rain, rain, go away

Sunday Sunday! I woke up early, did some yoga and meditation, then headed out with Ashley for what we had been looking forward to all weekend - the Porta Portese flea market! This is apparently the biggest flea market in Rome, open every Sunday from about 7am - 1 or 2. Ashley and I decided to go towards the second half of the day, to see if we could get some bargains. Check out this little article about the market: http://www.roninrome.com/%20shopping-dining/porta-portese. It wasn't raining (yet) when we headed out, which was a nice break from the rest of the weekend! It was still bitter cold, though, so we bundled up.

Oh my goodness, I can't even explain to you how BIG this market was! Thousands and thousands of people, soooo many vendors, and so much to see. I was overstimulated to say the least! Ashley and I had a few things in mind to keep an eye out for, but we didn't expect there to be so much of everything! The majority of things being sold were clothes, shoes, and bags, but as we walked deeper and deeper into the market there were countless treasures. Chandeliers, vintage paintings and posters, ancient books, a cactus stand, blown glass, handmade wooden boxes, screen prints, prayer flags, anything you could imagine for your kitchen, furniture, CDs, ... I even found some Singing Bowls! It was insane. People were everywhere. Ashley and I heard that it was a favorite place for pickpocketers, so we were careful with our bags. My muscle in my thumb was actually sore from holding onto my purse so tight at some points throughout the day! But we didn't have any problems, thank goodness.

We walked through the market for hours - completely amazed at everything going on around us. So much for buying things there.. we were too busy looking at everything there was to see! I'm definitely going back there (maybe when it's warmer out) to get some treasures to bring back with me. We tried out our haggling skills, and were actually fairly successful at some places ("Please miss, come back! Discount for you 6 euro! Please! Okay, 3 euro just for you! Bella!"), but ended up walking away in the end because it was just too overwhelming to comprehend.

It was interesting hearing where the vendors guessed we were from.. for Ashley it was almost always "Parli Italiano?" but for me it was more varied (must be the blonde hair that throws them off). I've gotten guesses including Scottish (the bus man), Russian, and lots people today thought I was Hispanic. And of course, after their random guesses they always turn to "Inglese? Americano?"

We got lost for a little while and tried to find our way back to familiarity, which took a good 10 - 15 minutes, but finally managed to get back on track and figured our way out of there. Definitely recommended for anyone thinking about visiting Rome, it really gives you a feel for "do as Romans do"!


Since it wasn't raining, our plan was to make up for all the walking that we didn't do yesterday. SO we headed towards the Colosseum since we hadn't seen it in the day time yet. The walk looked way different than it did at night! We passed by il Palentino, Circo Massimo, and of course, il Arco di Constantino on the way to the main attraction - all these things (well, besides the arch) we didn't see the first time we walked there because it was so dark outside! The Colosseum was huge - it seemed even bigger in the day time. There were quite a few more people there too, but probably because it was a Sunday afternoon (and not a random Tuesday night). We spent a little while walking around the whole thing, took a bunch of pictures, then hurried into the metro station right across the street to jump in the metro to warm up.

Arco di Constantino (left), Palentino (center)
Colosseo (right)

Since Rome is usually a ghost town on Sundays in Prati (since it's more of a locals neighborhood than a touristy area), we got off at the Trevi Fountain stop and looked for a place to grab a pizza or sandwhich there. We walked for awhile when we realized we weren't seeing signs for the Fountain anymore, only for the Spanish steps. Oh well, we figured that's touristy too, so we headed in that direction for some food. My main priority was a nice warm capuccino - my hands were completely numb. At this point it had started to rain, too, which wasn't helping with the coldness!



We walked right into the top of the Spanish steps - literally. Our road ended at the top of the steps with that GORGEOUS view. Ashley and I walked down the steps for the third time that weekend and decided to eat at our favorite little gelateria in the area. It's the one with that cool cone sculpture inside. They had paninis there, so we grabbed them to go (and a capuccino, of course) and decided to sit on the Spanish Steps to eat our meal..something that I've been wanting to do ever since our first visit to the steps.

the view from the top of the spanish steps(taken on a sunnierday last week -

my fingers were too cold to get my camera out today!)

That was probably one of my favorite things I've done so far in Italy. Ashley and I found a nice seat on the steps, about half way up the first platform. It was the absolute ideal spot for people watching. We slowly ate our sandwiches and drank our coffee while we watched everything going on around us. There was so much to see! Groups of girls taking pictures together in funny poses, lovers cuddling away, old Italian couples having their afternoon walk, parents racing their kids up and down the steps, the vendors trying to sell roses to annoyed tourists..it was fascinating. Seeing so many different kinds of people all enjoying the (cold, but still beautiful) day just made my heart so happy:) We sat for awhile, not caring about the coldness anymore now that we had food in our tummies, pointing out all the different stories going on around us. I'm planning on making this exercise a weekly occurence, for sure. It's just such a great reminder of how crazy and wonderful life is.

my cannoli - it was so good,
I only thought to take a picture after it was almost gone

After awhile, we decided it was time to try a pastry. We chose a random side street to walk down that looked like it was full of little pasterias, but we were wrong - apparently we chose the fancy street. On our right was Prada and on our left was Gucci, and it just got more expensive from there! We ducked into the only pastry shop on the block. It looked super fancy, but the desserts looked TO DIE FOR. The cannolis were made-to-order! I had to get one. I got a chocolate chip creme stuffed cannoli to go, watched her make it right in front of me (cool!), then we walked outside and tried it. Just as we suspected..to. die. for. Probably the best cannoli I've ever had. Magnifico!


We made our way home, at this point the rain was coming down little by little and the sun was completely gone. Our toes, fingers, and noses were frozen, but it was worth it. What an extraordinary day of exploring! Time to rest and recouperate for the first REAL week of classes - and this week I actually have a class on Monday, so I have to be prepared. Sighhh.