Over the past thirteen weeks, CowCat and I have really been on a rollercoaster ride. It feels like just yesterday I was moving in to the Albergo and confused when he came to inconveniently sit in the suitcase for fifteen minutes. From wandering into Katie and my bathroom at unexpected times, to photo shoots on the terrace, to that time he ate a bird (let’s not talk about that one), I’ve really grown to love and appreciate CowCat. Which brings me to this: CowCat definitely doesn’t understand English. He’s a cat living in Italy, in an Italian hotel, where no one speaks English and everyone only speaks Italian. Why did I ever think he spoke English? I’ve literally been ranting at him for 13 weeks and he has understood none of it. It’s no wonder he never listens when I’m like “let me pick you up!” or “don’t climb on my bed!” or “stay out of the wardrobe!”. I just can’t believe it took me this long to figure that out. I feel so bad.
I stayed in Rome this past weekend for three more days of freedom before the papers and finals start getting real tomorrow. It was a little sad on Friday morning at 4:45 when I wasn’t getting up to head off somewhere cool, but Rome is cool too and I just forget that sometimes. So Friday morning I slept in until 9 (crazy, I know) and made my way over to the Vatican! I’ve been to the Vatican since arriving in Rome for mass and to see the Pope, but I had yet to tour the museum and see the Sistine Chapel, so I put it on my to do list for the weekend.
Things that were amazing about the Vatican:
- The fact that it was off-season. Literally, I didn’t have to wait in any line at all. It was fantastic. I just walked right in. I’m never going to be able to travel anywhere during tourist seasons ever again after these experiences.
- The fact that they were decorating for Christmas. There was a huge Christmas tree being put up when I got there and by the time I left they were just finishing putting the star on top. I love Christmas.
- The Sistine Chapel in general. I would just die if I had to paint an entire ceiling by myself for four years. How boring. But the outcome was clearly worth it. Go Michelangelo.
I spent literally the whole day there between touring the museum, walking through the inside, and just wandering around. It was way more relaxing than traveling outside of Rome but just has fun at the end of it all. For we were actually starving, so we played it safe and went over to Da Luigi’s for pasta that was guaranteed to be good. I got penne alla vodka, which was good but will never compare to the penne alla vodka at Tony’s. Speaking of Tony’s, it’s closed for the off-season, which is the reason for my lack of mentioning it in the last few posts. Is that not the saddest thing you’ve ever heard? I was devastated.
On Saturday Carole, Rachel and I got up early to get coffee and fruit salads for breakfast before we started another day of Roman touring. Out first stop was La Scala Santa. La Scala Santa is a set of stairs on which Pontius Pilate ruled on in Jerusalem, and the stairs Jesus made his way up and down during his trial. The stairs had been brought to Rome way back in the fourth century, which is why they aren’t in Jerusalem anymore. There are 28 steps, and it’s tradition that you climb them on your hands and knees, so that’s exactly what they did. Honestly, it was way harder than I thought it would be. No matter how it sounds, climbing stairs on your knees is no easy task. At about the 8th step I remember thinking about how painful it was, but it serves as a necessary reminder that Jesus endured even more pain when he was crucified. It was definitely one of the most memorable things I’ve done in Rome.
After our time at La Scala Santa, we walked inside the Basilica di San Giovanni just to look around, then caught the bus to Eataly. Especially if you live in Chicago, you probably know what Eataly is. It’s like a massive food store on steroids. It’s an old train station, so very big and open, and there are four floors filled with all types of food from different regions of Italy. Also among the food are many restaurants as well, and on the top floor of the building they offer cooking classes. It’s an experience; you could spend the day at Eataly if you really wanted to. We spent the afternoon shopping around and sampling all the different foods; mostly pestos and olive oils. We stopped for a late lunch at La Pasta in Eataly for rigatoni alla pomodoro which was straight from heaven like most pastas in Italy are. It was fun to just be casually eating while people shop around behind you.
After returning from Eataly, we had much needed naptime before heading out once again to walk to the Trevi Fountain at night. It’s so much nicer and less crowded at night, so we were able to take our time hanging out there and shop around the street a little bit before heading back near the hotel to L’insalata Ricca for a quick dinner.
And those are this weekend’s highlights. Sunday was relatively uneventful. I had to work on a 10-page paper about the ruling and death of Julius Caesar, which is ironic because I typed it while on the ruins of the Theatre of Pompey where he was assassinated. Full circle. Time in Italy is really slipping away and I’m trying extra hard to get as much in as I can before I have to head back to the States.
Things I’m looking forward to most at home:
- Peanut butter M&M’s
- Peanut butter Reese Christmas trees
- Peanut butter cookies
- Peanut butter in general
Ciao for now, I’ll see you all in eleven days!
I'm still I'm still Haley from the Bend 