VOTE

If you look to the right of the screen, you see a poll of where my next adventures should be for my Spring Break. I also will travel a lot when school lets out at the end of June, so I will make it to all these places. But help me decide where to go at the end of April and you'll have to wait where my next adventure will be!

Food and Borghese Gallery and Spanish Steps

My favorite saying on this trip was, "When in Rome, do as the Romans did". It was pretty much my motto on the trip so I tried new things and ate like an Italian. Italians know their coffee and even though I'm not a coffee drinker, I do have to say I did enjoy their Cappuccino's. Rick Steve's suggested a little coffee shop off the beaten path by the Spanish Steps. We arrived at the coffee shop and ordered two Cappuccino's which Rick Steve said is the best of the best in Rome. It was done to perfection and he even got artistic by drawing with chocolate a heart, so sweet. It was nice to rest our feet and just sit and relax in the cafe. Also it was a great place to people watch locals and I learned something interesting of what a lot of locals do. Around noon, they walk into the coffee shop and ask for an expresso. It's like they were ordering a shot of alcohol from a bartender. They down it and leave and aren't in the coffee shop longer than 2 minutes. We continuously saw this occurring and I guess that's how they keep going til 9pm for dinner.

We ate very well in Rome. I fell in love with Proscietto and melon, especially after having it the first night, and wanted more. SADLY enough NO where in Rome had Proscietto with melon because it wasn't melon season. :( Luckily the delicious pasta's covered my cravings for Proscietto and melon. I had amazing pastas with marinara sauce, basil, and cheese, ravioli with artichoke filling and covered in a sheep's cheese (interesting), and Tiramisu! Mmm Tiramisu how I miss you.

After coffee at the local coffee shop, we walked by the spanish stairs which Rick Steve's in his book only gave a 1 star. I didn't know why until I went there and understood his reasonings. It basically was a hang out for student's traveling abroad. Nothing more obnoxious than college kids studying abroad because they think they are so cool and allowed to drink. We hung out for a bit but the annoying college kids and men trying to sell junk got overwhelming, so we left. Kinda disappointed by the stairs but at least we can say we sat on the Spanish stairs.

The last day, Rick Steve's suggested to go to the Borghese Museum. It was given 3 stars and you had to make reservations and were only allowed in for 2 hours. We arrived at the Museum and had to check in our purses. They are VERY strict on no camera's that they take all your belongings. We got the museum's audio tour and learned a lot about the art they had in the museum. They had incredible works of art and sculptures. After the two hours, we decided to walk around Rome and window shop.

We left Saturday and it was the worst flight from Rome to Prague because right when we took off I got sinus pressure. I'm not sure if you have ever experienced sinus pressure but it hurts like a B****! I was in so much pain and there is nothing you can do. Luckily the stewardess had a pain killer but still it was a very long 2 hours home. Made it back to sunny, no snow, but still cold, Prague. I had an incredible time in Rome and will never forget this experience.

The Vatican

Aw so now I see where my Catholic high school education pays off. It was all for this moment, to visit the Vatican! I did not know that Vatican City is it's own COUNTRY! They have their own money, transportation, post office, radio stations, and President well the Pope. We arrived at the Vatican and went to the Vatican Museum where the Sistine Chapel is. We had to first go through security and then saw the post office. It is the only place in the world that has the official Vatican stamp so of course I bought some postcards of the Pope and sent them to my parents. Basically thanking them for sending me to Catholic school so I can really appreciate this moment. The museum had tons of treasures and beautiful art all along the walls and ceilings. Kind of funny since Sarah mentioned the Church tells you to live modestly. They had everything from Egyptian ruins, mummys, sculptures, paintings, and scriptures. But finally alas, we arrived at my most anticipated places, the Sistine Chapel. You walk in and you can't believe your eyes. It is nothing I was expecting with all the baroque colors and massive scale of the room. You are overwhelmed where to even begin to start looking but of course your first reaction is to just look up. You are so amazed on Michelangelo's masterpiece you don't feel the pain shooting in your neck. You also can't believe that you are actually looking at the scene where God touches mankind. It's so famous and it's right there in front of your eyes. I learned that the Sistine Chapel was covered in a wax from candles and protective paint that really hid the colors used. So recently they cleaned the ceiling to restore the piece to it's original color. Such bold colors and drawn to perfection that they look 3D. We secretly took pictures which is a big no no but it is so hard to resist. We stayed there for a good half an hour just listening to the audio tour (Rick Steves, of course) and learning about how important this room is and it's history. Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel not laying on his back as history books told it. In fact, he did it standing up tilting his head up. Imagine what his neck felt like! All I have to say, WOW!

After the Sistine Chapel we headed to the St. Peter's Basilica. There you had to go through security again and Rick Steves began Rick Steve's audio tour. I saw where the Pope lives, where the smoke comes out the chimney when they find a new Pope, the window where the Pope blesses the massive crowds, the square, and inside the Basilica. Michelangelo helped design the inside of the Basilica even at an old age. Michelangelo in my opinion is the best artist that has ever walked this earth. Pope's are buried there and important religious people as well. The Vatican was a spiritual experience and surreal.

Pantheon

After the Colosseum, the Pantheon is my next favorite building. Rick Steve's audio tour said that if you wanted to know what it felt like to be in Ancient Rome is to visit the Pantheon because it is in it's original state and looks exactly what it looked like all those years ago. Once again, the brilliant engineers and architectures of Rome created the dome. The Pantheon was so impressive that it inspired some of the world's most famous buildings (Ex: US Capitol's dome) When you walk in, you are taken back by it's enormous size. You look up to see this massive dome with a hole in the top that lights up the whole building. The Pantheon originally was a temple built for the Roman Gods but now is a Catholic Church. I found it interesting that when it rains, since there is a hole in the top, the rain pours in the church and if you look at the ground you can see holes to let the water out. Pretty spectacular place.

Trevi Fountain

After a delicious lunch, we headed to the famous Trevi Fountain. It was a beautiful fountain and something you would see at Las Vegas but the real deal. There were lots of tourists and people making wishes. To make a wish at the Trevi Fountain you turn your back to it and throw a coin over your left shoulder (in the video it's over my right which I didn't know at the time it had to be your left, so I did a retake) and make a wish. When you do this, not only does your wish come true (I think it has to be a love wish) but also that you will return to Rome. So Rome, I will see you again. After the Trevi Fountain, Sarah and I went to a Gelato place Rick Steves suggested and it was deliciouso. I had a white chocolate meringue gelato (yes it was as good as it sounded). We decided to head back to the Trevi Fountain and people watch. It was so interesting to watch not only the tourists but the sneaky coin thieves! What they do is they walk around the fountain and stand inbetween a lot of people (to cover them). They glance around to make sure no police are watching and they look for a coin. Then in their hand they have a magnetic stick and place it in the water and TAKE THE COIN! ugh they are wish stealers. Also there are men walking around with cameras asking you if you would like them to take a picture of you by the fountain for $$$. In Rome, they try to sell tourists anything and everything. We saw a man selling these junk squishy balls you slam on the ground for 3-5Euros and he made probably around 20 Euros in 5 minutes. I guess they know when to take advantage of opportunities from tourists. I always love people watching and excited to see if my wish comes true. See you again Rome.

The Colosseum and Roman Forum

I just want to mention this first, Rick Steves is the MAN! Not only are his books amazing but he also has podcasts on itunes and for FREE you can download a self guided tour on your ipod. Sarah and I were smart because we bought a Roma pass which gives you 2 free enterance/no line for a lot of major tourist attractions in Rome. We started our morning out at the Colosseum and passed the long line. As Sarah and I said, "It's like the fast past at Disneyland"...hm I compare a lot of Europe to Disneyland. We started our Rick Steves tour in the Colosseum and it was so informative and just the right amount of interesting information. The weather was very nice with sunshine and blue skies but still had to layer up because it's still winter. While on the tour I kept thinking of the movie Gladiator and had the theme song in my head the whole time. To just picture what it would have been like here is so neat. The Colosseum is made up of tons of arches and I wonder how they knew it would be so strong to hold up such a massive arena. Slaves from Israel built the Colosseum and I can imagine any visitor who came to Rome knew that Romans don't mess around.

After the tour of the Colosseum, we headed to the Roman Forum. The Roman Forum was Rome's Downtown as you may call it. It had everything from Caesar's palace, to churches, and massive white column buildings. Once again, good ol' Rick Steves had an ipod tour of that and we learned so much. We even saw where Julius Caesar lived and where he was burned when he died. We also saw an original bronze door with original hinges still on the church.

After the tour of the Roman Forum, we went to lunch where Rick Steve's suggested. I had vegetarian Lasagna and a cheese platter, yum.

Next stop, Trevi Fountain

I won't let a little Strep stop me

One of the benefits of teaching abroad is traveling during term breaks. When I returned in January, I already was thinking of where to travel during my February break. The snow and cold weather makes you want to escape to a warm tropical beach and soak up the sun and the closest/most affordable trip that a lot of Europeans take in the winter is to Egypt. A few coworkers were set on the idea of taking the week off in February and laying pool side at an Egyptian Resort sipping some exotic cocktails. As time got closer to break, as you all remember, there were riots in Egypt and it kept getting worse and worse each day. Considering everything going on and US government warning US citizens to stay out of Egypt, we decided we needed a plan B.

The three major places in Europe to go are Paris (done that), London (did that as well, and ROME! Now that I have to see. Sarah (coworker) and I decided to plan our week of in February to Rome, Italy!

February was a brutal month for my immune system and planning my trip was difficult as I was trying to take care of myself in a foreign country. Where's the chicken noodle soup when you need it. Sarah luckily was on top of her game and found a hotel and gave some ideas of an itinerary. It was a good thing because the weekend before we would leave for Rome I got strep! I went to the doctor Monday and my flight was Tuesday! However, (with consent of Sarah being ok with it) I wouldn't let strep ruin my vacation and I packed my bags and ready to go to Rome.

We left Prague early Tuesday morning and arrived in Rome 2 hours later. I was feeling better with the antibiotics and throat spray but still rough travels. We took the train into town and the hotel told us to find the 16 bus to get to the hotel. I don't know if you have been to Rome but it is pure chaos with tons of buses and crazy drivers. We could not find the 16 bus to save our lives, so we decided to take a cab. When we landed in Rome, I told Sarah we should get a Vespa and cruise around Rome. While driving in the cab, I quickly realized that driving a Vespa would be SUDDEN DEATH! The drivers are insane but strange enough it's controlled chaos. They honk, cut you off, yell at each other in Italian, speed, you name it, they do it!

We made it to our hotel and dropped off our luggage. We then headed to the Colosseum to meet up with another coworker and her husband. Sarah and I took the bus (found it this time) towards the town and I will NEVER forget the first time we spotted the Colosseum. It was like finding the Matterhorn in Disneyland off the freeway but SO MUCH COOLER!

The Colosseum at first sight is incredible. How in the world did they create such an impressive building. The genius in their architecture is baffling. We met up with our friends and had a cappuccino and dessert. I had prosciutto with melon (which was delicious but sadly enough the only time I had it....will explain later) We then walked at night by the Colosseum and Roman Forum and headed towards the Pantheon to find a place to have dinner. Italians don't eat dinner til very late around 8:30pm to 9pm. We had a nice little pasta dinner and wine however, thanks to antibiotics I was stuck drinking Sprite (yay). Sarah and I headed back and anxious to start our day of touring at the Colosseum!