maravillosa madrid: wine, gelato, and oranges by the trevi

Day 4

May 8th, 2012

The morning started off pretty early. It was Nikki's 21st birthday, so that was exciting! She got to spend her 21st birthday in Rome - how amazing is that? We got ready and packed all our stuff because we had to check in at our hostel at 11am. It was nice because she shared the desserts that Angela had bought her the night before with me, so that was our breakfast. It was sad though because we were all going to be separated. Ariel, Angela, and Alim were going to the Vatican that day and then were going to spend the next 2 nights in Venice. When we had reserved the tickets and everything more than a month before, we didn't have the funds to go to Venice, so we decided to spend one more night in Rome. I was sad because we would be separated from the other, and I was SO JEALOUS because Venice is my absolute favorite city in Europe. Technically I've been there before, so it wasn't too bad. Still, I was SO close to going, which killed me.

Entrance to the hostel - looks like a palace, right?

We said goodbye to the others and took the bus to Piazza Venezia. Like most of the hostels in Rome, ours was located by Termini station. We weren't sure which buses went there from the Piazza so we decided to walk to Termini. I've walked there a couple times already and was leading Nikki there, but I was a genius and forgot to make 2 turns because I was busy talking. We ended up a little far from the station so had to backtrack a little. It took us a little while to find the hostel, so by the time we found it, it was 11:15 and were sweating and a little bit stressed. We walked in, and it turned out that we couldn't officially check in until 3:15. There was a luggage storage room, which was nice, but anyone could walk in. We left our stuff there, but we were a little worried about it. We took all our valuables with us just in case. It was really cool though because the guy who checked us in was Filipino. Once I heard his Filipino accent, I instantly felt comfortable. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing, but since my family is Filipino I always feel comfortable around them. We were waiting and then another Filipino lady walked in and they started speaking in Tagalog. The whole place was run by Filipinos You can't imagine how excited that made me, just because I haven't heard Tagalog for a while, and it reminded me of my family. I wish I could have understood them! I can't speak or understand Tagalog, which makes me really sad. I can understand simple words like yes, no, salamat, maganda, adobo, and pancit. Yup. Sad.

Anyways, after that we decided to go to Termini to find out how we would get to the airport the next morning. Turns out that there was a bus that left every hour or so that went straight to the airport. It would only cost 6 euros too, which was a really good price compared to the 15 we paid to get there. We reserved our spot, got our tickets, and everything was set. We had seen most of the major things Rome, but we hadn't seen the Spanish steps, so we decided to walk there. It was a bit of a trek there, but the day was beautiful, and the weather was PERFECT. We were both in sundresses with our shades and flats, and we were enjoying the sun, especially since it had been raining the majority of the time we were in Rome. We got to the Spanish steps, and it was absolutely gorgeous. The last time I had been there, the Spanish steps were a little mediocre to me. I didn't see anything special about them. This time, the whole place was strewn with almost a meadow of pink flowers. This time around, the Spanish steps were amazing. We were so happy to be there. It was nice because we were able to chill and take our time, taking pictures and enjoying the view. It was perfect.

After that, we decided to go to another Piazza a little further north because there was a church that Nikki wanted to visit. We walked there and decided to get some lunch, which would be our last time eating out in Rome. We found a little restaurant down an alley a block away from the Piazza, which had prices that were pretty fair. We sat outside under the awning, and it was really nice. Now, the thing about Madrid that I've come to appreciate is that you can ask for un vaso de agua de grifo, which is a glass of tap water. It's free, and the water's clean. In Rome, you can't do that. When you ask for tap water or acqua minerale, they give you a glass bottle of water and they charge you for it. In the restaurant, I ordered a pizza and Nikki ordered pasta. We didn't order anything to drink because we knew we had to pay for it. The waiter must have known that we were poor little college students because suddenly he came out with two glasses of water with ice - for free! That made our day. It was something really small, but it was really nice.

After that, we made our way to the church in the plaza. Turns out that it was closed and we had just missed it. Nikki was really bummed. At that time of day, most of the churches are closed. We had done most of the things in Rome, and the only thing left would be to go to museums. However, to enter museums you need to pay, so we were weren't sure what to do. Nikki asked if there was anything I wanted to do before I left Rome, and I said that I wanted to go to Piazza Navona (which I hadn't gone to yet this trip) and to the Trevi fountain one more time. We headed towards Piazza Navona, and when we got there I wished that I had hundreds of euros to spend. The cool thing about the Piazza, besides the pretty fountains and statues, is that artists and vendors can sell their drawings and paintings. All over the Piazza, there were hundreds of pieces of art on display that were absolutely beautiful. I wanted one of the Trevi fountain, but there was one of a dancer that was super gorgeous that I would've loved to have. It would be hard to get it home in one piece though, and I couldn't pay for it, so I had to let it go. It was relaxing just strolling and looking at the art though.

We walked away from the Piazza and just started wandering. We decided to "get lost." The thing about the center of Rome is that sure, you could try to get lost and wander around the winding streets and everything, but to me it's pretty impossible to truly get lost. We were wandering and strolling and ended up at the river. If you follow it in one direction you end up at the Vatican. In the other, you end up more towards the Colosseum. For a while, we just stood by the river, watching the water and trying to decide what to do. When we had bought our tickets in the morning in Termini, we had asked how to get to the Tivoli gardens because that was one place that I wanted to go that I had never seen because it's actually on the outskirts of Rome. The guy told us that we would have to go to the other station, but we had no idea where that was. We decided to just skip it because we didn't know the prices or anything either. Turns out, it was right by where we had lunch. We were right there. Nikki was the one who found that out because she was studying the map very intensely. She looked super upset, and I put my sunglasses on because I was trying not to cry.

Here comes the emotional part. The whole time I had been feeling weird because technically I've been to Rome, and I came to hang out with my friends and experience different parts of Rome. The whole time I had been good with the three, but it had been up and down with Nikki because she was alone. I knew that she liked being alone, but at the start of the day it had been awkward. It had been getting better throughout the day, and giving her the journal from Florence helped. However, in this moment standing by the river I regretted buying a ticket to Rome. I kept thinking that I could have gone somewhere else, like Ireland or Switzerland. Plus, it was killing me that we couldn't all stay together. Plus plus, I was sickeningly jealous that the others got to go to Venice. You have no idea how jealous I was - like it was sinfully jealous. I started thinking about what we did in Rome, and I didn't really do anything really new. I mean, the things in Rome are worth doing more than twice, but still. All that combined = a dumbly sad me.

We walked to Vittorio Emanuele and toward the Trevi. During that walk, I thought about everything and realized how stupid and ungrateful I was being. I had the opportunity to go to Rome not just once, but twice, and here I was complaining. I metaphorically slapped myself in the face and forced myself to have a better attitude. It's true, I didn't get to go to Venice, but technically I've already been there. Nikki didn't even get to go to Florence, and I went twice. Why am I telling you all this? First, because I told you I'd be real on my blog, and this is what really happened. Vacations aren't always happy happy time. Second, when I look back and read my blogs I want to remember what happened and remember my experiences, down to grimy details.

Back to Rome :) We arrived at the Trevi fountain, and the second I saw it I was instantly happy. We went to a little Italian grocery store around the corner, and Nikki bought some pineapple juice, and I bought a pack of 4 blood oranges for like a euro and something cents. We sat on a stone bench that wraps around the fountain and people watched, listened to the sound of the water, admired the details of the fountain, and just enjoyed each other's company. That moment was my favorite of the whole day. We relaxed and ate our fruit in my favorite place in Rome. It was warm, there was a cool breeze, and the fountain was gorgeous - a perfect moment.

After that we took a bus back to Termini and headed back to the hostel. Even though we didn't do too much, we did walk a LOT. We were pooped. We checked in and saw our room. To our surprise, the rooms and bathrooms were pretty clean. The room was colorful, and the beds came with new sheets and a warm blanket. We were in a 8-person room, and we chose a bunk bed away from the window. We relaxed and tried that Sicilian wine that we had bought Nikki for her birthday. We didn't have glasses so we used our water bottles - not the classiest way to drink wine, but it worked. Soon the other people in our room checked in. There was one Asian guy that seemed to be by himself. The others were a group of Americans that had studied abroad in Belgium. They attended college somewhere in the Mid-west - 1 girl and 4 guys. We were talking to them and they seemed really nice. So every night the hostel offers a pub crawl and entrance into a discoteca for 20 euros. We didn't go, but they did. You'll find out later how interesting that turned out...

So it was like 5pm by then, and we had nothing to do. How horrible is that? We were in Rome and already did everything. We were still pretty full from lunch so were weren't going to eat dinner. Instead, we decided to see the church down the street, Santa Maria Maggiore. We went there, and guess what? It was closed. Wonderful. We took pictures of the outside, and Nikki walked a little farther away to take a picture of the whole thing. As I was taking a picture, a guy was passing by and said hi to me. On instinct, I said hi back. Once the words came out of my mouth, I closed my eyes and was like DARN IT DARN IT DARN IT because once I responded, the guy turned around and came back. He asked where I was from, and I told him Madrid. He asked me again, and I said the U.S. I wasn't giving him information, so he was like, "Don't worry, it's okay. I promise I'm really Italian." In my head, I was like who cares if you're Italian. It doesn't change the fact that you're creepy. He was starting to ask if I wanted to get a drink when Nikki saw that he was talking to me and ran over. She asked if I was ready to go, and I said yes. He asked if we were sisters, and again in my head I was like, Okay, creeper, do we look like sisters to you?? Then we walked away quickly, and he said goodbye. So parents, if you're worried about creepers kidnapping me or reenacting a scene from Taken, don't worry. We got each other's back.

Well after that, we really had nothing to do. We decided to check out a place that I was on my list of cheap places to eat. Supposedly it was the oldest gelato factory in Rome and had super cheap gelato with big portions. I really wanted to check it out because Nikki hadn't had any gelato because it is pretty pricey. She didn't even let me buy her any on her birthday, but you can't come to Rome and not have gelato. Plus she's Italian and it was her birthday. Come on now.

On our way to the gelato place, the buildings started looking older. Suddenly guys were becoming creepier and creepier, staring at us or whispering "bella" when we passed by. Then we noticed that suddenly all the people were either African, Pakistani, or Filipino. It figures we would pick the Lavapies of Rome to stay in. We were seeing Doner Kebap places, and soon we entered Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, which was a beautiful, green park. Once we entered, a basketball rolled toward me, and I kicked it back to the guys. When I looked closer, everyone who was playing basketball was Filipino. Of course that shouldn't surprise me because that's all Filipinos play, but I hadn't seen Filipinos since my last family party on New Year's. They were mostly guys and kept staring at us, but because they were Filipino, I felt comfortable. That's probably not a good thing...but I was still happy. As we walked through the park, probably 85% of the people were guys and their eyes were all following us as we walked by. AWKWARD. We walked a little faster through the park and exited on the other side.

We came to the gelato place. It was called Palazzo del Freddo and had it's own building that opened in 1880. I guess they make their own gelato. Inside, all the people were locals, so that was a good sign. The building is not in a touristy area at all, so it would be hard to find if you weren't looking for it. The gelato was CHEAP. You see the sizes to the left? That huge 3 euro one would normally cost 5 or 6 euros in a normal gelato place. We got GIGANTIC cones for 1.60 euros. We each got 3 flavors plus a huge dollop of freshly made whipped cream. It was DELICIOUS. Of course, Il Crispino by the Pantheon has better quality gelato, but if you don't want to pay tourist prices, go to Palazzo del Freddo. The flavors I got was peach, banana, and tiramisu. Nikki's was really delicious! She got coffee, tiramisu, and caramel. I was glad that she had the chance to finally eat gelato. You should have seen the smile on her face when she was eating it. Moral of the story: it pays to do your research. If we hadn't, we never would have found this place.

After that it was getting dark, and we didn't want to wander around alone at night. We headed back to the hostel and changed to our pjs. We spend the rest of the night talking and relaxing. Nikki told me she had a great birthday, and to me that's all that mattered. I was so glad. Hey, she got to have her 21st birthday in the Eternal City. How cool is that?

Back to our American roommates. We knew that since they were going on a pub crawl that they would come back drunk. They came back at like 2am or so. They were puking and everything - at least that's what Nikki told me. She heard more than me because I slept through most of it, but there was a point at like 3 or 4 am where I smelled something weird. I thought I was dreaming at first and then I thought that maybe a pipe had burst or something. I woke up a little more and then to my horror, I recognized the sound. One of the guys was peeing on the floor. I was just like SERIOUSLY, WHAT IN THE WORLD. It smelled really bad. Then I heard Nikki's voice from the top bunk ordering them to clean it up right now. After that I fell asleep because I was super tired. The next day, I was trying to remember if it was a dream or not, and then I found the traces of the pee in the corner. Yay.

Well, other than the pee/drunk incident at the hostel, it was a pretty nice hostel I guess. Other than that, Nikki and I had a great day in Rome. Nikki told me that she was in love with the city. If she's that in love with Rome, I knew that she would love Florence and Venice. I'm 100% sure she's going to come back one day. When we all have money and jobs, we can come back and hopefully afford a hotel instead of a hostel. Overall, it was a great day with my host sister!

More Dino :)