The final stop.
Our hour-and-a-half flight continued to build my anticipation for what it would be like in Rome. I’ve always heard that Rome was majestic and architecturally fascinating, and I couldn’t wait to see what it would entail. We arrived in Rome toward the back half of the day where we ended up dining at the hotel we’d be staying at. Our hotel room was rather nice as well with two separate rooms, allowing for Jadon and I to have our own sector.
The next morning, our group ventured over to one of the most iconic structures in the world. The Colosseum. The walking tour of the Colosseum took us through nearly the entire exterior portion of the structure, which helped highlight the historic achievement of the construction of the Colosseum. I also ended up taking my daily Polaroid here. Our tour guide for this experience further helped me appreciate the history of the landmark, learning that the Colosseum cost about $1 billion in today’s money to construct and took around seven to eight years to build. After our visit there, we walked through the surrounding area where I saw certain structures that were built in B.C. B.C.! That is still hard for me to wrap my head around. We continued to walk throughout Rome when we eventually got our first free time of the day. Three hours of it in fact. Today, Jadon and I ended up going on our free time with our small group leader, Ms. Panzarella. Panz brought so much fun to this day paying for Jadon and I’s lunch, providing insight into some Italian culture and overall providing our free time with unexpected fun. One of the things we did was venture around the Piazza della Rotonda. While waiting in line I called my dad in what ended up, ironically being one of my favorite parts of this day. My dad never fails to inform me about something I don’t know or make me laugh. Him and I talked for about 15 minutes, just adding smiles to my day. The free time on this day was truly special to me. As if it couldn’t get any better, we made our way to dinner where we were treated with Roman Pizza and a banana gelato for dessert. Top three meals I’ve ever had in my life. Ever. Dinner pretty much concluded our first day in Rome, but the next day held experiences that will live in my mind vividly.
Day two held a trip to the Vatican. Not immediately though. We made a couple of stops beforehand. Our first stop was at the Spanish steps and the Piazza di Spagna, where we’d then walk to the Trevi Fountain. The area was packed, but Jadon and I still managed to take some pictures along with our Polaroid for the day. The next stop, at the Vatican, came and it genuinely blew me away. The art. The architecture. Just Beautiful. The Sistine Chapel left me speechless, with iconic paintings all over the room. Things that I’ve seen in pop culture and on the internet I was seeing in real life. In a historic place. That one room is burned into my memory. St. Peter’s Basilica also left me in awe, especially as a Catholic. As we left the Vatican I purchased a bracelet that was blessed by the Pope. The Pope. This was one of the most tiring but memorable days on the trip, so when we got back to the hotel best believe I slept well.
At 7 a.m. we were on the road to Pompeii from Rome with the drive only being about three hours. It felt relatively fast. The tour through Pompeii stunned me with the whole site feeling fake in a way. Obviously I know it’s real but it felt surreal that this area was preserved so well due to the ash and everything from the volcanic eruption. I learned a ton of interesting facts and strange ones about what went on at Pompeii. They were freaks over there. The whole city was extremely fascinating though with the stone architecture throughout our tour. Having gone south, it was noticeably hotter in Pompeii than it was in every other place we went. It didn’t bother me too much though, because it was basically a spring day in Texas and 80 degrees isn’t anything to a Texas resident. We didn’t do too much after that tour, and when we went to the hotel that night we had a beautiful view outside our window. Sadly we had a curfew, so Jadon and I, along with our roommates couldn’t sit outside for long. We ended up going to sleep relatively early as we had an early morning in Capri the next day.
The next morning we headed to a port where we’d hop on a boat to travel over to Capri. I took Dramamine for the boat ride and I knocked out until we docked at Capri. I think the boat ride was supposed to be 30 minutes or so, but it genuinely just felt like five for me and then we were in Capri. The first order of business was, once again another boat ride, this time around the perimeter of the island. The weather felt amazing and the views were impeccable. During this boat tour, we went through the “tunnel of love” arch listening to “Mamma Mia” providing another memorable experience. The boat tour highlighted Capri and was one of my favorite things we did throughout the entire trip. The scenes were amazing and vibes were at an all-time high during that moment. When we eventually landed and took a walking tour throughout Capri, the views were just as good if not better than from the water. The Garden of Augustus especially gave me some of the most eye-catching sights I’ve ever seen. From the beautiful housing, to the perfectly blue water, to the plants, trees and rock formations it was like something you’d see at the end of a movie where the main characters would stare off into the sunset. After the garden, we went to swim in the Mediterranean Sea for around an hour. The water was perfect for cooling off from the sun beaming down on us that day in Capri. Then we took a boat ride back to mainland Italy where we would take the three-hour drive back to Rome. During this drive, the thrill and experiences started to set in. I just experienced the coolest two weeks of my life. I only got two and a half hours of sleep that night. Just enjoying the place I was in and because the Dallas Mavericks played game one of the NBA finals at 2 a.m., and I had to be up to watch that. Duh.
That next day was a mixed bag for me emotionally. I was happy to go home, but I just had the most exhilarating time overseas with special people and special places. We flew from Rome back to London, briefly stopping at Heathrow. I can die happy if I never have to visit that airport again. They took forever to check me and my bags getting off the plane and there was practically nothing to eat there. I had another mediocre sandwich, but I did secure some Premier League Soccer cards, so you win some, you lose some. The nine-hour plane ride back was miserable. Middle seat and I felt the full nine hours. It was miserable. I felt uneasy getting off the plane and stressed getting through customs along with finding my bags after the flight. Eventually I did. Then I saw my dad. It hit me. I was home.
