Last day in Rome, arrivederci!!!

---

Today was relaxed because I had already seen almost every landmark on the map and then some. My only goal of the day was to go see Palatine Hill so taht morning I was up at 9:30, munched on the same old breakfast and headed off before the heat took over. I decided to walk to the Colosseum instead of taking the metro because there looked like there was a park or something near there. Turns out, there was a park and boy was it pretty! People and families were sitting around and it was very different from the bustling metro (and less sticky. and less smelly). From the park, I looked ahead and I saw the colosseum - it was such a spectacular view - framed by pink flowers (bouganvillia I think..I know I messed the spelling) and dark green trees.

I entered Palatine hill and was surprised to see how much area it covered. I walked around (sometimes in unplanned circles) with not really a direction. There was able to be in quiet (I think the only quiet place in Rome) and it was almost a meditative area. I tried to imagine what the buildings looked like unruined. I spent about 3 hours there (my skin showed it) before I got a bit bored and sun tired. I find now that when traveling, it's so much easier to just go go go but that taking a siesta - especially in the summer - makes the rest of the day so much more enjoyable. You're able to rest your swollen, blistered (in my case) feet, get in the shower and rinse some of the metro sweat off your body and have more energy for later.

I got back to the hostel and did just that, a little 1 hour power nap. ahhhh. When I woke up, I ran into Ilia and Turner (Kirkland, WA boys) as well as 2 other boys from Colorado springs. They actually knew Jesse and Kate, my previous roommates, and tried to meet them in rome but the pair had already left for Florence because they were tired of Rome. Asher, Sam, Ilia, Turner, and I hung out on the porch drinking a beer and sharing travel stories (as one does when socializing in a hostel). They chainsmoked like no other, which wasn't so nice before going to sleep, but at least we were outside with some ventilation. I'm not used to the smoke yet but in Rome i'm adjusting fast. I think italians smoke more than the Parisians do. We'll see about people in Nice.

That basically sums up my 4 days in Rome - shaky at first, but I certainly liked it and would come back under two conditions:
1. different season, like spring or early fall
2. different hostel (somebody mentioned the Yellow hostel and how good it was)

ciao Rome until next time
xoxo

p.s. thanks so much for all your comments. I wish I could post pictures but I dont have enough internet time and most of my typing requires great concentration since the keyboards are craaaazy.

---