Parents Arrive in Rome!

Today at around 10 in the morning I heard me dad call his infamous beckoning call of a Hawaiian  “wee” from outside of my apartment and I immediately knew my parents had arrived.  I am on the second story of my building so I opened the window of the kitchen and waved and called out from the window above.  I then buzzed them in and our day started!  We walked through the Saint Petersburg Square and saw that the line was way to long to get into the Vatican.  On every last Sunday of the month the museums are free which means the lines are so long its not even worth to wait when you have a limited amount of time.  We walked through the basicalla and stopped in churches around the way.  We bought the Roma Pass, which for the next three days will give us free transportation on the bus and metro system through out Rome along with free entrance to any museum of your choice.  We then walked along the Tiber river for a while and took in the views.  I first wanted to show them Trastevere which is where my school is located.  It is an adorable cute part of town that tourists do now know about made up of little cobblestone streets, local apartments, and some of the best family owned Italian restaurants.  I took my mom and dad into my favorite church called Santa Maria.  We then found a picturesque place to eat lunch.  The restaurant was in a little alley, with ivy along the wall, and a vibrant pink building color.  They weather was a little raining but actually surprisingly warm temperature outside.  We enjoyed a nice long lunch.  We ordered the vino de la casa which means the house wine.  Ordering the house wine is usually recommended because the restaurant is proud of it and is almost always delicious tasting.  I ordered my favorite spaghetti called spaghetti corbonara by dad ordered a fish dish and my mom ordered minestrone soup.  My mom could not stop raving about her soup!   

After lunch, I took them through my school and then we checked into their hotel and they took a nap because apparently they were not able to sleep the entire flight despite my dad’s efforts with a travel pillow and eye mask and two sleeping pills haha.  In that time I went for a run along the Tiber River.  Running along the Tiber river is one of my favorite things to do because it is located in the center of town however it is below ground level so in order to get down to it you have to go down a really long flight of stairs.  Thus you can be in the center of town and hear and see all of the happenings yet be in an uncrowded environment where most people can’t see you because the wall is so tall. 

For dinner I decided to take my parents to the most famous piazza in Rome called Piazza Navona.  After walking through cramped, narrow streets in Rome’s center, Piazza Navona is a revelation.  The visitor’s gaze is forced up from the cobblestones and out across the grand piazza. A vast expanse of open space, lined with Baroque facades and dotted with iconic fountains, pulsates with life at all hours of the day and night.  In fact, since its creation, Piazza Navona has been a hub of spectacle. In ancient times, it was a circus in the literal sense. These days, it’s a spectacle of Roman city life, of art, of commerce, and of socializing.

In order to get there we hoped on the 116 bus and were on our way.  I invited along my roommate Tara and my friend Tighe for the night.  We walked through the beautiful and magical Piazza Navona.  In the piazza we went in the baroque church of Sant'Agnese in Agone, awed at the three magnificent fountain, and enjoyed people watching.  In the center there were Italians playing the accordion, magic shows, artists, and children playing freebee.  The piazza is lined with restaurants under canopies all decorated.  For dinner my mom, dad, Tighe, Tara, and I all went to one of my favorite pizzerias.  The restaurant was known for their risotto.  After dinner, we went to the Pantheon and had some of the best gelato that you could find in Rome.  My favorite flavor is called stratecilla and I think I passed on this flavor to my mom who fell in love with the flavor.  Tomorrow we have a full day of fun activities starting at 8:00 am!