Rome Day 1

August 28, 2009

Our first day in Rome started with a walk to Campo de Fiori to visit an open-air market and eat fresh fruit for breakfast. Next, we found the Church of the Gesu where St. Ignatius is buried and St. Xavier’s arm is kept. Then we went to Arco di Tito and saw more Roman ruins. The ancient Roman tour continued with the Arco di Constantino and the Colosseum and Pantheon. I was like a kid in a candy shop, constantly amazed by the ancient and beautiful sites surrounding me.

Near the Pantheon, Tess and I got gelato at everyone’s favorite gelato place, Giollitti. This gelato was fantastic! I had nougat and straticella on a cone. Continuing in the Jesuit vein, we then headed to the Church of St. Ignacio where Bellermine and Gonzaga are buried. While trying to kill some time we got iced coffees and ended up shopping. This was a very bad idea because not only did Tess and I spend money meant for our travels, but we made it even more difficult for ourselves to pack. However, our purchases are very attractive.

For dinner we ate near the Trevi fountain and then visited the Spanish steps. We found some fellow English speakers who suggested a local Irish pub, Scholars’ Lounge where their friend Lloyd would be performing on acoustic guitar. We stayed at Scholars for a couple hours and really enjoyed Lloyd’s performance of his own acoustic/ mixed version of many popular songs.

When we arrived back at our hostel, we expected to be in the room for which we had a key and had been shown that morning. However, when we arrived, there was a note for us to call the man in charge except we didn’t have a phone. We went inside and found our bags out in the hallway outside the door. We finally were able to wake the man in charge by ringing the bell of a number of minutes constantly. There had been some kind of mix up and he had to take us to stay one night at his sister’s hostel. We threw quite a fit and let him know that we felt his actions were unacceptable. Luckily, everything worked out and not only were all our things safe, but we had a nice place to sleep even though it was a hassle to get there that night.