In Rome, where I encounter Enrique

¡¡¡Hola mis amores!!!

Disclaimer: for those of you who do not remember/do not know the Enrique joke, it will be explained later in this entry.

So much news to tell you!! Last week, on Wednesday, I went to see El Gran Silencio with my señora. It was a very well made film, and for the most part, it was actually, as the name indicates, in silence. It was really intense...but it really made me think, more than any movie I´ve seen for a long time. I think that´s what I´ve been missing in the past few movies that I saw, they didn´t provoke any real thought. It was so fun to do something with Babis. She really has become an important person in my life. Next Wednesday (my last Wednesday in Spain!) I´ve invited her to come with me to see La Natividad, which we are both looking forward to seeing.
Then on Thursday, Alec, Molly, Lauren and I went to the airport at midnight. Molly, Lauren and I went early (Lauren went to Amsterdam, but hung out with us at the airport beforehand). Let me tell you...it is impossible to sleep on the airport floor. It´s cold, it´s hard, and it´s uncomfortable. So we stayed up all night, telling ridiculous jokes and laughing hysterically at them because we were so tired, and later playing cards. I don´t even like to play cards and I thought it was the funnest thing ever. We were TIRED. Then we boarded our 6:45am flight and passed out immediately. Alitalia is actually a rather good airline.
Then we landed in Rome...we took the 10€ train to the center of town, near the Termini station, which happened to be a 5 minute walk from our hostel, The Pop-Inn.
Well...hostels are supposed to be for youths. And if I ever have to stay in a hostel when I´m past the age of 25, I think that I will need a better job. It was on the second and third floor of a random building, and it looked more like a dorm than a hostel. It was pretty small, and we were told that we had to leave our bags because our room wouldn´t be ready until 3:30. We left our bags, thankfully in a locked room, and trekked out to see Rome. We stopped along the way at a pizza place - they have huge pizzas just waiting for you to come in and buy a square. The men cut it for you right there! We then made our way to the Colisseum. We were completely awe-struck, we just stood there and posed for "Roman" pictures for a good 10 minutes. Then we made our way in, passing men dressed as Roman soldiers who you could get your picture taken with (as we were entering, a man asked an American woman if she wanted a picture, and she muttered to herself "only if you lift your skirt up!" and I started cracking up. I think she was a little embarrassed that someone had understood her). We skipped the line, because thanks to Alec´s research, we had bought the Roma Pass, which gives you free entry to two main attractions in Rome and a bus and metro pass good for three days. We wandered around the Colisseum for a good while...there was an exhibit on Homer and the Iliad (oh my, I couldn´t remember how to spell that) and I broke out in my tour guide voice (I´ve developed it while in Europe over these past few months) and read quite a few excerpts for Molly and Alec, sending us all into sleep-deprived hysterics. We stood there, looking at this piece of architecture that´s been here for so many years...I was very impressed.
Then we moved on to the Forum, and because I have a short attention span, I kind of don´t remember what it was exactly, except some really neat-o ruins. We took a bunch of pictures, a lot of silly ones, and walked around. Then we decided that we were starving, so we searched for a restaurant and ended up at a kind of okay one, nothing really special, and had some pasta. Then we decided to try to find the Trevi Fountain, but ended up in different piazzas instead. We found a Christmas market at one, and walked around for a while, and then, of course, got some gelado. Molly, Alec, and I comprise the helado crew in Spain (along with Vanessa, who was in Ireland) so we consider ourselves to be good judges of ice cream.
Then it got dark (it gets dark early in Rome) and we finally came across the Trevi Fountain. We were soooo impressed, we started throwing coins in immediately, taking photos of us tossing them over our right shoulders to ensure that we will come back someday. Then a British couple offered to take a picture of all three of us, and told us that they had thrown coins in on their wedding anniversary 26 years ago and they had returned this year with their three sons. We decided that they were the cutest couple in Rome, and proceeded to name them Mork and Mindy. Whenever we brought them up again, we would all saw, "Aww, Mork and Mindy, they´re so cute."
Then we found a nice restaurant and sat down for an early dinner. We were soo tired, and I was COLD. I don´t know why, but during the whole trip, as soon as the sun went down, my hands turned to little ice cubes. We ordered pizza and sat outside, where they had heat lamps (which did absolutely nothing for me) and enjoyed some really good food. The waiter gave Molly and me free sodas, and Alec was slightly perturbed, which only made Molly and me laugh. I tried to get us going on some "thought-provoking" topics, but we were all too tired to really consider stuff, so we basically told silly stories and laughed some more.
Then after paying the bill, we got more gelado (very important) and I nearly froze to death with it, haha. Then we tried to make our way home, but unfortunately got very lost. Actually, I knew the whole time that we were going to come across the Colisseum sooner or later, but given my bad reputation with directions, no one listened to me. We briefly panicked, asked some directions and continued on the way that I had said we needed to. I led Molly and Alec in a rousing rendition of "The Ants go Marching" to keep everyone´s spirits high. I´m sure we annoyed one or two Italians that night!
We got back to the Pop-Inn relatively early despite getting lost. We finished checking in, and the girl at the reception/little counter gave us each a paper cup of wine and told us that everyone was going to meet later to go out. We thanked her, took our little cups and went to our room. She showed us the bathroom, which had a broken shower and a random, sketchy towel and Molly and I renewed our vows not to shower, and this time Alec joined us. We put on our pajamas and Molly and I took the larger bed, which was really two beds pushed together. Alec got the corner cot, which sunk nearly to the floor whenever you put even a finger on it. We got a good laugh out of that and then 2 minutes later we were all completely passed out.
The next morning, we got up at 7...yes, we were very focused on this trip! We got up at 7 and left the hotel by 7:30. We went to the Traveler´s Café down the street, where we had little coupons for a drink and a croissant. The girl was very nice and we had chocolate croissants and I had cappuchino (oooh, so good). Then we went to Termini station, which was very close, and got on the metro to head to the Vatican. We loved listening to Italian...I think it´s a very pretty language and I would love to learn it. We got off at the metro and went directly to the Vatican Museum. We only had to wait in line for about a half hour, which was good, because once again I was FREEZING. We spent a good deal of time in the museums...they are very interesting, and I think you could stay there all day. We saw the Sistine Chapel, which, quite frankly, was different than what I expected. Although very beautiful, it certainly wasn´t what I had in mind. We didn´t stay too long in there, and proceeded with our tour. The ceilings in the museum are completely covered in beautiful artwork - Molly and I walked around with our noses in the air and we were afraid that we would have neck problems later!
After we left, we stopped briefly to get more pizza (haha) and to look around a little tent sale that they had. Alec bought some glass figures for his friends, and I remembered how my dad used to bring them home for Michelle and me.
Then we went to St. Peter´s Square. I have seen it in pictures, I have seen it on TV, but nothing could have ever prepared me for this. It is absolutely one of the most impressive, most beautiful places I´ve ever seen. I can´t even describe it to you - the way the sun hits it makes it seem completely unreal. We took tons of pictures, every time we walked another 5 feet, we saw something else that we had to capture. Then we got in line to enter the Basilica. Again, we only had to wait for about 20 minutes, which was good, because I was so excited that I was about to pee in my pants. We went in, and went directly to the tombs. We were walking around, and it was nice, but it was mostly old tombs that I didn´t really know who they were, and then suddenly we were in front of Pope John Paul II´s tomb. There were people standing by, praying and crying, and there were guards there to keep the line moving. I started to cry as well - I have never felt such a strong presence in my life. It took me a few minutes to compose myself, and then we were back outside and entering the Basilica.
I almost started crying all over again. I had to hold Molly´s hand when we first went in, it completely took my breath away. Again, what makes it so intense is not only the structure and the art, but the way the sun hits everything makes it completely unreal - it brings you closer to the presence of God. We walked around, I stopped in a small chapel to pray, and then I overheard a woman asking a guard if there was mass. He said yes, so when she was done, I went to ask him the same question. He informed me that there was indeed mass, and the Pope would be saying it. He told me that people with tickets would come in first, but then anyone could come in. I decided immediately that this was not something that I could miss. We left the Basilica to go get lunch, and I went one more time down to the tomb of Pope John Paul II. I prayed for all of you there.
Then we went and got another good lunch, complete with a gelado. They have a kind called biscotto, which I assume is like the cookie, that I fell in love with. We walked around the market a little more, and I stopped at a stall, where the man asked my name and told me that his friend had been looking for a Sarah all his life. His friend then told me that I looked like a Sarah, because my eyes were like dessert.
That was when we left that stall.
Then Molly and I went back to the Basilica (Alec decided to go to a castle nearby instead) and I asked a police officer one more time to clarify if there was mass. He didn´t have a clue, and asked us our names and told us to stay with him instead of trying to get in to the mass. He was about 40 and really ugly. After a very hurried ciao, I told Molly that I was going to ask a nun, because I was tired of asking skeezy old men. I went to a nun who was part of the already curling line and asked her if she spoke English. She did not, but she spoke Spanish, so I asked her if there was mass. She told me that there was actually evening prayer service, called Vespers, with the Pope. I asked her if we needed a ticket, and she said, "oh you don´t have one?" My heart fell, because i knew there was no way we could get one now. She then opened up her purse, pulled out an envelope and asked how many we needed. I almost kissed her (on the cheeks, Spanish style), but she brushed off my thanks like it was no big deal. We got in line, and after waiting for a while, entered the Basilica.
We could sit anywhere, and as the front was completely full, we sat towards the middle, where we could sit close to the aisle. I sat four seats in, next to some more nuns. When Pope Benedict came in, he was about 10 feet away from me! I got really emotional again, and grabbed Molly´s arm and kept whispering, "It´s the Pope!!!" It really was one of the most exciting moments of my life, and he walked right by me again after the service. The service was beautiful...I was so glad that we had the opportunity to go.
Then we met Alec at the Spanish steps, where there was a marching band playing. It was so funny, it was like everything was perfect just for us. We then moved on to a piazza where we had agreed to meet another girl in the program Hilary, who happened to be in Rome as well. We met up with her, and we went to a resaurant nearby. It ended up being more expensive than we thought, with all kinds of little commoditites tacked on, and we were all pretty angry. But the food was very good, and it was fun anyway. there was a man who sang opera to earn money who was absolutely incredible. I gave him a euro, the first street performer to earn one from me.
Then we decided to get some dessert, so we headed out back towards our hostel. We ended up near the Colisseum. there was a place that Molly had seen earlier, so we went in.
And this, my dear amores, is where I met Enrico, aka, Enrique.
This is where the joke of Enrique comes in. My friend Andy at GW, who I miss like crazy, has this theory that I´m going to meet a man named Enrique while in Europe, fall madly in love, and call you all when it´s time for me to leave and say, "Hey guys, I´m going to stay in Spain and have Spanish babies with my husband Enrique." So throughout my time here, I´ve been on the lookout for the man who will sweep me off my feet, but as of now he still hasn´t come.
Although Enrico tried pretty darn hard.
Enrico was our waiter at this fine establishment. He started off immediately, when Molly and I decided to look at the gelado before sitting down at our table. He ignored Molly completely and proceeded to ask me which ones I wanted to try. I didn´t really want to try any, but he kept picking out different ones and getting them from the guy behind the counter and feeding them to me. I never felt so silly in my life. He tried out four or five and then Molly and I went downstairs. We were laughing hysterically, and then Enrico came back down to tell me that he had a special offer for me, a kind of tea and a cake for only 5€ (the regular price would be 12€), so he had to take me back upstairs to look at all the different kinds of cakes. So I trekked back up the stairs and looked at all the cakes, which is where he asked me my name and then told me his name was Enrico, at which point I started laughing hysterically. He took no notice and continued to tell me that I was very beautiful. I thought this was pretty funny too, considering that I hadn´t showered in two days and I was wearing almost no make up. We went back down and we persuaded him to extend his deal to my friends as well, so they got the cake and I ended up getting coconut helado (I happen to really like coconut). He brought mine down immediately, and the others had to wait at least 15 minutes for theirs (he also only cleared my plate, everyone else had a dirty plate in front of them until we left). He kept coming over to our table and putting his arm around me, asking me questions and absolutely ignoring the fact that there were 3 other people with me. Alec was getting really pissed off (sorry, there really is no other way to say it) and kept saying that he was going to pretend to be my boyfriend. We all kept laughing every time Enrico came over and tried out another one of his lines. He kept telling me to come back, and asking what we were doing that night (the answer is sleeping). Then we paid the bill, which was considerably cheaper than it should have been and he told me that he was going to give me a "tour" of the restaurant. Because I never get myself into these situations, I naturally assumed that he actually did want to give me a tour of the restaurant, or at least, I didn´t think he would try anything. But of course, I found myself in a very awkward situation at the empty bar, ending with me turning away when he tried to kiss me. We went right back out to the table where my friends were waiting, laughing really hard, and we left. Enrico, like the little engine that could, encouraged me to come back the next day, he would wait all day for me.
I made Molly run down the street with me.
And this, my friends, is the story of Enrico/Enrique, and why you don´t have to worry about losing me. I will indeed be coming home in two weeks, he failed to seduce me and I will not be staying in Italy or Spain to have foreign babies.
We got back to our hostel later, around 12:30, and went directly to bed, still laughing over Enrico. The next morning we got up around 8 to go back to the Basilica to climb the Cupola. I went into the Basilica first and found a place to go to confession in English. After staying in the Basilica for a little bit longer, I joined Molly and Alec in climbing the over 500 stairs to reach the top of St. Peter´s Basilica. It was a VERY long walk, my legs were very angry with me afterwards, but my eyes and my heart were thanking me. It was one of the most incredible views of my life. You get to see the inside of the dome in the Basilica, all mosaics and then you climb up and see all of Rome in its glory. We took some of the most amazing pictures of my trip, and walked around for quite a while.
When we were done, we walked around the square for a bit longer and then went out to find lunch. we found the cheapest place of our trip, and I thought it was one of the best meals that we had. We were all really tired, and conversation was getting a bit dry, but we enjoyed the meal nonetheless. Then we walked back to the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain to see them in the daytime. Between the two, we found the best gelado place in all of Rome, I´m not even kidding you. They give you the most enormous thing of ice cream you have ever seen in your life, and they have the lightest, most exquisite ice cream I´ve ever had (I was very excited, as you can tell). We were all quite content.
After walking around for quite a bit, we decided to get something light to eat, since we wouldn´t eat again that night. We stopped for still more pizza and we were all pretty much dying. It was definitely time to go home. We stopped off for a last huzzah at the Pop-Inn to pick up our backpacks (which were not locked up this time, but fortunately still there) and head back to the airport. Our timing was pretty good, and we got to the airport with time to spare. We got on our plane, where once again, we all passed out. We were late coming in, and I didn´t get home until 2am.
When I got to my floor and stepped off the elevator, I was pleasantly surprised to see a wreath on the door, and when I opened the door, I realized that they had put up the Christmas tree while I was gone. I went in the kitchen, where I found a plate of green beans and potatoes (yes, actually one of my favorite things here) waiting for me, which I ate. Then I took a shower, because I really didn´t shower for 3 days and I was absolutely disgusting. When I went to my room, I found my bed folded down like they do in hotels, a glass of water, and a little snowman hanging from my lamp. I almost shrieked I was so excited, but I was too tired and immediately went to sleep. My first class the next morning was luckily cancelled, so I didn´t have to get up too early. Babis´s daughter, Turu, had her birthday this weekend, and they saved me a piece of chocolate cake, which I had last night. I had bought her a scarf at the Rastro, and she called me yesterday to thank me for it. I have grown attached to everyone in my Spanish family.
I went yesterday to the Christmas market in La Plaza Mayor to look around. I didn´t buy anything, but I was kind of surprised by all the weird things they had. Stalls selling Christmas ornaments also sold fake dog poop and Halloween masks. I thought it was rather strange, but the Madrilenos seemed to enjoy it.
I have only two weeks left in Spain...two weeks from today, December 19th, 2006, I will be on a plane at this time, flying home to all of you. I am both excited and sad, but I am so thankful that I have you all waiting for me when I get home.
Muchos besos y amor como siempre