Roma day 1

Spring Break here we come!!! Studying abroad here in Spain means having the opportunity to travel throughout Europe on our 2 week spring break which is absolutely amazing!
The agenda is: Rome - Florence - Cinque Terre - Pisa - Venice - London - Edinburgh, Scotland - Dublin - Cliffs of Moher, and back to España
Lots of cities and a few different countries in a short period of time, and the first stop: Rome!!

Rome, the eternal city! We arrived around noon if my memory serves me right (it was kind-of awhile ago), and were welcomed by some fairly nice weather. First step was taking a bus from the airport to the city center in order to find our hostel and start scoping out the city. After an hour long bus ride, we found our hostel and learned about the transportation strike which explained why there were so many people driving like crazy on the road!!! After that initial impression, we were finally able to focus on the city.
First impression: Rome is amazing! There are so many wonderful monuments to see and the Italian language is fantastic! They actually do talk just like you would hear in the movies, with the fluctuations and excitement. It  was wonderful! Our first touristy stop was the Colosseum. Just walking a few short minutes, we all of a sudden were standing right in front of it, and it is absolutely amazing! To see something that is so well known and that, until that moment, I had only heard about or seen in pictures - absolutely incredible! After walking inside, we were able to see where the gladiators fought, where the underground tunnels were for the animals, and see how the Romans lived thousands of years ago. It was also fun to visit the Colosseum after we had finished talking about it in Art class in Spain.

The Roman Forum

After the Colosseum, we visited the Roman Forum which is the ruins of part of the ancient city. From one of the balconies, we were able to see the outline for the entire section; the basilica, the bathhouse, the streets etc. Also, from the balcony above the Roman Forum, there was an incredible view of a lot of the city.

After the Roman Forum, we had our chance to try some authentic Italian Gelato! Before this trip, I had never had Gelato, so needless to say, I was very excited! After a recommendation from our hostel, we went to a place that I think was the first Gelato place in Rome! After looking at the menu for about 10 minutes, and finally figuring out how to order, we all were able to try our first cone. Mine was lemon, strawberry, chocolate, and mango with whip cream, and let me tell you, it was amazing!!!! After trying our first bites, we said that we should go back to that place everyday and try every flavor. Haha, didn't quite happen, since they have a ton of flavors, but oh well. After food, we decided to go back to our hostel and get some sleep so we would be ready to get the most out of the next day!