Tag: colosseum

Lemons, charm bracelets, and the Vaticano

Published on by miadervisevicLeave a comment

In between classes and getting familiar with the city, I’ve found special things in the middle of it all. One specific place so far is a charm bar I found! Getting a charm bracelet in London made me want to make another, but this time representing my time in Rome. Walking through the streets on a finally warm and sunny day, we make it to Paolina, a little charm bar by the Colosseum. The shop itself was very tiny and held only a few people at a time, to which we had to wait a little to get into the store. However, after making our way finally to the charms, we were ecstatic to see all the wonderful, little, cute charms they had! While my friend picked out charms she liked, I made mine Italy themed, including charms such as the Colosseum, ‘Ciao Bella,’ the Italy flag, and a little ‘bowtie’ pasta shape! After creating such cute charm bracelets, we decided to explore the city more and find other places to go.

Nicole, who is chronically on TikTok, always finds new and fun places to try in Rome and this week’s victim was Limoné; a gelato store that sells different lemon gelato in lemons. The perfect Pinterest gelato that we had to try. As a girl who loves normal lemon gelato (and basically gets it every-time) I knew I would love this place. 11/10! So insanely good. We made some vlogs for our abroad channels and enjoyed the gelato at the Trevi Fountain while watching people walk by. It was the perfect little day out!

Not only did that weekend hold fun little adventures, which included another trip to the Vatican (every last Sunday of the month its free to go inside), but the weekday also held fun adventures in the manifestation of my history course!

My history course about ancient Rome and Pompeii is an on-site course which allows me to know the deep history of Rome, as well as see it for myself. Seeing the buildings of the past in places such as the Roman Forum is phenomenal to see, learn about, and imagine what it could have been like in its time. To learn about the city while living in it creates a new understanding and reality of the history of the world, and where you fit into it. These huge monuments that withstood time, weather, and forces, are just amazing to learn about and imagine. While Rome is beautiful in the daylight, it also holds a different kind of magic in the night.

Seeing Rome in the night is a completely different experience. While the nightlife is what you might think about first, I’m talking about the serenity that comes over the monuments and the city at night. While the crowds are gone, the statues and temples are still there standing strong and standing bright against the darkness of the night. I was completely captured by the beauty of this architecture when I stumbled across both the Trevi fountain and the Pantheon after dinner one night. It’s difficult to explain just how surreal it is to live in that moment and also realize that your new “walk home” takes you past some of the most famous monuments in the world. I am actively living in a city that many people dream to visit, and for that I am forever grateful. To see Rome in all of its beauty in both day and night will forever ingrain itself in my memory.

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Rome Getaway

Published on by showtimeherink2Leave a comment

I had been planning this trip since before I got to Maastricht. I had always wanted to go to Rome and it was on my bucket list. I had planned to take the trip at the end of October (since that was when the period ended). Everything worked out in the end and on top of that, I was able to go for three nights instead two. The trip was so much fun, and I am glad I went. Here is a recap.

Like the trip to Budapest, I had a 4:30 am bus ride to the Brussels airport for an 8:40 flight. I did not sleep the night before and it did not feel like I was asleep when I was. I slept on the bus and the flight to Rome as much as I could, but since we had an amazing view of the Alps on the flight out, I had to gaze at their beauty. The flight was uneventful, and I landed in Rome without trouble. I then took a bus to the city center and the first thing I did was eat some pizza and ice cream. After that I walked towards the Rome Colosseum and the Rome Forum. I did not have tickets to get inside on Friday (I had them for Saturday) so instead, I walked around the area for about 2-3 hours before heading to my hostel to check in. After checking in to the hostel and getting settled, I made my way over to the Trevi Fountain. Expecting to see the fountain in action, I was greeted with an empty fountain as they were doing restoration work to the fountain. Other than that, it was still very cool to look at and I even found a good ice cream place by the area (I would go there every night after dinner during the time I was in Rome).

Saturday I was able to actually enter the Rome Colosseum for my tour. I wanted to explore the entirety of the Colosseum, but all the exclusive tickets were sold out, so I had to get a ticket that allowed me access to only the first and second floors of the Colosseum. The Colosseum was amazing. I have always wanted to visit it and I am glad I got the opportunity to visit it. After the Colosseum I made my way to the Rome Forum, which is part of the last remnants of the Roman Empire. The place was massive, and I was there for about 5-6 hours exploring the area. After then Forum I found some dinner and went back to the Trevi Fountain to get some ice cream and to enjoy the sight of the Trevi Fountain.

Sunday, I explored the Vatican City and although I did not go into any of the buildings, it was a sight to behold. I walked around the area for some time before making my way back across the river to the Pantheon, my next stop in the Rome Getaway. I explored the inside of the Pantheon, where I saw sculptures and paintings from the times of Ancient Rome. I spent the rest of my day walking around the city and ended off the night with- you guessed it, more pizza and ice cream by the Trevi Fountain. I had an early flight out Monday morning, so I went to bed early. The flight home as quick and I was able to get on an earlier bus back to Maastricht so that was nice.