Refuel

      Today we had a refuel day. We slept in really late, showered, ate, lounged in the sun on the terrance, read our books, basically did nothing. It was wonderful. That night we went for a nice italian dinner. Had wine, brusetta, pasta, and the girls had dessert. At one point, musicans came around and played us music. It was a classic italian meal....one of the best meals of my life.

            That night we went to a different pub crawl. This one from the spanish steps. It was a monday night and pretty slow for peeps....so they lead us to a scottish pub and told us to get the unlimtied drink tickets(15 euros) and wait for others to join. It was classic pub, looked the same as those back home, but they were playing football on the big screens. Nope, not soccer....American Football. Interesting. Of course, we met quite a few americans there...with american football playing why wouldnt we. Eventually, there was enough people and we got to play beer pongs and meet people from other worlds. Mostly north america and austrialia though. Best part? The crawl was supposed to be 25, but we only paid 15 from before and they never asked us for the other ten. Bonus.

         The night went on as it usually does. Dancing and having a good time. Another Bonus? The last bar we went to was around the cornor from our hostel. Didnt have to take the metro!Overall, it was a well needed day. A chance to just chill and not feel obligated to be anywhere or do anything. Staying in Roma for so long was a great idea.

Sunday Service

        Being in Rome surronded by beautiful chruches, we were hoping to attend chruch. However, those hopes were quickly squashed looking at our clothes. Chruch service is not to be taken lightly, and the dress code has to be adhered too. Dresses that cover the shoulders and legs. We had nothing of the sort. However, me and stef are coming back to the Rome for easter...we will be better prepared for that event.

         Still, being that it was Sunday we thought it apporiate to go to the Vatican. On the way, we decided to go into the church that was in the Santa Maria Plazza (which was right by our hostel). On the bus tower, we learnt that this church has some of the richest art work and contains the wood from the manager that Jesus was born in. Now, we were in shorts and a tank top. Rome is hot....you sweat more then you think you ever could, and you cant help but pull at your clothes cause they stick to you. Well, before we could go in we were given white clothes to cover our arms and legs. Makes you feel pretty guilty for wearing skimpy clothes...BUT IT WAS REALLY HOT!!

        Once in the church, there was gold, paintings, riches glore. You could feel the power this church possesed. Incrediable. After apperciating the church, we found the stairs to this gold, glass encased wood. There is was....wood from the manger of Jesus. The skeptic in us thought....Could this be true? Could this be the wood that once held Jesus? Either way, you could not help but be memerized by the possiblity of being close to something so holy.

        After we took the metro to the Vatican. It truly is amazing to think of the Vatican as a seperate, sovereign identity. Its really small when you think of it in those terms. However, the Vatican was incrediable. All the events that happen in this one square. The power of the church. The secrets held within it. Its fascinating to consider. Looking at the line up, which was longer then the line up into the Muse du Louvre in Paris, (wow, Paris....seems like a lifetime ago we were there) We decided not to go in. As I mentioned...me and stef are coming back...so we will save the experience for then. That night we enjoyed the beauty of the terrance over some wine. Calm and tranguility...wonderful end to a Sunday in Roma.

Make a Wish

      Rome was not built in one day. Therefore...we do not have to see ALL the sights in one day. We slept in, made a lesuirely breakfast, and took our time getting ready. We are here for seven nights...there is no need to rush it.

         Today we decided to go to the Fountain di Trevi. It was a bit a travel from our place so we took the Metro. Theres only two lines in Rome so it was a breeze to get to. To be honest, I did not know much about the Fountain di Trevi...but stef being the movie goer out of the three of us...knew excatly what to look for. Once there, Im glad we came. Here was this imaculate fountain the size of a building. Tritain men, mermaids and horses. The best part...you throw a coin into the fountain and true love will find you. It was a nice sentiment....one all three of us girls secretly hoped would come true.
Side note about Italian men. When coming to Rome be prepared for the looks. Men here no matter what their profession or age with literally stop mid conversation to look you up and down, mumble some comment and carry on. And no its not because we are vain and believe it must be just us. Its every woman....young, old, short, skinny, tall, heavy. You name it. After awhile, you just ignore it....still makes you uncormfortable when the 80 year old man with cataracts squints just to get a view.

         That night we were having Rachel and Frances over for wine and appys. ( the girls from the other hostel) We got some cheap wine (1 euro a bottle), cheese and some meat. It was so cool that here we were in Rome having friends over for wine. It was a wonderful night spent on the terrance. Played cards and talked the night away. Later on, we headed to the Spanish Steps. Frances knew the way so we just had to follow.

         The Spanish steps is this area with busling people around it. At the bottom of the steps is a square with a large fountain and any type of knock off purse you could ask for. And stairs......lots and lots of stairs. However, its so beautiful you dont even mind climbing to see the view. It was a long walk back, for the walk there was down one of the seven hills Rome has to offer....the walk back was uphill. Ass of Steel

Hop on, Hop off

       
        Third day in Rome and we were finally ready to see the sights. There is ALOT to see in Rome, so we figure we would do a Bus tour. We found one for 20 euros for the day, which isnt so bad. It was the classic double decker bus (of course we sat on top), and they give you headphones, you pick your language and off you go. We saw all the sights from the comfort of our seats and enjoyed listening to the stories that filled our ears. The whole tour took about 2 hours, it was a great way to get an idea of what the buildings were and how to get back to them. We also learned fun facts...Did you know that Cleopatra brought cats as a gift to her lover Julius Ceaser? Before that there were no cats in Rome. Now there are a ton of them, and Romans love their cats. We also learned of the Christian Crusades, the fights between Paganism and Christainity. How they would burn hundreds of Christians just to provide light for the Empire's feast. Christianity won in the end, and Romans hold their religion near and dear to their heart.

          Driving past all the sights its hard to keep them all straight. Some we had heard of from movies, some we had not. And of course it always looks different then in the movies. At one point, Christie leans to me and says "Wouldnt it be awkward if we pasted the Vatican and didnt even know it?" I replied, "Ya, we just did." After much discussion, and comparsion to google images...it was the Vatican. That just goes to show how different you think it will look till you get there.

      The Colosuem.....that was the most incrediable sight. As the bus turns the cornor.....there it is. Its bigger then you would every believe. It boggles your mind that this building has been around since anicent times. Much of it is still in tack considering. After the bus tour we headed back to the Colosuem. Around the collosuem lie ruins of old temples and building. Some of which are to the most part still in tack as well. As you walk around you cant help but feel like your in ancient times, walking the same path, seeing the same sights as the anciet Romans.
Equipped with a better map then the one we got in Florence, we headed back to our hostels. Its only took us a couple of Italian directions and 15 mins...so we were pretty proud of ourselves. Side note about Italians. They are passionate characters indeed. As you sit and people watch you see two Italians conversing. Of course you cant understand what there saying but you have to watch. They use there hands, grandious facial expresions, and alot of high pitch to low pitch. Most times you think a fight is about to break out. There yelling at each other, hands in each others face, then.....laughing so hard you think they will fall over. Always, Always entertaining.

            While at the Collosuem we found about about a pub crawl. As we have mentioned many times, we love pub crawls. So we got ready and headed back to the Collosuem. This time we found a shorter way, a road that leads straight there. Because I never got to go out on my birthday we decided this would be my bday night. Even though by bday was two days previous, I got a 5 euro discount. It was North American night at the pub crawl. Seven americans and 5 canadians and just a couple aussies. That was the most americans I had seen yet. One of the Canadian girls was from Calgary, she is doing a semster of business in France. (pretty cool) It was actually her birthday that day. As I was commenting on sharing similar birthdays she excliams"O cool! Your turning 21 too?!"....."Ummm no actually 24"..."Oh, well thats kinda the same." I even had another guy tell me he had the same birthday as me, when I asked what year he said 1988, I said "cool, 1987"...he said" your older then me". First taste of feeling old. I dont like it.

       Anyways, this Pub crawl was a little different. You had to take the bus and a metro to get to the pubs. Btw, Busses are free in Rome and the metro is only a euro. The first place we went was pretty awesome. Mostly because they had Flip Cup. Now, they play with little clear glass plastic cups....not dixies. This makes it harder. But have no fear...all us canadian girls made a team...and beat them americans every time. We represented Canada well. The clubs were great, lots and lots of people, lots of american music. The way home was easy...just one bus that got us straight to the Santa Maria Plazza. Very Fun Night!

　
　
　
　
　
　

Roman Holiday

      Our second day in Rome we packed up and moved hostels. (The other hostel only had accomdation for the one night) Its hard to get excited about putting on your backpack...but alas, it is unavoidable. Thankfully, the hostel wasnt to far from the other place and we found it quite easily. This hostel was only about a 10 min walk from the train station and right next to Santa Maria Plazza. This Plazza had a gorgous church with a lovely square in front of it. Later on, we learned of the uniquness of this church. The bells. It has the most melodic bells in Rome, that ring ever hour and half hour. These bells are one of the oldest in Rome and add to the atmosphere. Its haunting to think centuries ago the Romans listened to the same beautiful melody.

      The hostel was easy to find and the owners were friendly. The man, who had a classic Italian accent, was like a character out of a movie. Just before he showed us to our room, it slipped out that it was on the 5th floor. We all looked up the sprial staircase....this was the most stairs yet. So we huffed and puffed and finally got to the room. Bonus? Private kitchen, private room, private bathroom. We hit the jackpot. As soon as we were alone....threw our stuff everywhere. Its alot of fun when you dont get to do it often. The kitchen had a stove, fridge and sink with pots and pans. Considering we were in Rome for 6 nights, we knew to buy groceries and take advantage of the facilities. After buying grocies, (espeically grocies that you can cook...like meat and pasta) we headed back to the hostel. Not fun climbing those stairs....never gets easier....you always dread it. We went to getting some dinner together.

        The Terrance....o the terrance. Its was one more floor up to get to the roof. ( Of course it was only one floor, our room is on the fifth floor) There was two levels with chairs and tables. Nothing fancy to look at...but as soon as you get to the top floor your literally taken back by the beauty of the view. Here we were, seven stories up, overlooking Rome. The view is superb. Everywhere you look, there is a monument peaking over the buildings, or a statue of the Virgin Mary, or a medevil tower....and just down the hill? The Collosuem. The rest of our stay we ate all our meals there, watched the sunset, drank wine, played cards....the Terrance was my favorite highlight.

Balls to the Wall: Caution to the Wind

I bet you bloggers are getting pretty excited about all these new blog post. At least I tell myself people read this. Haha(no im not actually laughing out loud, i just felt the haha was nessacary) Okay so fourth day or fifth or I dunno one day in Florence, we decided to go to Lucca. In highschool I went to Lucca and loved it...it is the one place I really remeber. Lucca is a small town surronded by a medieval wall. A huge, gorgous wall. A hour and a half train ride and there it was. You walk in a the hustle and bussel of the city outside fades away. Inside it is calm, quante and filled with trees and flowers. We rented some awesome crusier bikes with a cool bell and a basket!! So much fun. The whole day we crusied the streets of Lucca...down the alleys and into the squares. We found the flea market I remeber from high school and all bought ourselves a scarf. These light weight scarfs are all the craze here....now I feel european, or like tourist trying to be europeanian. We had a lovely long lunch as well.... wine, meat platter, salad and bruscetta. Stef found 45 euro on the ground the other night so we treated ourselves. We biked along the wall for along time, it was just so beautiful we didn want to leave. However, 6 hours flys by in Lucca and we had to go. Took us 2 hours to get home, but we love train rides. After a long day of biking we were beat, plus we leave for Rome the next day so we had to get sleep.

What a Great Day to Turn 24

On september 28 we were offically a month into our trip. It is at this time you realize why people backpack and travel for 5 months. I remeber being in Brussels only 7 days in and meeting a guy Alex who had been backpacking for a year and still going. I must have looked at him like he had four heads, because at that point I couldnt comprehend the thought. It is amazing how things change, how you see the world differently and how your prioties become different. We are now fully in the swing of things. Positive and sure of ourselves, always ready for a challenge, and excited for every brand new day. Things come much easier to us now and we find ourselves enjoying the beauty of just being. Standing in a square and apperciating all that is around you. Anyways....enough of that. For Rome we booked the Papaya for one night and the rest of the nights at a different hostel. Accomdation is tight in Rome so we were just happy to find an affordable place to stay. The train ride was nice as usually and only an hour long. As well, the Papaya was pretty easy to find, still a bit of a hike in the back packs but we are just happy we are getting better with directions and finding places. The Papaya is an all girl dorm and you can tell. It was bright and clean and the bathrooms did not smell. Which proves my point....boys are stinky and gross. Our room had colorful sheets and luggage lockers....which is always great!! The first girl in our dorm was Rachel from New York and very friendly. Shes traveling alone but staying with family. She also went to Paris, and she also hated it. Even cut her stay there short....its true....just see the sights and leave. After getting freshed up we went and found ourself a nice resturant to eat at. My parents of course sent a card with Stef.....which makes it a bit easier being away from home on your birthday. With their generous gift we got the fancy food on the menu. Christie got pasta with lobster and me and stef got pasta with clams and mushrooms. Delicious...melt in your mouth. We also had the local wine which goes superbly with the pasta. Sitting in a sidewalk cafe in Rome eating incrediable pasta with your two best friends, you realize....I am blessed. Here I am celebrating my 24 birthday in Rome. I am right where I am destined to be. After we got some more cheap wine (and amazing) and went to the hostel. Then we got all dolled up and wasted and danced the night away. Psyche. Contry to popular belief we sat with Rachel and Frankie(from the uk) played cards, laughed and talked the night away. Followed by a skype session with my parents. It was the best birthday of my life, one I will never forget, one I am so thankful to have had experienced.

Peace

Our fourth day in Florence we decided to explore the city. Being that we had been there a bit and it was a really safe city we all did it on our own. No, were still the best of friends and love each other.....we just all were itching for some alone time. On my time I found the Dome....its so huge and colorful!! Like nothing I had ever seen. So many people in the Piazza its hard to just stand and stare...but your so memerized about it. I keep walking and found another piazza and another and another....after awhile I they started to blend together. But I did find one full of Statues...probably 30 to 40. And the fake David. Thats right folks. There are two fake Davids and the real one is in Acadamia...and I dont know where that is. But I saw it, it looked good, got some pics and I am satisfied. Actually I probably could have told you it was the real one...but I wouldnt lie to you. After awhile I was pretty lost and itching for some company....however I was having a hard time finding my way back. On the way back, my purse string was yanked from behind...I had my headphones in and thinking it must be stef or chirstie I turned around. Here was a 75 year old man wagging his finger at me and yelling at me in italian....I told him I only speak english....then he says fuck you and leaves. Weird. Scary. At least I think I could have taken him. Finally back at the hostel we were revived and happy to see each other. I gues when you spend so much time together you feel weird being apart. That night a bunch of people from the hostel were going to the club, this time some guys joined us so we were able to just dance and have fun without being bothered. Another great night in Florence.