So I'm sure you're all wondering how my 21st birthday went in Rome- well, it was not as exciting as you all thought it would be, but I still had fun. I had class all day from noon to six, and everyone in my classes was wishing me happy birthday. I also received so many birthday cards- thanks to everyone who wished me a happy 21st birthday from the States- I got cards in the mail, e-cards, e-mail birthday wishes, and so many wishes on Facebook. I came home and was able to talk to my parents on Skype. Then, my roommate Shelby surprised me with a bottle of champagne and a cake. It was a great birthday already, and then we went to dinner at this Spanish restaurant near Piazza Navona, my favorite piazza in Rome. The restaurant was right across the street from La Botticella, the Steelers bar. Unfortunately, the Steelers bar was closed because the owner, Giovanni, went back to the States for Thanksgiving with his family. Even though I had just been to Spain, we ordered Spanish tapas and everyone shared their delicious food. My roommates Liz and Shelby were at dinner along with Bryn and Dan, two of my friends at AUR who go to school at Chatham and Point Park, so I'll hang out with them in Pittsburgh when I get back. Of course, we ordered sangria at dinner and then were off to have some more drinks. Since the Steelers bar was closed, we went to Campo di Fiori, the American section of Rome. Shelby and I had a couple more drinks there, but Shelby had a presentation the next day and we didn't stay out too late. I wish my birthday hadn't been on a Monday when everyone had tons of homework, but I'm so excited to celebrate my birthday in St. Marys and Pittsburgh- American bars, ready or not, here I come!!!
There was a meteor shower on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, but supposedly Tuesday was the best night to watch it. At midnight, my roommate Kelly and I met up with some of her friends and we went to a look out point near our school. We drank wine and ate cheese and watched for all the shooting stars. It was an awesome night in Rome and a great day after my birthday- as I've told all my friends, we have Polish birthdays in my hometown, which means we celebrate our birthdays for about a week or so. I missed having a family party with my brother Aaron for our combined birthdays, but I'm sure it will happen next year.
On Wednesday, I woke up bright and early to catch the bus to the Vatican to see the Pope. I had already been to the Vatican twice (once on a tour with Gwen and Kristen and another time for my art class). I was skipping my art class for this papal audience, but it was totally worth it. My roommate Kelly didn't have class on Wednesday morning, so she was coming to see the Pope with me. We walked from the metro stop to St. Peter's, went through security, and then had to cross St. Peter's Square and go through security one more time before we could go inside to where the papal audience was being held. I assumed that since there were hundreds of chairs set up in the Piazza di San Pietro that we would see the Pope outside, but this wasn't the case. The Swiss guards guided us to a building behind St. Peter's Basilica for the audience. Luckily, since so many groups want to sit together, we were able to find 2 seats only about 30 rows back from the stage. The cardinals were sitting onstage and we were awaiting the Pope's arrival at 10:30 AM. He came out right on time, and greeted everyone with his right arm, blessing us. Everyone in the audience clapped and cheered for the Pope. A cardinal read some Scripture in English and then many other cardinals read the passage in their native tongue. After that, the English-speaking cardinal announced all the groups from America and other English-speaking countries that were in attendance. As each group was announced, they raised their flag or sign and some even sung a hymn to the Pope. After the groups were announced, the Pope made his weekly statement from the Catholic Church, in English. After that, another cardinal speaking a different foreign language announced his groups and the Pope made his statement in that language. This went on for about 35 minutes, and then the Pope sang the Our Father in Latin and the audience was over. It was an interesting experience, and if I had had something that I wanted the Pope to bless, I could have taken it to be blessed after the papal audience. Kelly and I walked over to the Castel Sant'Angelo and took some pictures of Bernini's famous angel statues on the Ponte Sant'Angelo, or Sant'Angelo foot bridge. After that, it was time to go home to prepare for the rest of my classes that day.
On Thursday night, Chad and his friend Leah were flying in to Rome. They were taking a bus from the airport to the train station and Shelby and I met them at Stazione Termini. On Friday, I took them to the Vatican and since I had been there twice, I knew all about the sculptures and paintings. We went into the Sistine Chapel, and next on our list was St. Peter's Basilica. But first, we were hungry and ate the sandwiches I had made at the apartment. Then, it was time for Leah and Chad to experience their first Italian gelato. We browsed in some souvenir shops until we made it to St. Peter's. This was the first time I came on my own, not with my art class. I could take pictures and see what I wanted to see, not what my art teacher wanted to see. It is just so big, you can't even imagine. All the sculptures are made out of marble and it's amazing that they were able to build such a huge structure so many years ago, just with man power. Leah and Shelby didn't want to climb the dome of St. Peter's, so Leah and I climbed over 500 stairs to finally get a glimpse of the city of Rome from atop St. Peter's dome. It was another breath-taking view, and the climb was worth it. Comparing the climb to climbing the duomo in Florence, I would say that Florence is a smaller city, so it was easier just to take everything in. Since Rome is such a big city, I didn't know where to look, I almost couldn't believe that I was living in this huge place. But it's really happening, I'm really living here and experiencing the Italian culture in this ancient city. This is such a great opportunity and I'm so thankful that I was able to come here and experience it! Friday night we went to an aperitivo- only it was open buffet AND open bar from 9-11 for only 15 euro, pretty good deal if you ask me, since most drinks cost between 5 and 8 euro.
On Saturday, we woke up and it was time to do the typical Roman sight-seeing. We took the bus to Piazza Venezia, then walked to the Spanish Steps. My academic advisor had told me to go inside the McDonald's near the Piazza di Spagna. It turns out that it was the first McDonald's in Italy, so it had marble columns and marble statues decorating the inside of the fast food restaurant. It was really busy, so we didn't even both ordering food there. After we had seen the Piazza di Spagna and climbed the Spanish Steps, we walked down the road with all the expensive stores, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada, etc. Next on the list was the Fontana di Trevi. Chad and Leah couldn't believe how big it was! Since it was a Saturday, there were lots of tourists, but I honestly thought they would all be gone by November, but obviously not. Oh well, they bring the city lots of money, so I shouldn't be complaining. We tried some more gelato on our walk over to the Pantheon. We went inside the old building, then decided to catch some lunch at a restaurant that has good prices and even better food! They both ordered pizza and I had the gnocchi with tomato and basil sauce. I also couldn't resist ordering some zuppa- minestrone! Now it was time to see the Colosseum. I think this was their favorite part- we walked around it, but didn't go inside- we're students and on a budget! We went back to the apartment to rest before going out- Chad and Leah really wanted to go on a pub crawl, and since I had already been on the Spanish Steps pub crawl, we decided to do the Colosseum one, plus they would be able to see the Colosseum at night, just like I did on my first night in Rome! Unfortunately, they cancelled the pub crawl for that night, so we went to Scholar's, an Irish pub not far from the Colosseum. We weren't out too late, considering that they had to be up early the next morning to catch their flight back to Barcelona.
So now for my day with a celebrity, Ryan Cabrera. He sang several hit songs, including True and On the Way Down. He's also used to date Ashlee Simpson, and Joe Simpson used to be his manager. Well, it turns out, his new manager was my roommate Shelby's friend from summer camp. Shelby didn't want to go on the pub crawl with us, so she saw her friend (Ryan's manager) the night before when she was out in Rome. They exchanged numbers and he asked her if she would want to hang out with him and Ryan on Sunday. She asked me if I wanted to meet and hang out with Ryan Cabrera and of course, I said yes! We met them at a restaurant near St. Peter's, then walked back to their hotel. Ryan was really down-to-earth and nice and had a couple more tattoos that I had remembered, but he was a cool guy, not a super diva celebrity. It was funny on the way back to the hotel, in this one piazza, there were tons of birds flying over our heads. Ryan thought it was cool, so he recorded it with his video camera from his iPhone, and almost right after he put his iPhone away, he looked up and a bird pooped on his forehead. It was hilarious!! We went back to the hotel and had a glass of wine at the restaurant across from their hotel. Their hotel was located right near the Spanish Steps- it was pretty fancy. I wasn't really starstruck, since he was such a cool guy. Shelby's friend (Ryan's manager), Greg, was a nice guy too and they were traveling with a girl, Michelle, who was possibly going to be opening for Ryan on Wednesday, where he will be performing in Florence.
So there was my beautiful week in Rome. It was my birthday week and it was an interesting week. I was so glad to have visitors again and to just be able to relax in Rome and not travel anywhere. This week is Thanksgiving and I'm going to miss celebrating with my family, but thank God for Skype!! Until next time, ciao!!!
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