rome continued

i forgot to add yesterday, before the coliseum i had the BEST gnocchi i've had in italy (and i've had rather a lot). it was gnocchi al pesto. i actually think i like the food farther south in italy.

anyway, continuing! after the coliseum, danielle and i had the brilliant idea of going back to the hostel for a nap. we met some of our other roommates, who were from mexico, canada, and bethesda MD! hostels are a great way of meeting people all over the world, it turns out. we also met a guy who lives in singapore and studies at tufts. we took some time to sleep and shower, and then around 9, yes NINE PM, we met our friend luca and some of his friends for dinner. i can't believe how late people eat here. how do they make it so long after lunch?! we had a great dinner though. we all got un primo piatto (gnocchi al ragu), un secondo piatto (peperoni e pollo), and a dessert, which was some sort of delicious cream with strawberries. on top of that we got water, wine, amaro, and soda, and we only had to pay 15euro each for everything. it was a family owned restaurant. after that we went to a club called "mood" where luca's friend was throwing a party. it was a small club and there weren't too many people there, so we got to dance and hang out and talk. the music was fortunately a little more up to date than the other places i've gone to haha.

on sunday, the other girls left early and allegra and i went to a mass at the vatican. we were actually in the seats right up near the altar inside st. peter's, with the vatican's clergy giving mass. oh. my. goodness. there was an amazing choir too. i could hardly understand any of the mass, being in stylized italian, and parts of it were even in latin. but i knew what was supposedly being said at any point, knowing a catholic mass backwards and forwards. after that, allegra and i hit the spanish steps and the trevi fountain, which were both pretty packed for a sunday afternoon. then we went to the church of saint clement, which was AMAZING. the entryway is 12th century and the ceiling inside is 13th century, and then you can go down some steps into the 9th century church, then 8th, then 3rd (not positive about the numbers, but it goes way back to 3rd or 4th century)...it was really incredible walking down through history and seeing the ancient rooms and altars and everything. unfortunately no pictures were allowed, but it would have been too dark to take them anyway. after that we hopped on a train and came back to padova! we were both exhausted and slept for most of the train ride, and when i got back to the hotel i went to bed early. and that was rome!

so in italy it's impossible to predict when stores will be open or closed. in theory markets are open from around 7:30am to 4:30pm during the week, but if it's too hot or not busy enough people will pack up and go home early. on top of that, EVERYbody takes lunch breaks for a couple hours in the middle of the day, and the stores are all closed (except for restaurants of course). restaurants are closed one arbitrary day a week. on sunday the city is ABANDONED. i'm finally starting to get the hang of it. church bells also ring at arbitrary times during the day.

today i'll be working on my paper for my petrarch class, and hopefully i'll be going to the gym! i've got some gelato to work off. :P