When In Rome

My official journey has begun!!  I am beyond happy with all that I have experienced so far!!  I am so thankful that I am able to experience Italy like this.  With freedom and my best friend Shannon by my side.  The only thing that would make it better is if I could show my parents how beautiful Italy is and share this with them!!  I cannot begin to thank you enough Mom and Dad for everything you have blessed me with.  Italy is honestly a dream!  And I know that it will only get even BETTER from here (if that is even possible!!) Prayers that everything else goes as smoothly as it has so far!

Our first few days on our trip to see the world were quite an adventure.  Saturday morning my parents took Shannon and I to the airport, and we hopped onto our first plane of the trip to Chicago O’Hare.  I read a few chapters of Mockingbird, the third book in the Hunger Games series, my obsession.  This was my first time to Chicago! Woo hoo!  Next stop - ROME, ITALY.  It was finally here!!!  Things were going way too smoothly…then our flight to Rome was delayed an hour.  Then two hours.  Then six hours.  They announced there was a possibility of it being cancelled.  Oh no!  Fortunately, Shannon and I were so giddy and excited that nothing could bring us down!  We miraculously met four other girls who were going on the same trip with API (Academic Programs International) to Italy with us!   This is where we established our beautiful friendship with our “plane adventure” buddies, Alyssa, Alycia, Kelsey, and Kate.  Alyssa’s mom happened to be friends with somebody at Chicago O’Hare and hooked all of us with the next best/fastest way to Rome.  This happened to be a connection flight to London with a short layover then to Rome!  Never been to London either!  All of us girls were hoping we would run into “The Wanted” or “One Direction” but unfortunately we weren’t lucky enough to be graced with their presences.  It was a long day of new places for me.  J  Our total time in airports/planes:  Waiting in Houston (2) + To Chicago (2.5) + In Chicago (8) + To London (6) + Waiting in London (3.5) + To Rome (3) = 25 Total Hours.  Holy moly.  Totally worth it!!

We finally arrived in Italy!!  Signs surrounding us in Italian, we made guesses on how to get around and about.  Shannon, the rest of the girls, and I all jumped right into the first taxis we saw and rushed to our hotel, Hotel Della Torre Argentina, to meet up with the rest of our API group.  We met up with them at Hotel de Bologna and had our first authentic Italian meal.  It was very different, yet delicious.  We met some of the coolest people ever, and found out that there were about twelve or so Aggies in our group!!  Meeting people and making new friendships is going to be one of my favorite parts of my journey.  After dinner, we were set free to explore Rome on our own!  Shannon and I love that our program gives us so much freedom to have our own unique experience.  A group of us wandered around busy alleys and had our first glass of wine.  Our group kept getting lost and circling back to this same fountain like four times.  Everyone was pretty jet lagged from the numerous hours in airports, so we had an early night, which is around 12 a.m. for Italians.  We are seven hours ahead in Italy!  So, when it is 3 p.m. back home in Texas, it is 10 p.m. here in Italia.

The next day was our first day to truly see Rome!  Shannon and I woke up late, oops.  This soon becomes a pattern for the two of us.  We missed breakfast, got ready in about fifteen minutes and walked down perfect timing for our tour around Rome.  Our tour guide, Manuel, was very educated about the history of Italy and showed us around the city.  Rome is incredibly breath taking and it is just like in “The Lizzie McGuire Movie”.  Cobblestone paths, gelato shops on every corner, draping flowers on every wall, statues of Greek Gods, and twisting alleyways.  Shannon and I discovered very soon that we are not cut out for group tours.  We are definitely “our own pace” kind of girls.  We like to stop, take pictures, wander, and take in the beauty.  We create our own little tour.  Manuel took us to the Fountain of the Four Rivers, the Trevi Fountain, El Panteon and Coliseum.  I know I will probably say this a million times, but no picture can capture the true beauty of any of these infamous landmarks of Rome.  The Trevi Fountain is an experience I will never forget.  Manuel taught us that if you throw one coin over your shoulder into the fountain, it is a guarantee to come back to Rome.  If you throw a second coin over your shoulder, you get to have one wish of your own.  After the Trevi Fountain, our group headed to the Coliseum.  Manuel taught us all about the rules of the Gladiator games.  One of my favorite parts of Rome was in the Coliseum.  Somebody sketched an “ATM” for Texas A&M University in one of the columns near the exit.  It made me so proud to be an Aggie!  #worldwidestatus.  Shannon and I were so impressed with how well everything was still standing!  After about bajillion years, all of the beautiful historical landmarks are STILL in MINT CONDISH (School of Rock Reference).  Later that night was the most fun night of the trip so far.  Shannon, Torri, Christin, and I had a roomie dinner at St. Anna Ristorante and shared a bottle of wine together.  I ordered a mozzarella di bufala pizza with ham on it…definitely not my favorite order, but at least I tried!  Afterwards, Shannon and I ventured off to find the rest of the API kids.  We were wandering around very lost for almost an hour.  Haha.  But no matter what Shannon and I do, we always have a blast with each other by just being little weirdies.  We finally ran into our friends Michelle and Sarah and followed them to this bar called “The Drunken Chip”.  Sorry parents, I can’t help what it is called!  We walked in with huge smiles on our faces because it was a karaoke bar with lots of our friends and American music!!  Karaoke is probably one of my favorite activities ever.  Shannon and I sang “Sweet Caroline” (which was a total hit) and “Call Me Maybe” and many other American favorites with all of our new friends.  Singing karaoke just makes you feel like a super star, haha. Italians start to go out way later than us, so this means they also stay out later.  We ended up going back to our hotel around 4 a.m. that night.  I guess we will have to get used to this!

The second full day in Rome was off to a late start yet again when Shannon and I overslept and missed breakfast for the second day in a row.  Whoopsies!!  We were so lucky we made it down just in time YAY as the bus was leaving for another tour day with our friend, Manuel.  Today we got to wear these headsets so we could hear every word he was saying.  We all loved his thick Italian accent.  He was like our uncle for the trip taking care of all us girlies.  Our first stop was a visit of St. Angel Castle.  Next, St. Peter’s Church to see The Vatican.  The Vatican has always been something I have longed to see since I have grown up Catholic.  The Vatican is something truly special for a Catholic to see because it is so special and sacred to us.  I was crossing my fingers that the Pope Benedict XVI would poke his head out his window and wave to us, but unfortunately no luck for us that day.  While inside the church, I had the opportunity to go behind this curtain to a small chapel area where I was able to say a few prayers.  That moment is something I will remember for my life.  For the rest of the time inside the Vatican, I took out my earpiece and awed in silence.  It was a valuable reflection time.  Afterwards, we were set free to do our own thing, so a group of us decided to go see the Sistine Chapel!  There was no way I could leave Rome without seeing it.  It was a long path to actually get to the chapel so Shannon and I took many selfies on the way. (You will see one below haha) The Sistine Chapel was breathtaking and way bigger than I expected!  It is a masterpiece that makes you want to just sit, look up, and make time stand still.  I will never forget that view either.  After all of that touring, Shannon and I came back and took a much needed cat nappy.  Then, we went to Insalata Rica for dinner where I had my favorite meal in Rome!  I ordered an Insalata Pinoli a.k.a. a “Pine Nut Salad”.  It was delicious!  Then I tried my first gelato in Rome!  I had been craving raspberry flavored gelato, so of course that is what I ordered.  Unfortunately, it turned out to be raspberry/licorice flavored so that was disgusting haha.  But that’s okay because I ended up getting chocolate mixed with cookies and crème gelato!  Yummy!!!  We went to bed early because we had to pack up our luggage for our early departure for Florence in the morning!

Reflection:

Now, as I sit here on our four hour bus ride to Florence, our next destination and home for the upcoming month, I can really take in the beauty of Italy and reflect on my time here so far.  The sun is slowly rising higher into the sky and shining down upon the breath taking hills of endless greenery.  It’s honestly perfect.  No picture can capture how truly flawless Italy’s land is.  God’s hands crafted all of this wonderful nature I see.  I am in awe.  I am truly blessed to be able to be here and soak this in.  I am so thankful that I made it here safely.  Why am I here?  What is this journey’s purpose in my life?  I have always been confident in who I am and my morals and values in life, but I want more.  I want to know myself in a deeper way and discover my purpose in this life.  I plan to challenge myself here.  Challenge myself to do things I never would.  Challenge myself to learn the language and culture.  Challenge myself to grow deeper in my faith.  I want to make new, genuine friendships that will last a lifetime.  This experience is more than just a vacation for me.  This is the first time in my life where I am truly on my own, far away from familiar faces and familiar places.  I want to open myself up to be the best Diane Claire Muller I can be and explore the world.  I know God’s plan for me is greater than I could ever imagine, so I have to let Him guide the way.  Take a step back from your life and ask: What is my purpose in this life?

Tanto Amore,

Diane