Roman Holiday

The next stop was Rome! I arrived on a day with absolutely awful weather - it was pouring rain and freezing cold - and my hostel was hands down the WORST I have ever had the misfortune to stay in. Whatever you do, stay AWAY from M&J Place Hostel if you are looking for a dorm! It has NO redeeming qualities whatsoever - the dorms are tiny and cramped, the showers are filthy, and the entire floor shares two bathroom stalls. Their only redeeming quality was their location - it was just around the corner from Termini train station. However, the lobby area was clean and the lobby bathroom was really nice - it might be worth a look if your budget stretches to private rooms.

After that downer of an introduction to Rome, though, the rest of my time in Rome was fantastic. I went to see the Coliseo, the Forum Romanum, and the Ara Pacis. It was really interesting to compare what I had learned about Roman arquitecture with the monuments and ruined buildings that I was seeing in person! I also went ot the Pantheon, and of course to St. Peter's Basilica. Now I can add the Vatican to the count of countries that I've set foot in, too!

However, the highlight of my time in Rome was definitely meeting Julien by chance. The top of the Pantheon isn't covered, so the floor has a series of small holes to drain the rainwater. I was walking along and keeping an eye out for the holes, to see how many I could find, and I noticed a guy doing the same thing. We smiled at each other and got to talking, then found out that we were both on Couchsurfing.org! It's a networking website dedicated to connecting "couchsurfers"- travellers on a budget who want to stay with a local - and hosts who have an available couch and want to show their city to a tourist. Julien was couchsurfing with Roberto the next night and invited me along to meet him. Of course, I agreed!

The next day, I wandered around the old part of town for a while, then met up with Julien, Roberto, and Lan, a girl from Malaysia who was also couchsurfing with Roberto. Roberto took us on a walk through Trastevere, then invited us back to his apartment for dinner, even though he was busy studying for his finals. Julien cooked a delicious tuna-pepper pasta and Roberto shared some delicious Italian cheese. Sadly, I had to leave before midnight to catch the last train back to my hostel, but that night was one of my favorite memories of my trip and a great introduction to the couchsurfing community.

This niche on the outside of the baths needed a statue. ;D

The Temple of Saturn in the Roman Forums!

The central statue group in Piazza Navona.

I was just going to take a picture of this lovely fountain, when a cocker spaniel puppy ran up and sat down expectantly in front of it. Then its human picked it up and helped it take a drink from the fountain! So cute! I had a smile on my face for the rest of the day.

Here's me with Julien, a French dude who's currently working in London and wandering Europe every chance he has.

Yay Couchsurfing!

The Tiber River is so beautiful at night.

As is St. Peter's Basilica.

We hung out on the steps for a while ...

Julien was trying different angles and exposure times for his camera, but eventually the security guard came over and yelled at us for sitting on the ground while the Pope was talking, or something like that. Whoops! None of us really understood what was going on, as we didn't speak a word of Italian.

Julien and Roberto, the makers of our delicious dinner!
"Do you have any onions? This recipie needs an onion."
"No, I don't. You French, always cooking with onions! Here, try using this garlic instead."
"... *chop chop chop*"
*pour*
"AHH that's twice as much olive oil we need! You Italians!"