Mi Scuzi!

After a very long journey by train, I arrived in Rome yesterday! The trip started at 7:45 a.m. in Bern, switched trains in Milan, and docked around 3 p.m. in Roma. My italian is non-existant, so its already been an interesting visit. I am staying at the HI downtown, which is literally a block from the train station... incredibly convienient because the train station has some good and cheap sandwich shops, and the Metro built right into it! Before heading to the hostel I purchased what is called a 'Roma Pass', which gives the holder 3 days of included public transit, 2 free museum entrances and then discounts on museum and site entrance fees after that. Found the hostel, put my bags down, and in walks my new room mate Milgas (*need to check the spelling). We hit it off, and within moments of meeting we are out in the street exploring our surroundings. We saw the Fontana di Trevi (from the film 'La Dolce Vita'), the Coloseum, the Quirinale, the Palazzo di Exposizione, walked the perimiter of the Arco di Tito, and the monumento a Vittorio Emmanuele II... the route we took had us walking for 4.5 hours! There is always something to look at, somewhere to get lost... Rome is awesome! Bonus: within the first 5 minutes of going out adventuring yesterday, I saw a Space Invader! For those who aren't aware, Space Invader is a street artist who is based in Paris, but who travels around and leaves his alien tile art in other major cities. I took a picture of it with my camera, but not my iPod... sorry Fernando! Everywhere you look, it is absolutely gorgeous. Ruins all over, fountains, piazzas, nice gardens. The street vendors narrow right in on the tourists; for instance, instead of showing you a scarf with the Vatican on it, they start to wrap it around you and tell you how pretty you look! Ah! In addition, the vendors who sell food will come right up to you and say "DRINK! Very cold drink! Drink, drink!", until you walk away. Today I was planning on seeing the Vatican Museum; however, turns out that the Pope makes his weekly address on Wednesdays! My room mate Charlie and two other Brazilian girls made our way to St. Peters Square, grabbed some great seats, and saw the Papa himself. Really, when in Rome... He is literally like a rock star. People were freaking out to see him live and in person. Everything was said in 5 different languages, and the Vatican officials acknowledged all the special groups present. Afterwards he blessed the crowd, and was so kind as to extend his blessing to our family members. I made sure to pick up a blessed rosary from one of the nearby shops... Hostelling is sometimes hit or miss... but I feel so far that I have been really fortunate in my hostelling experiences. This time around I have met Charlie, a pastor and personal trainer from New York. He is the one who told me that the Pope address was happening this morning. He is a super nice guy who is travelling for 40 days, to see new things, and walk the whole time. When I told him about the Camino he was floored... he had never heard of it and is now interested in doing it the next opportunity he finds for travel! This is exactly what I want; I want to inspire people to do something new, or that others may find a little crazy... the Camino is exactly that! A journey that is entirely for the pilgrim and is a chance to think and be in your own head, overcome obstacles, change your way of looking at things, physical change... Charlie was really blown away by all this. I am so glad I was able to introduce him to something totally different that he might enjoy! Anyways, after the Vatican, the four of us walked over to the Castel Sant Angelo. At this point we broke off, I went into the museum and the others headed to see the area surrounding. At first I was worried about the Castel... not sure it would be worth the time or the money. Luckily with the Roma pass entry was free, and the building ended up being really cool. It's also a mausoleum... creepy! I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering the halls of the Galleria Nazionale di Arte in the Palazzo Barberini. Spent my time enjoying the works of Frau Filippo Lippi, Caravaggio, El Greco... Rooms upon rooms dedicated to the different schools or art throughout the centuries; even a few trytichs! The Palazzo itself is nothing short of amazing; every ceiling is lavishly decorated and painted. Not allowed to take pictures in the museum, but if you know me, then you know my camera was constantly nearby... So, tomorrow, my plan is to see the Vatican museum and afterwards I am going to try and get to the beach! It was 28 C yesterday at 3:30 p.m., and close to 30 C today, so an afternoon on a beach will be glorious. I only have 9 minutes of free internet left! Must update Facebook! Ciao.