Adventures in Italy

I returned last night at 2 am to Canterbury from a 5 day trip in Italy. It was an adventure, seeking out the beauty of Rome and it's surrounding countryside with my friend Spencer. Since it was such a long trip, I think the best way to share it with you is to take it day by day, so here I go:

Day 1, Friday: After lectures, we grabbed our bags and were off to town to enjoy a special Evensong service at the Canterbury Cathedral. This evening service was a traditional Anglican service with hymnals, choirs, and proper order. It was a time-warping experience to say the least; I would close my eyes and feels as if I were attending church in the 12th century. It was truly an experience I will never forget. Afterward, it was dinner with friends and then we were off on the train to the airport. However, as you can see from my earlier posts, there has been a ton of snow lately. If you know anything about English transit and the snow, they don't quite get along too well. On our way to the airport, we found ourselves stranded in downtown London because the trains had stopped running to the airport. After quite a bit of running around, we found our way to the airport with some newly made friends in a taxi with plenty of time to make it to our flight early that next morning. It was an adventure just getting to the airport, let alone Rome.

Day 2, Saturday: We arrived in Rome, Italy in the morning and got straight into the sightseeing. We hit up a lot of the major sites, including the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Column of Trajan, Arch of Constantine, Roman Forum, and the Circus Maximus. I loved just sitting on the steps by the Circus Maximus, soaking in the history around me, as joggers and dogs ran around the great track. Apart from all the history, my highlight of the day came from San Crispinos, a small gelatteria by the Trevi Fountain. This is a must-try gelato; they have many unique flavors, including wine, chocolate meringue, hazelnut, honey, and more. My favorite was hazelnut. It was so worth it, we were sure to return 2 more times.

Trevi Fountain

Best Gelato, near Trevi Fountain

The Colosseum

Day 3, Sunday: After some much desired sleep, we awoke on Sunday morning and headed to the Vatican, not really sure what to expect there on a Sunday. When we arrived at St. Peters square, we were amazed by the thousands of people swarming the center. We soon realized that on Sundays in which the Pope is in the Vatican (like this one), he looks out his window high up in the church, and blesses the crowd. It was quite cool (for lack of a better term) to get blessed by the pope, in 5 languages at that (the man is quite a linguist). After the blessing ,we explored the beautiful basilica (church) and the art inside. Next, it was off to the Spanish Steps, Mausoleum of Caesar Augustus, and Ara Pacis. We ate lunch over by the Mausoleum at this great little restaurant called Gusto. It was the best food I had in the city; there pizza was delicious. After lunch, we hit up this little shop called Mia, which was full of trendy trinkets and furniture, which was fun to look at (I found my new favorite chair/book case there); finally it was time for gelato again, but this time at Giolitti's, a well known gelletaria near the Pantheon, very crowded, but worth it. The end off the night, we walked around Piazza Navona, where a huge Christmas market took place. My discovery there: if there is one thing Italian Catholics love, it is their nativity scenes. Every other shop sold mainly nativity pieces. It was insane, but a fun time no the less.

The Pope blessing the crowd

St. Peter's Basilica

Giolitti's Gelato

Day 4, Monday - We decided to head out of Rome to a little town called Orvieto, before which we toured the Vatican Museum to see some famous artwork, including the stunning Sistine Chapel. It was only an hour and a half by train, which is just far enough to escape the city. The town sits up on a hill, looking over the Italian countryside. It was one of the most beautiful towns I've ever seen in my life. The quaint streets, the towering Duomo, the landscape views, all of it was priceless. We found this little mom and pop restaurant, where I had wild boar for the first time, which was really great. If you ever go to Rome, this is a day trip you MUST take. When we returned to Rome that evening, we checked out two churches I had been dying to see. One was the San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, Borromini's first commissioned work, and a beautiful one at that! The second, was Santa Maria della Vittoria, which houses the beautiful and historically rich sculptor, Ecstasy of St. Teresa.

Vatican Museum

Orvieto, Italy

Streets in Orvieto

The Ecstasy of St. Teresa

San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane

Day 5, Tuesday - We took our second day trip, this time to Tivoli, another beautiful place just outside Rome, up on a hill. The town was fun and quaint, but the highlight was definitely the Villa d'Este, a beautiful estate, with a magnificent garden that was unbelievable. I could spend hours in there, just reveling in God's beauty. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

View from Tivoli

The Garden of Villa d'Este

Day 6, Wednesday - Our last day in Rome we decided to do some tours and just soak in the city one last time before heading back to Canterbury. We did a tour of the Colosseum and saw the Pantheon in the morning. We then head to southern Rome, a much less toured area, where we found, what I think (as do some well esteemed food-bloggers) to be the best pizza in Rome. This place, called 00100 Pizza, was definitely not a tourist-trap; in fact, I don't know if they wanted us there at all, but we stayed anyways. The pizza was delicious! Finally, we ended the trip right with a final gelato from San Crispino, and then it was time to head back to Canterbury.

Sant' Eustachio Cafe - Hot Chocolate, SO GOOD

All in all, this trip was one of a kind. I love Rome; I love Italy; it was such a joy; but, in the end, Canterbury has won me over as the best place for me in Europe. I was glad to be back in this little town, where I have 2 more weeks to enjoy before it is time to head home. This weekend's adventure: Greece! I'll be sure to bring you all the news when I return. Until then, Cheers!