Most days we are up and going fairly early, either for free breakfast, checking out or sightseeing. When you share a dodgey room with 10 strangers, sleeping in isn't really all to appealing anyway. Our hostel in Rome is more of an apartment bedroom, where the breakfast and snacks sit out all day in the kitchen. Taking in the quiet, clean, dark private room we shared, we decided not to set an alarm on our first day in Rome. Well, it worked! We didn't wake up until about noon. Moments like these remind us that after 2+ months of traveling, your body starts to get a little worn down. So quit your judgin', we still had plenty of time to explore Roma!
First stop today was a little snack bar where jenny was in need of a coffee on the go. Since everyone here takes espresso shots, she ordered an American coffee... A few moments later they handed jenny a small plastic dixie cup of coffee. As she walked awkwardly holding the tiny treat, we decided America does take away best. We headed south through Piazza Republica, stopped in Santa Maggiore (a huge and beautiful basilica) and then winded around streets until we suddenly saw the Colosseum down another normalroad. Lucky for us, we waited less than 5 minutes before we walked in for free (love culture week!). The Colosseum is pretty amazing. The history, what's left, the sheer size of it. We imagined it in all it's glory; drunken brawls over favorite gladiators and men being eaten by starving lions. Roman history is craazy! We peaked around the neighboring ruins where archaeologist work all day but the cold grayness was not awesome for our ugg-less adventures. So we took our freezing feet to a cafe across the street for a snack.
Sometimes culture finds you in the least expected places... Now, everyone warns you about Italian men. And we have encountered a few charmers here and there but nothing to hilarious. As we waited for Jenny's panini, Kelly ordered a latte on which "I *heart* u" was written in chocolate. But this was only the beginning... soon we made a new friend. A 77 year old man, Gianni, came and sat down with us. He has lived in Rome (proudly of course) since he was 7 and we talked about places to see and where we are from. He told us about his 2 sons and his hobby of archaeology. Quite the charmer this guy was... He looked like a short round Robert DeNiero. Gianni asked us to join him at his apartment for homemade gnocci that he was making for his German friend in town. As always, we declined, And then we declined again... and again. But Gianni redeemed himself by sending us 2 huge glasses of the wine of Rome on his way out. Free wine? Yes please! As we sipped our sparkling reds, a young waiter from somewhere near Saudi Arabia came out from the kitchen with a finely constructed foil rose to present Jenny with. Habib, was sure he was in love, and sat down to win Jenny's heart. His Romanian boss decided it was rude to not make Kelly a flower, so he quickly took care of it, bursting Habib's bubble; but not as much as hearing about Shea the boyfriend. Nonetheless, in typical European fashion he persisted, with no luck of course. Before we knew it we had a free pizza and champagne! All we had heard about Romans being rude was bogus! This place rocks. Kelly sampled free gelato flavors with the awkward Romanian manager while Habib explained to Jenny not to "fear him" because he does not use drugs (insert heroin motion) or want her money. If that's not a solid first date we don't know what is, gotta love a man who lays it all on the table! While we applauded his efforts, it was all a bit too much. Our empty glasses were the que to get the heck out so we did just that. Assuring our new friends we'd be back tomorrow (yeah right). Turns out these Italian men are indeed quite forward. Just not the cute ones...
We walked down the street to catch a bus to an area called Trastevere. As we searched for our bus stop, a group on a pub crawl passed us merrily. Earlier in the day we were handed a flier for this event, but we never do things like this and usually venture out on our own. But this pub crawl leader was a smooth talker and convinced us to come into the first pub and think about it. For 15 euros we got free covers, open bar, pizza and tshirts. Since most drinks in Rome were upwards of 8euros it turned out to be a good deal. Since we don't clean up to well these days anyway, we went for it despite our very non clubby appearances. 2 hilarious sweetish girls quickly friended us as we made the most of the open bar. We made friends with a couple promoters for the team before they rushed us out to catch a bus to the next bar. On the way there Jenny befriended Jack & Ashley, an adorable couple on vacation from Whales. While Kelly friended Ben and Taite, backpackers from Canada.
By the time we were in bar #2 everyone was soaked to the bone from the rain. It was a bit to quiet so we all headed saugy to some big club. The rest of the night we danced and partied til the wee hours (details shall go unsaid seeing as they are a bit foggy anyway) when we shared a cab across town with Jack & Ashley. The four of us made plans to meet tomorrow night on the Spanish steps. New friends and a crazy night in Rome... We don't usually splurge or go out but it felt right, it was ladies night, and heck, when in Rome... :)
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