Since my last update, things have been pretty routine. I booked my ticket for Prague, and locked in spring break in Paris, so I'm very excited about that!
So on Thursday night, my roommate Caitlin said she'd heard of this restaurant that we just had to try. We were a little skeptical, as it was 15 euros a person, and we're all broke college kids. But we eventually went, because food. It was called Tony's.
It was the best thing ever. For our fifteen euros, we got endless water, endless wine, bread, foccaccia, fried asparagus, bruschetta, fresh mozzarella and tomatoes, and calamari. And that was only the appetizers.
Then the plates kept coming. Oh god, the plates kept coming. The waiters were hovering, barking at us to make room. We had no more room. We were eating bread at a magnificent rate and there still was no more room. We had to stack things precariously to make it all fit on the table. I've never had calamari before, and was pleasantly surprised enough to eat several pieces.
Then there was the main courses. Penne in vodka creme and gnocchi in pesto sauce, followed by three plates of chicken parmesan. All washed down by more wine. It was the best and worst thing to ever happen to me.
And, as if that wasn't enough, the meal was finished with tiramisu.
And, being a gentleman, Tony (or rather, the waiter) gave us a bottle of wine from the restaurant to take home. Between the food and the wine, we had become rather fond of Tony, and gave him a round of applause. There was a little toasting, followed by shouts of "to Tony!"
Afterward we waddled home in a muddled but happy state, all declaring that we'd never eat again. I washed my face, flopped on my bed, and fell asleep in a comfortable food coma.
Friday was sort of calm, mixed up with wine night- this time featuring Dan's eggplant parmesan. He's going to spoil us and we're going to let him.
Today we got up early to see the Colosseum. You buy two-day tickets for both the Colosseum and the roman forum. We got a hint that the ticket line was shorter at the forum, so we went there and got tickets, then walked back to the Colosseum. And we did miss a pretty huge line! So, yeah, protip there.
The Colosseum was indescribable. It's so insane, being inside that huge structure, and thinking about the ancient Romans building it. You could look across the bottom and imagine seeing gladiators fighting lions, or imagine it filled with thousands of Roman citizens.
And take a few selfies.
After that, the group decided to walk down to a new piazza. Halfway there we got hungry, and I had the first bad meal since I've been to Rome.
The restaurant was just straight-up bizarre. We were sat down in the basement, which my friend described as a "classy subway terminal". There were black sequined curtains draped over random surfaces, a wall that was only mirrors, and it was weirdly silent down there, considering we were on such a busy street. The service wasn't good either- we asked for tap water, which they don't usually charge for, and the guy tried to tell us the tap water "wasn't good to drink" in Rome. Which is strange, considering we've been drinking it in our apartment since we got here. So we had to pay way too much for bottled water.
I got a dish that I'd gotten and loved in another place, and it was not nearly as good. Then at the end of the meal, Dan's chair broke. The back legs just popped off the rest. We made it stand up and then threw our money on the table and took off.
Afterward, the rest of the group went to the plaza, while I headed back. Our group stays out for hours, and I have a big presentation on Thursday that I need to prepare for. It's a big part of our grade, and everyone presents one day throughout the semester. I picked this week because I figured that once I start traveling, my motivation is gonna be sporadic at best.
On the way back I decided to stop at a street we passed. For those of you who know me, you know I'm a huge Lush Cosmetics junkie. Since I've been here, I haven't been able to use all my stuff, and my skin is not thanking me for it. Stress + new diet + no usual skincare stuff? It's a problem. I heard the shop was somewhere near the bookstore. So I poked around, and lo and behold, about five minutes later, I found it! Rejoyce!
The shop lady was very nice and let me try all of the fancy lotions on my poor dry hands. I didn't buy anything, because they were out of small pots and I was feeling broke after getting ripped off at the subpar restaurant, but the woman sent me off with some free samples of a face mask and face toner. Plus she slipped in the catalogue. "You can't read it, because it's in Italian," she said, "but you can look at the pictures!"
She gets me.
A few of my roommates are going out tonight, but I think I'm gonna stay in. I'm just feeling more of a quiet night tonight. I wish I'd bought some chocolate milk powder at the store, because I'd die for some hot cocoa right now.
