When in Rome

Ciao!!
Wi fi has been limited so we are posting two blogs at once. Right now we are on a train from Rome to Naples where we will catch a train to Pompeii and then a ferry to the island of Capri. But first let us tell you about Roma!

When we arrived two days ago, we were pretty dang tired. We had a difficult time finding our hostel again, not as bad as Pisa, but still enough to make us a bit tired and grumpy. Now when I say Hostel, I don't want y'all to get the wrong idea, this was no ordinary hostel, this was a camping hostel. We stayed in tents. Structured tents with bunk beds, that had a sliding door that locked, but still...a tent. And let me tell you, it was awesome! We had the whole tent to ourselves so we could be as weird as we wanted. The first night in Rome we decided to take it easy and chill out at the camp. This place was legit...it had a small grocery store, a laundromat, a restaurant, bar, pool, sand volleyball. It was fun. So the first night we did some laundry and went to sleep by 9:30..party animals. 
The next day in Rome was my (Lauren's) birthday!!! The nice guy at the hostel bar gave us free birthday coffee and served us a tiny piece of pie with a candle in it and sang to me...very nice. So we got ourselves in gear and went into the Eternal City. After having little success with the catacombs (they close at odd hours and we couldn't figure it out) we went to Palatine Hill, where ancient Caesars and Romulus and Remus lived. We then walked through the ancient Roman forum and finished with the Colosseum.  We were blown away with how much a city can change. Once a massive empire completely focused on being a "republic" and worshipping countless gods, is now the center for Catholicism and is almost entirely Christian. We stared at the Arch of Constantine and read about how one Emperor's heart was changed, and the religion of the empire was changed for good. Rick Steve's writes, "In A.D. 300, you could be killed for being a Christian; a century later, you could be killed for not being one." Now I'm pretty sure Jesus wouldn't have approved murdering non-Christians, but woah, that's an intense shift in belief. 
Angela treated me to a delicious birthday lunch at this random restaurant we found. We walked from the Spanish Steps, to the Trevi Fountain, then to the Pantheon.  Unfortunately by the time we were done with all of this, the Vatican was closed, so we couldn't go in. But we went anyway to get pictures and see it. Then, by sheer birthday luck and a little divine intervention we found my favorite restaurant in Rome that I ate at with my parents and brother while we were there. San Marco on Via Sardegna (that road intersects with via venito). What a perfect birthday dinner :) wine, cheese plate, bruschetta, chicken, steak, "broccoli" (more like greens, our waiter kept calling it baby broccoli), and soufflé. There was a table of Texans next to us who were celebrating their son's 10th birthday as well. Small world. After dinner we eventually made our way back to the hostel and went to bed. 
Today we were rushing around like crazy to get to the train station in time. Ang's shoe broke on the bus, and we almost missed our train...but we made it and we are on our way. 

Random things that happened in Rome:
1. Angela and I became experts at the Roman Metro and bus system. 
2. Apparently I look Italian because people keep asking me how to get places.
3. We got invited to go with a group to party at the club Jersey Shore partied at while in Rome. We said no and hastily ran toward the Vatican to be cleansed.
4. Angela made my birthday very special and I'm so happy I got to spend it with her. Though I missed my family, it was still a great day.

Thanks for reading! More to come
Love,
A&L