Adventures in Wonderland

It's currently hailing in Rome. Sarah and I are sitting on the floor of Morgan's apartment with three other girls looking through tour books and generally having girl time - something I definitely didn't realize it was possible to miss. The apartment is made for four people to live closely in, and over this week there are eight of us sleeping here. It's definitely cozy.

The flea market on Sunday proved to be a lot of fun and actually rather fruitful. I picked up an adorable hoody dress and Sarah got a scarf, and we had a good time trying to avoid all the merchants screaming "Speak English?" We'd planned to see the Colluseum, Arco di Constantino, and Roman Forum afterwards, but there turned out to be a marathon that wrapped around those particular tourist attractions, so we viewed them from afar and headed up a hill to look through a keyhole that showed three countries - Malta, Italy, and the Vatican. It was a wonderful day, so we strolled through an orange garden trying to avoid little kids picnicking nearby before heading back for an early supper and a re-watching of Gladiator.

Monday we slept in before wandering through the Campo di Fiori and spending the afternoon shopping with Morgan. It was a day of rest that was sorely needed at least by me, and it contributed heavily to my being able to get over a pesky cold that followed me from Scotland. Compared to Italy, it's a somewhat chilly, dusky, foggy country, and while the cold was appropriate there, it was a bit out of place here. I'm so ready to shed it that I've even been drinking some vile natural-remedy tea that Morgan claims fixes anything. I guess she's right, because it seems to be working.

Today was a bit more productive in the sight-seeing department. We actually went in to the Colluseum and hiked around the Palatino and the Roman Forum, which were beautiful in the late spring - little dandelines were poking up from carpets of short green grass that covered the floors of the ancient ruins. I could not help but think it would have been a beautiful place to live, but both Sarah and I wondered what the vegetation would have been like 2000 years ago. Would there have been the dandelines that made the whole place look so peaceful and pretty? I'm sure it was beautiful.

Morgan and Nate (another Cornellian) had to leave us while we were wandering around the Forum, so Sarah and I had to find our way back to Morgan's apartment. We climbed on the Victor Emanuel monument, which is affectionately known as the wedding cake, and somehow eventually ended up back at the Via Saint-Guiliano and climbed up the stairs to Morgan's apartment. Project Runway and gelato were on the agenda during the hailstorm, and now it's time to head to the grocery store and buy whatever mess we're cooking for supper tonight. Thankfully the hail has stopped, and I think the rain is mostly over. After supper we're planning the next few days...more later!