Wednesday I woke up and went to class from 10-12, stopped by the library to print off bus/plane/train tickets, then raced home and shoved some Ramen down my throat. At 1, I took the bus into town and caught the 2 O’clock bus into LONDON! We got there around 3:30 and shopped off Oxford street for a while. Then we grabbed a delicious happy hour dinner at pizza hut and wandered around the city.
I absolutely love London at night. We walked to Trafalgar’s Square then to Big Ben and Parliament then across the London Bridge and down by the river. Then we headed over to St Paul’s Cathedral, (which is still stunning), then over the millennium bridge. After wandering around for a good 3 hours, we took the Metro back to Victoria, grabbed a small snack, then jumped on a bus to our hotel. We stayed at the Marriott by Gatwick and got a total of 4 hours of sleep… we had to leave for the airport at 4:30AM!
Woke up bright and early, walked our way to the airport, checked in… everything went really smoothly. We got into Rome around 10:30 AM (cause of the time difference) and took the train into the city.
I simply cannot describe how beautiful Rome is. For some reason, I wasn’t too excited about it… but it’s absolutely fantastic. There’s so much history EVERYWHERE you look.
When we got there, we checked into our hostel, (Alessandro’s Palace- and what a palace it is!), then walked throughout the streets in search of some tasty Italian food. We found a self-serve place, and got mozzarella and potato pizza, and a mozzarella and tomato sandwich. Haha… both were pretty good.
After lunch, we walked over to the Spanish Steps, which at the top, provide an amazing view of the city. (But I was wearing shorts because of the 75degree weather, so I wasn’t allowed to go in the church… boo.) Then we walked to the Trevi Fountain- which is seriously THE KING of all fountains. Really, you’ve gotta see this thing. And afterwards we walked down to Ancient Rome, where all of the ruins are still standing. This area was absolutely breath-taking. It felt like I was taken back thousands of years in time. The architecture for that time, the marble, the fact that its still standing. It truly is remarkable.
Then we went to the Colosseum and walked around- right as the sun was setting. Amazing.
We then made our way back to our hostel and took a nap for about an hour. At 8:30 they had free pizza for us, and at 8:32 it was gone. But we stocked up on it and managed to get a few slices in. We also shared a bottled of wine and drank a bit at our hostel bar. There we met our fellow hostelers- Jimmy (from Sydney), and Rob (from Edinburgh). Both were so much fun that we decided to invite them out into town with us.
We went to the cheapest place we could find and met… AMY, who was also in Rome! It was a very interesting/entertaining/hilarious night. But it was great. MOST OF US walked back- taking a route right by the Colosseum at night, which believe it or not- provides an even more amazing view when its all lit up.
We woke up around 9, packed, ate our free breakfast, said our goodbyes to our new friends, then checked out of our amazing hostel.
We headed over to the Vatican, waited in line for about 45 minutes in the beautiful square, then walked around inside. It was so cool in there… so much history with all of the popes. We wandered inside for about an hour then went out and got some lunch. We ate at this really cute outdoor café. I got a great pasta dish.. and paid $4.50 for a sitting fee. Lovely.
Then we went to the Roman Museum, which is massive. And walked straight through until we got to the Sistine Chapel. Cathrin is an art history major so she almost had a heart attack. I can’t believe that he painted that within four years… it was absolutely amazing.
Afterwards, we sat outside and soaked up the sunshine and then met Amy for gelato. And to be honest, gelato is probably my favorite thing in Italy. IT IS SO FREAKING DELICIOUS.
We all then walked towards the Pantheon, which in my opinion, is one of the coolest places in Rome. It was built around 75BC… and its dome is still one of the biggest in the world. It was originally a pagan church but its now a Christian church. The inside of the building is absolutely remarkable.
We then walked back to our hostel, got our bags, and headed for the train station. We had 3 hours to kill, but we were all so tired… we just wanted to sit. We got on board at 11PM and headed to our disgusting seats. The Italian boys were all cat-calling to us and chain-smoking the entire ride. 8 hours of torture.
So when we got into Milan around 7AM that morning, we were all dead on our feet. Having slept VERY little, we took the metro straight to the Marriott and passed out until 3PM. I know, I know… sleeping that much in Milan?! But we would not have had any fun in the state we were in.
When we got up at 3, we got some lunch at…. McDonalds (hey, we’re broke okay?!) then hopped on the metro. We went to an area with a beautiful cathedral, walked inside, then walked around in that area. (By far- my favorite area in Milan.) We saw the famous opera house and walked through a really cute park. Then we went to a Milanese grocery store, stocked up on candy, dinner, and alcohol, and headed back to our hotel.
We hung out in the room, flipping through the Italian TV when… WE FOUND CONAN ON!!! Seriously, made my day. So we watched Conan, played drinking games, and pre-gamed for a good 2 hours then headed back out. It was Halloween, so we were excited to spend a night out in Milan!
We went to the area where all the nightclubs are, only to find each one charging a ridiculous cover of 35 EUROS!!! Boo! But we were all desperate to pee, so we went to this nasty little sketch-bar to use their bathroom. The toilet consisted of a hole in the floor that you were supposed to squat over. I will never complain about the bathrooms in five points again.
We then made our way over to a cute non-sketch bar that had no cover-charge and ordered a few drinks. I had a Halloween margarita, which was delicious. And there we met some very nice German boys and we hung out with them for the rest of our evening.
We took a taxi home around 2AM and slept in until 10:30. Yay for comfy Marriott beds.
When we got up, we headed downstairs for the spectacular Marriott breakfast. It normally costs about 20 Euros a person, but they had a special for associates… 5 EUROS. WOOHOO! We stuffed our stomachs as much as humanly possible, then went back upstairs and packed up.
We checked out, took the metro to a pretty huge castle, then walked over to the church where the Last Supper is painted. Unfortunately to see it, you have to get tickets a year in advance. Oh well.
We then shopped in the high-end area. Not buying anything… boo for being broke.
Then we went for dinner over by the canal. We got a 15Euro Special: bottled water, bread, a wonderful Italian chicken dish with salad, dessert, and coffee. Not a bad deal for Milanese prices… Not to mention, our extremely attractive waiters provided excellent landscape. LOL.
After dinner, we headed back to the Marriott, got our stuff, and took a bus to the airport. Our flight ran smoothly. We didn’t crash. And we landed in Stansted around 11:00PM. BUT… there were no buses, so we had to spend the night in the airport. Can’t be that bad right? Wrong.
First off, there’s no carpet in stansted so we had to sleep on the linoleum floor. Boo. Secondly, they turn off the heat at night. Put those two together= WE FROZE OUR ASSES OFF. Seriously, I maybe got an hour of sleep… Then I shivered my way to tears the other four hours.
We took a bus to London at 5 and then one back to Canterbury at 7. And I passed out on each ride. Thank God, cause I had class at 11AM!
Although we had some interesting sleeping arrangements, our trip was utterly fantastic. I love Italy, especially Rome. And I CANNOT WAIT TO GO BACK. Hint hint, Mom. <3
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