Roma, Italy

On Friday, July 10, 2009, I woke up and had my last Professional Development Seminar. After the seminar, some EUSA friends went to Paul's Bakery for lunch - I had a baguette and a strawberry tart - delicious! I then headed back to my flat to do some work for school and then packed for Rome.

I met Chris at Barons Court stop and we headed to Heathrow for our flight to Rome. We arrived at Heathrow, grabbed a quick bit to eat, and then had to wait about an hour for our flight since it was delayed. We finally arrived to Rome and because it was so late, we had to take a taxi to our hotel - Hotel Portafortuna. It was a nice ride and the taxi driver was great. The hotel itself was very nice and we went to bed instantly.

We woke up on Saturday, July 11, 2009 at 6:30 / 7:00 am to get an early start. We had a quick breakfast at the hotel - croissants, juice and cappuccino. Delicious. We then headed toward the Vatican. We got to the Vatican via the Metro (aka the tube) at around 8:00 am and we were allowed in since we had pre-booked tickets before anyone else. The Vatican was completely empty and it was nice to look around and see everything without the crowds. We entered the Sistine Chapel and took many pictures because no one was in there. We finally made to Saint Peter's Basilica and saw a Cardinal who processed in for mass. It was a magnificent cathedral and in the basement, we saw the tomb of Pope John Paul II and St. Peter. For lunch, I just had a bowl of fruit and ice cream since it was so hot and humid in Rome.

We then headed toward the Trevi Fountain, the Roman Forum, Colosseum, Pantheon, and so many "plazas," and other Roman ruins. It was great and we saw alot in one day.

We then had a nice dinner (gnocchi, and lamb chops) and then got gellato for dessert. We headed over to the Trevi Fountain for some night pictures and made our wish with a coin - we then headed toward the Spanish Steps and then home for the night.

On Sunday, July 12, 2009, we woke up early and had a nice breakfast and headed toward the train station to buy our ticket for our train back to the airport. We then headed to see the Catacombs, which was really cool. We then made it to the Vatican again to see the Pope give his Sunday address. He spoke so many languages and we got some great pictures. We then headed over to the Spanish steps again as well as many churches and cathedrals around Rome. For lunch, we had a nice pasta and then pizza too

We then headed over to the airport via a train. Our flight was on time, however we taxied for quite a while. We finally made it to Heathrow, and customs were pretty good. However, we were not quick enough for the tube, so we had to take a bus back home. We finally got home at around 12:30 am. It was a great but exhausting trip.

Ciao!