So much to tell! But I will try to be brief and condensed about this and present it in series of short snippets. Tonight I am actually in Barcelona, but am feeling a bit under the weather and have opted to stay in the room for the evening. Grant and Jeoffrey, my travel buddies, are out exploring the beach, which I am pretty sad I am missing. But we have been having fun having our adventures. Here we goooo!
In Rome, we were still with Grant's classmates. There was 8 of us in one apartment, but there were about 15 of them, I think. Or 16. It was a nice, spacious apartment and we were able to save a lot of money by cooking at home, which was great because food in Rome was only ok. I think it was too touristy. =\
The first day I flew to Europe, I missed my second connecting flight and had no way to contact Grant to tell him that I would be arriving on a plane that would get to Rome about 5 hours later. Luckily, he was amazing and was waiting at the train station in Termini for me after a long, stressful day filled with my worrying about how to contact him. I got to Rome about 6 hours after I originally planned though. Boo. That night, I settled into the apartment and then Grant and I went and found something for me to eat- a 4 euro panini with mozzarella and tomato, which was fine, as I was very hungry. haha. Then I met his classmates for the first time.
The second day, I woke up early for the Pantheon with Grant and his classmates. It was beautiful! The concrete dome is indeed a wonder and it's even crazier that it remains in such great condition. I wonder what kind of reinforcement they used or didn't use. Amazing, those romans. The cheesy Roman gladiator dressed men and the McDonalds right across the piazza from it, though, kind of killed some of the charm of the Pantheon.
We also went to an outdoor market, and had lunch at Vitti in Piazza San Lorenzo in Lucina. Grant and I shared a pizza and some salad. It was alright. That day was the same day as the Roma football finale! FC Barcelona vs. Manchester United. We didn't have tickets to the game (that would have been very expensive!) but we went to the Olympic stadium to see if they had a big screen set up outside for us to watch. The fans were crazy and really funny with their chanting, colored clothing and songs. We never found the big screen so we went back to our apartment to watch the football game there. Grant and I made some risotto, watched FC Barcelona win, and then went to bed. =)
We walked around Rome for an hour trying to find Grant's professor at the Villa Borghese. We passed the Spanish Steps, Villa Medici, Piazza Popolo before getting to the Galleria Borghese. There we saw many works by Bernini. They were terrific! David, Rape of Persephone, Apollo and Daphne (which was my favorite!) and one of Napolean's sister on a bed. We also walked around the rest of Borghese in the gardens and amongst the trees. 
The Piazza Navona with the Four Rivers Fountain. 
Was this the Piazza Popolo? Can't remember anymore... haha. 
Yay Roma Finale 2009 and the Caffeteria we found and ate at, which was near the Villa Borghese. That day we also visited Crypta Balbi and Palazzo Altemps. 
The Trevi Fountain at night. Beautiful! 
