Arriving in Rome

PHOTOS FROM FIRST DAY IN ROME

The Rams smiling on the famous Spanish Steps.

Hey y'all!

It’s Carlie! So today we left the lovely island of Sicily for Rome, which is super exciting! We started off the day with a bang by pranking Tom. He left his phone at the table at breakfast, and Dana was kind enough to pick it up for him. However there was a price. We kept the phone and tried to see how long it would take him—which we think he would die without his lifeline of a phone—to completely freak out. We ended up taking bets to add a little entertainment, and Coach Brook won by predicting the meltdown at 9:11 a.m. on the dot.

The airport was a smooth experience, nothing out of the ordinary from a normal airport, and to pass the time we did what any group of girls would do and braided hair. Tom even said Sam Peters looked like a goddess boarding the plane with her around-the-head braid. When we landed, everyone got their bags and headed off to the taxis. When you think of a car chase in a movie with the setting somewhere in Europe, that’s not just how the people in the chase drive, but in real life Europe that's how everyone drives, or at least the taxi drivers. Between the difference in kilometers per hour and miles per hour and the drivers never staying in a single lane for more than a few seconds, it took us a little bit to not completely freak out and jump out of the car thinking walking was a safer route than vehicle transportation.

Our hotel is quite cozy. Seriously though, four girls in a room the size of most peoples’ bedrooms. But who’s complaining? We are in Rome, right?  :)

After checking in and getting settled, it was time to explore. Our first tourist attraction was the Spanish Steps, actually called the Trinita dei Monti. This was a beautiful white-stone building with two parts projecting upward like the Notre Dame, but with domes on the top, and they were white, of course. The steps were covered with people, and right before the steps was a little fountain with a boat in the middle of it. After a few great pictures we were onto the next one.

CSU players making wishes while tossing coins into
the Fontana di Trevi.

Next was the Trevi Fountain, or Fontana di Trevi. This is something, that if any of you have or are wanting to make a bucket list, you need to put on it! It was a lot of fun taking pictures and making wishes and throwing our coins into the fountain. It was definitely the stereotypical scene that you would think of with a wishing well, but on steroids.

Then came the Pantheon, which we saw as a place of worship. The architecture on the outside was like a Greek temple, like they built to worship the gods. Then on the inside was a huge dome, and along the walls were cavities full of paintings, sculptures, and sayings in Italian. Along the front was an altar surrounded by rows of benches. All of these places were magnificent and architecturally breathtaking. Neither words or pictures could explain its beauty. You seriously have to see Rome in person to truly understand and appreciate everything it has to offer.

Downtown Rome, and the Piazza Navona,
the site from Angels & Demons

After the Pantheon, we met in the Piazza Navona, which was just like a square with three fountains. The fountains were beautiful with many sculptures and hidden meaning, but the only breathtaking thing about this place was when we took a head count and one head couldn't be found. Kelsey Snider was missing and panic had struck us all. We split up and went on a Snider hunt for our lost teammate, hoping everything was alright. Deedra and Brieon came in clutch heading back to the Pantheon, retrieving the poor girl. We were happy to have her with us and to know nothing harmed her.

After the travel, tourism and drama, we were some hungry girls. Our meal was much different tonight than any other so far. We weren't eating in a hotel; we were actually out in the world of Italy! Our waiter brought us bowl after bowl of Italian dishes, where we took samples of each. There was grilled zucchini, eggplant, cauliflower, peppers, olives, an Italian-salad-looking thing that Tom said tasted like fennel. Then there was mozzarella and buffula mozzarella—made from buffalo milk for the cheese balls—then ham, salami, brescutto and meatballs. My favorite was the arancino di formaggio, which is just a rice ball with cheese and fried to perfection!

Stay tuned for tomorrow's blog. We will be seeing the Coliseum, and you will be hearing all about it from another lucky lady!

Love,
Carlie Foust