Dreaming Rome

Here’s an update of my weekend with Randi and our trip to Rome! I’m really behind on blogging because this was March 13^th- 17^th but I’ll try to write about my time in Germany soon.

Randi came to Naples! So great to see a familiar face!

Randi, my au pair friend from Kentucky and traveling soul mate, came down to Naples to visit me! After a loud and obnoxious reunion at the train station I got to show her around Naples and take her to my favorite places. She was having knee problems and I know all too well how that goes so I was happy to be her human crutch the whole weekend. After she arrived and met my host family we went out to explore the area around my house, get graffes, pizza at my favorite restaurant and then dessert at an American café. We also went shoe shopping which resulted in no purchased shoes even though I managed to break a pair of shoes I tried on…oops.

Our crazy boat guide sporting a USA hat!

The next day we got up early and caught a hydrofoil to Capri, one of the islands off the coast of Naples. My host family actually has a summer home in Capri! First, we took the most thrilling bus ride along the cliffs to visit the Grotta Azzurra or the Blue Grotto. It was only worth it because of our hilarious guide, shamelessly flirting with the American girls in hopes to get a good tip. The water was beautiful but the boat ride was short and its way too hyped up as a tourist attraction. A million laughs later we grabbed a pizza and walked around downtown Capri. There weren’t many people on the island because it’s the off season which was nice. We took the ferry back and, in my opinion, it was way better than the faster hydrofoil because 1-its cheaper, 2-its so huge it carries cars too, 3-all the locals take it, and 4- you can walk out on the back of the boat. After we reached the port in Naples, we hopped on a city to bus to go to a castle along the coast, and this is where it gets interesting... but you’ll have to read the next blog post to find out why. After a quick visit to Castle Nuovo, we stopped by my favorite gelato shop and Randi got to meet my friends Serena and Tony.

View of Capri from the cliffs on our bus ride

On Saturday, we took an early train to Rome and had nothing short of an amazing time! Theres just way too much to write about and I’m not sure I can even put it into words so I’ll just give you a quick overview of what we did:

Inside the Colosseum, obviously. 

•  Stayed at the coolest hostel on the planet with strangers that became family in a matter of hours
• Went inside the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatino
• Got caught in the middle of a Syrian manifestation march
• Piazza Venezia- Monument to Victorrio Emanuel II and the tomb of the unknown soldier, balcony where Musilini gave several of his speeches
• Saw Papa Francesco again
• Ate the best pizza and gelato, of course
• Fabio, owner of our hostel, gave us free pizza at our hostel
• Went out to the Drunken Ship with everyone from the hostel
• Got roses and polaroid pictures from Bangladesh immigrants
• Fabio drove us around Rome to the secret keyhole, the optical allusion road, and the highest point in Rome
• Got pulled over by the Guardia de Finanzia, aka the police, in Fabios car
• Visited Basilica of St. John Lateran in San Giovanni, the most ancient church in the world and more important than the Vatican
• Got lost in Trastevere, a really cool district in Rome

Hundreds of people in the square to see the Pope

We met a few more friends that night!

Our hostel was pretty freakin awesome- Dreaming Rome Hostel

My weekend in Rome was incredible. Even though I had already stayed in Rome for 10 days before moving to Naples, this was the weekend I really fell in love with the city thanks to Fabio and his hospitality and, of course, my partner in crime Randi! 

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.”- Jawaharial Nehru