A Day Trip.

I have a tiny confession to make. Ever since I came back to Rome after my last trip home I've been somewhat less than enthusiastic about my life here. This has bothered me. Please, don't get me wrong- I love my life here and I'm in no hurry for my time to run out, but having had such a wonderful trip home part of me has been pining for that part of my life, leaving me somewhat disconnected from all things Roman.

Today, however, has given me a new wave of excitement about this place. I'm finally excited about all the things I still haven't done or seen here. Why? Well, we went on a little day trip today, and it was lots of fun!

The train coming into Tivoli.

This week I started to make a list of things I'd like to do before I run out of Roma time; you know... nearby places I'd like to visit; landmarks I haven't yet stumbled upon. That sort of thing. Well, this morning Anna and I both woke up feeling uncharacteristically energetic and enthusiastic and so we though 'No time like the present' and set about checking something off our wishlist.

By lunchtime we'd convinced Rosa to join us and were sitting on a train to the nearby town of Tivoli. About an hour's journey away and less than €5 for return train fare this was a lovely afternoon. We didn't know anything about Tivoli, but had heard that it was very pretty. Five minutes out of the station we came across Villa Gregoriana and ere not disappointed by the beauty of the place. We also had a really fun hike!

We spent the afternoon following various trails, gasping awestruck at the   waterfalls and magnificence of the valley we were in... and took lots of pictures. Not even rain could dampen our spirits and so we trekked on and made the most of our afternoon exploring caves and ancient temples, enjoying the exercise of our rambles and taking lots of photographs!

When Rosa tells you to get in a cave and look like an enthusiastic starfish... YOU DO IT.

More cave fun.

The three of us looking over the 'Valley of Hell', post rainfall.

Rosa and I in an empty water feature.

After a few hours of rambling and exploring we finally made it to the highlight of all tourist destinations and cultural institutions: the coffee shop. We were very lucky that it was just as we went in that the heavens really opened, and threatened to completely drench us,  that we stumbled upon this delight. We had a coffee, with free peanuts, crisps and biscuits... and then decided to stay and have a beer too, as the rain decided to get heavier just as we were thinking of heading back to the station. The people in the bar were lovely, and made sure we always had snacks. Warm snacks too.A wonderful afternoon. We also found out that there are two more villas in Tivoli, and so may go back again soon.

So after a day of fun, I'm once again very excited to be here in Italy. I've got lots more on my list, and so hopefully I'll be busy exploring (and blogging) over the next few weeks!

If you're ever in Rome and feel like getting out of the city for an afternoon- try out Tivoli. It's beautiful! And the whole day (Train, villa entrance and drinks) all cost us less than €15 each!

Double the Fun

Whoever said 'two's company but three's a crowd' has obviously never spent a weekend with my wonderful friends. I've just had a visit from two of my school friends, Tara and Joanne, and regardless of what that idiot may have thought it was truly a case of Double the Fun and non-stop laughter. One of the little things that made this weekend stand out from all the others visits I've had was the girls' attitude. They came with next to no idea about what the wanted to do in the touristy sense and very little intention of letting primp time and hangovers detract from our fun. With no pre-conceived notion about how the weekend should unfold we were completely free to just go with it... and get camera crazy.

The girls were very lucky to come when the sun was shining and so I opted to say 'sti cazzi' to roman convention and join them wearing shorts, highlighting the fact that we were tourists. We spent the day just wandering around and naturally stumbling upon sights such as the Imperial Forum, the Vittoriano, the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps and happily just found a sunny spot by each, where we could natter away and enjoy the sunshine.

The next day we decided to persevere with our 'the best plan is to never have a plan' plan and proceeded to stumble upon the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, the Colosseum and more. We had lunch in Campo dei Fiori and dinner in Trastevere, which was so cheap but unbelievably delicious and devised one liners that kept us giggling like school girls right up until bedtime.

Monday, their last day here (weep!) was the only day we had any sort of mission in mind, the Vatican Museums. But as we've already established plans ruin all good things and as soon as we saw the sheer volume of tourists gathering and heard that there was over an hour's wait we said 'stuff it' as they were happy with having already seen some of the Vatican. Instead we spent the morning hanging out in the garden of Castello d Sant'Angelo before going wandering again. We got of slice of pizza for lunch, which we enjoyed in Piazza del Popolo before we finally had to come back to the flat so that Tara and Joanne could pick up their stuff and get to the airport on time.

What was amazing about this weekend was that although we saw lots, we didn't actually really do anything. It was so much fun! There's a lot to be said for the company of old friends. Those that know where your coming from and are always there to help you think up what to do next. I haven't laughed so much in ages, even the slightest knowing look would set me off. These girls know too much! I almost hadn't realised how much I missed them! And I can't wait to get them back n my daily life either.