Day 1 - Caffe

Bon Giorno!

Welcome to il Tour de Gelato -- my trip to Rome described by way of the gelato I try each day. There is a gelateria down the street from the apartments I am staying in, which makes a gelato a day a fairly simple endeavor. Also, gelato here is about 2 euros. so dirt cheap compared to what I would pay for worse gelato in the US. It is fun AND delicious.

The Play-By-Play

My trip to Italy started Sunday at 9 am, when my parents came to pick me up and bring me to the airport. In the gate, I met some of the people who were also on this trip, and to my relief they were just as shy at first as I was. We warmed to each other quickly. Our flight departed around 11, and it took two hours to get to Atlanta. I napped. We got to Atlanta and had our last American meal at Fridays--most people had burgers and fries, naturally. I napped again at the gate for our flight to Rome, in a chair. Suzy was amazed.

The flight was long, but at least I had a window seat. I slept as long as I could, but sleeping was incredibly difficult when reclining was not an option. I woke up with a sore back, and then found out that movies were free. I'm sure my neighbor really appreciated how funny I found The Princess and the Frog. Finally, after  what seemed like forever, we touched down in Italy. Customs and security were laughable when compared to American airports, which was fine by us. We wanted to get settled in.

The apartments we are staying at are actually pretty nice. The windows are big, the ceilings are high, and the kitchen is pretty spacious. There is a grocery and a gelateria nearby. All of the girls that I am staying with are nice. When we got there, the people who maintained the apartment were still cleaning it up from when the last group that was staying there. This resulted in the beds not having sheets on them yet. Even though we were all exhausted, none of us wanted to sleep on the bare mattress.

Our first venture into Italy was to get groceries. It was mostly breakfast food and milk. I got fresh peaches to eat with my cereal. THAT was only 4 euros. The adventure did not last long, but it got us out of the apartment. When we got back, I chowed on trail mix and sat on my bed. My pillow, sketchily not covered by a pillowcase, kept beckoning. I had to get out again. Suzy, now my roommate, and I set out in search of real Italian pizza (and gelato).

The pizza place I had seen was closed. We assumed it was because of  siesta, which lasts from 2pm-4pm here. Suzy and I ended up wandering around for a while before attempting to turn back around and skip the pizza. Fortunately, we got lost, and ended up finding an open pizza place. Pizza for two was also 4 euro.

The Gelato

I can't recall the name of the gelateria we went to, but it was wonderful. I got caffe - coffee flavored. I thought it was appropriate. The trip was exhausting, and I like coffee flavored things. Overall, a quality choice, and considering the reason I picked it, was perfectly representative of the exhausting day I had.

My roommate Suzy and I, smirking for the camera

I got my gelato in cone form, which I do not recommend when you are as tired as I was at the time. It was difficult to walk and prevent the cone from becoming a huge mess at the same time. It was smooth and creamy, and tasted exactly like coffee ice cream should.

Post-Gelato "Activities"

I'll admit it. I took a nap. I know that I shouldn't have, but I did. I hadn't even gotten my sheets for the bed yet-I just put a t-shirt over the pillow and passed out. I woke up just in time to think it was Tuesday morning and freak out about my looming presentation (which I will be doing tomorrow) before I realized that we had not even gotten dinner yet. Dinner was great. We had infinite appetizers, and the pizza I had ordered was HUGE. Dinner took hours, in the traditional Italian fashion, and dessert was tiramisu, another caffeinated sweet.

Stay Tuned!

Tomorrow we start sight-seeing, and I will have an opportunity to put pictures on this post and the next post. I will be presenting on the Temple of Vesta and taking lots of pictures. Check it out next time!

Ciao!