"We Have Literally Looked The Same For 36 Hours!!!"
- Janay S.
- Mar 24, 2018
- 4 min read
FRIDAY MARCH 3, 2017
Our first day was the longest day. The weekend began with me literally waking up on a plane in Rome, Italy. At first, I felt slightly jet lagged after enduring that extremely uncomfortable flight. However, as soon as we got off the plane I completely forgot about being tired and became so amazed by everything Italian. The airport was huge, extremely crowded and I noticed there were other flights going to interesting places like Paris and Barcelona. Admittedly, I was disappointed when I got my passport stamped because I thought the stamp would be some cool design or representation of the country, but it was not. It was just a boring stamp of the date on a random page in my passport. Meeting the SAI staff (our hosts for the trip) was pleasant because they were very friendly and accommodating to us. On the way to the bed and breakfast we stayed at, I noticed that small fiat cars were a popular vehicle on the road. This is probably because Italians literally drive and park wherever they want. SIA staff informed us that most Italians do not really drive that much, because everything they need is usually in a walking distance within the town and there is also public transportation that is always readily accessible. Also, neighborhood streets in Rome are very narrows that is why people just cram their vehicles into any small spot for parking. We even saw cars parked on the median in the middle of the street. I was surprised to hear an American music artist on the radio during the ride from the airport.
Once at the bed and breakfast, we had a quick SAI orientation where they gave us a bunch of handouts that had emergency information, some great suggestions of places to visit, restaurants to eat at and other tips that were definitely helpful to know throughout trip. Afterwards, we had lunch outside at this nice restaurant named Ristorante La Scala. The food was delicious but they gave us such excessive portions that no one was able to finish their meal. I had pasta alla carbonara, which is a seasoned pasta mixed with egg and bacon. And, then fell in love with a new desert named tiramisu. I found it interesting that in Italian restaurants waiters and waitresses do not come back to check on your table throughout the meal, like how American servers do. SIA staff explained to us that we have to ask for the bill at the end of our meal because if we do not then our server will just assume that we are just sitting and enjoying each others company. I can admit that American restaurants sometimes makes me feel rushed to leave because they are so focused on getting the optimum amount of business in and out their establishment. It brings in a lot of money but it does not create a warm, welcoming and comfortable environment the way Italians do. In my opinion, I think the way Italian cherish quality time among friends and family is heartwarming.
After lunch, SAI staff guided us around the neighborhood of Trastevere (where we were living), so that we could get a little more familiar with the town. They showed us how to navigate using the tram (public transportation), which is basically similar to the metro system in Washington DC. There was literally a church on every other corner of the neighborhood. And, everywhere you look there is a depiction of a shield with the letters SPQR. We learned from SAI staff that the shield is a symbol of the Italian government. For a short duration we lost two of our group members when shopping for souvenirs. As one of my classmates said, "we have literally looked the same for thirty-six hours!" So, it was slightly amusing how we got separated from them in such a quick instance, but it did not take us long to find them. We crossed a big bridge and took lots of pictures the street artwork on the walls of the humbugs dam across the Tiber River.
Shortly after, we met up with our first tour guide Fabio and he took us site seeing. We got to visit the ruins near Campo de' Fiori and Altare della Pataria. Fabio informed us that a lot of the ruins are being preserved in order to save the story of Italian history. We got to visit the Jewish ghetto and a huge old theater that inspired the design of the famous Coliseum.
We went to dinner at a restaurant named Margherita and they had some great pizza and wine. I normally do not drink wine but I was not going to come to a country that is known for great wine and not taste test! So, like the saying goes, "when in Rome, do as the Romans do." After dinner, we walked around the neighborhood more just to explore the nightlife in Rome. We noticed that there were not many night clubs like how major American cities have, but there were bars with good music and fun loving people. I noticed that Italian people do not drink excessively to get drunk like how Americans do, which I find respectable. Lastly, on the way back to the bed and breakfast we found this great gelato place, named Blue Ice. Real Italian gelato is definitely waaaaaaayyy better when made by a native Italian.
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