures and colored marble floors. Then we went outside of Vatican City to the Sistine Chapel. We paid 25 Euro to skip the line and be in a tour. I felt like crying when I saw the chapel. As a child I was obsessed with Michelangelo. Seeing his greatest work in person was such an amazing experience. My favorite piece was how Michelangelo depicted God and seeing his famous piece when God created Adam.

After leaving we decided to get pizza one last time from the delicious place outside of Vatican city. The day before I had fresh mozzerella, tomatos and basil. That day I had rice balls and proscuitto and ricotta pizza. You may have noticed that I did not refer the pizza as a slice, that is because a rectangle was cut off the sicilian style pie. It was toasted and reheated in the oven and then folded in half and wrapped with parchmen paper for stablity. I must reiterate that eating this pizza was heavenly!

We decided to get gelato one last time after pizza but the server was so rude that we walked out. (When we walked in the server said pay before you taste in a rude town. Trust me I have no problem paying for what I am suppose to but I refuse to allow people to talk to me any way they please. Get another job if you don't like yours. Take a break if you need one to cool off your temper but whatever you do do not catch an attitude with me and think it will fly.)While outside I got into a heated disagreement with Liv about service standards around the world. I was very much so offended with his service since Lexie and I had just went less than 24 hours ago to the same place and were treated better by a different server.

We headed back on the bus and took the tram to the train where we said our good byes. Rome’s Fiumicino terminal is HUGE! It took us a while to get to check in and pass two security points. Inside the terminal you can find lots of duty free shops, cheese, grappa, high end stores like Ferrari and more.

Our plane arrived safely back to Istanbul. Lexie and I took the bus to Taksim and met up with Melissa to have Chinese food again for dinner. This was interesting as Turkish men served me my food. Please know Yeni (New) Hong Kong is a Chinese run establishment. The food was okay but not the New York Chinese food that I had craved for weeks. I spent 35TL on dinner and said to Lexie and Melissa don’t let me forget the food. When we were walking out a fellow exchange student heard us speaking English and came over to introduce herself. We then headed out to the bus and that’s when I remembered I left my expensive dinner in the chair. Lucky for me it was still there when I got there!