Stu's View:
Tuesday was off and running before I knew it! I slept like a rock by the time I finally reached the hostel Monday night. Nothing like a nice walk through Rome at 12:30. But the Colosseum is GORGEOUS at night! There were a number of others already asleep by the time I reached the hostel, but there were a number still up and about to talk to. A number were backpacking through Italy, and it was great to hear their plans for the trip.
Tuesday was off and running before I knew it! I slept like a rock by the time I finally reached the hostel Monday night. Nothing like a nice walk through Rome at 12:30. But the Colosseum is GORGEOUS at night! There were a number of others already asleep by the time I reached the hostel, but there were a number still up and about to talk to. A number were backpacking through Italy, and it was great to hear their plans for the trip.
I was up and off about 8am Tuesday. I decided to swing by the basilica Morgan and I had walked by as we headed to the hostel the day before. Santa Maria Magiore was fantastic! Again, I was struck by the detail, extravagance, and brilliance of the basilica. I took a number of pictures before heading off to see Morgan for the morning.
We quickly hoofed it to her school, and I decided to search for Jiniculum hill. Unfortunately, my eternal compass was still refusing to orient itself. That being said, I quickly lost myself on the small streets surrounding Morgan’s school.
I did find a wonderful park, fountain, and mausoleum…unfortunately, I wasn’t trying to find any of them. Jiniculum hill is an amazing overlook of the city, providing about ninety percent of the skyline. After a fair amount of backtracking, and a number of side sites, I DID finally find the overlook! The view was fantastic! It’s impressive the sheer size of the city. It’s hard to get a feel for the size when you are down inside the streets, but the view was breathtaking! Definitely worth the double walk through Trestevere ;-).
After I had my fill of eye candy, it was time to return to pick up Morgan. I ended up hanging out in the garden outside her class, and was lucky enough to chat with some of her Rome friends before she was done.
Her campus is beautiful and quaint. I think I’ve come to the conclusion that everything in Rome is beautiful, hands down. I have yet to look at anything that wasn’t beautiful. I surprised myself by taking a picture of not only a garbage can, but a sewer drain and two different pieces of graffiti.
After Morgan finished class, we headed for home! We made a delicious dish of home-made lasagna that was completely vegetarian. It was fantastic!!! Both Leah (Morgan’s apartment mate) and I asked if the noodles needed to be precooked. Apparently not! It was DELICIOUS!
And Morgan definitely knew what she was doing. After supper we headed for the Spanish steps! We both agreed that the vendor selling roses was obnoxious. He thought that placing the rose on Morgan’s lap and holding out his hand would prompt me to purchase a rose. We both blankly stared back at him. He finally got the hint, took his rose in defeat, and walked away. We ended up sitting on the steps for another 20 minutes before continuing on to wander Corso. We ended the night with some more fantastic gelato! Unfortunately, I don’t remember the flavors I picked out this time. I don’t seem to have the mind for that, unlike certain other blog writers. But I do know that it was delicious! Without a doubt.
We then headed back to the apartment, I said goodnight, and headed for home. The evening ended with another trek across Rome. And some beautiful night shots of the forum and the Colosseum after dark. It was fantastic!
Needless to say, after another full, packed day exploring Roma, I slept hard and heavy. I’m not even sure if I moved after the minute it took me to fall asleep. Little did I know what Wednesday had in store for me…
More to come tomorrow!
Morgan's Say: (much less cool)
Tuesday was my second day with Stu. He originally wanted to walk me to my nine A.M. final, but decided catching up on sleep was a better idea, indeed. I only had one final, and was hoping to be in and out. Wrong. We had class for an hour and a half before our final, but I enjoyed it so much I didn't mind. I probably didn't do as well as I could have on my final, but if it's not A material, then definitely B work, which I can live with. I headed back to my apartment where Stu was waiting for me. He was still tired so he took a half an hour nap while I layed with him and tried desperately to stay awake. We split leftover pizza for lunch and decided to spend my break on the bank of tiber Island. On the bridge to the island we noticed tons of locks latched onto ornate posts on the bridge. I realized this was the place where lovers place locks and then throw the keys into the river as a symbol of their eternal love for each other, awesome. We laid on the bank taking in the sun for awhile before I headed to italian class. When I returned we made the vegetarian lasagna (from my cooking class) I was nervous it wouldn't turn out especially after Stu and Leah told me in America you cook lasagna noodles before using them, in this recipe you do not, and I am not very confident in my cooking abilities to start with. While it was cooking Stu ironed all of his dress shirts (and a few of mine) while I blogged for Monday. We discovered we were both secretly planning to buy locks and keys for the Tiber island bridge, and decided to do it together instead. The lasagna turned out to be delicious, and we shared with most of my roommates with leftovers for lunch. For the evening we walked down the main shopping road to the beautiful piazza del Poppolo before walking down the same road back to the apartment, it was a beautiful stroll, with a stop for gelato, which was a huge ripoff. I may have been a tad crabby about it. We turned in a little earlier, with plans not to see each other until five o'clock the next day.
Morgan's Say: (much less cool)
Tuesday was my second day with Stu. He originally wanted to walk me to my nine A.M. final, but decided catching up on sleep was a better idea, indeed. I only had one final, and was hoping to be in and out. Wrong. We had class for an hour and a half before our final, but I enjoyed it so much I didn't mind. I probably didn't do as well as I could have on my final, but if it's not A material, then definitely B work, which I can live with. I headed back to my apartment where Stu was waiting for me. He was still tired so he took a half an hour nap while I layed with him and tried desperately to stay awake. We split leftover pizza for lunch and decided to spend my break on the bank of tiber Island. On the bridge to the island we noticed tons of locks latched onto ornate posts on the bridge. I realized this was the place where lovers place locks and then throw the keys into the river as a symbol of their eternal love for each other, awesome. We laid on the bank taking in the sun for awhile before I headed to italian class. When I returned we made the vegetarian lasagna (from my cooking class) I was nervous it wouldn't turn out especially after Stu and Leah told me in America you cook lasagna noodles before using them, in this recipe you do not, and I am not very confident in my cooking abilities to start with. While it was cooking Stu ironed all of his dress shirts (and a few of mine) while I blogged for Monday. We discovered we were both secretly planning to buy locks and keys for the Tiber island bridge, and decided to do it together instead. The lasagna turned out to be delicious, and we shared with most of my roommates with leftovers for lunch. For the evening we walked down the main shopping road to the beautiful piazza del Poppolo before walking down the same road back to the apartment, it was a beautiful stroll, with a stop for gelato, which was a huge ripoff. I may have been a tad crabby about it. We turned in a little earlier, with plans not to see each other until five o'clock the next day.
My eternal compass still doesn't work in London, no worries. Oh yes, it's been more than two months, too.
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