The theme of my 16th birthday party was “Bella Figura”. My friends and I dressed up like chic Italians and strutted down the cobblestone streets of our outdoor shopping village to an Italian restaurant in my hometown. My cake was even Tiramisu! I was hooked on Italy, and couldn’t wait until the day I would finally get to visit.

Well, that day came this last week. Elise and I left on Friday morning for Rome. We spent 3 days strutting the streets, admiring the relaxed Italian lifestyle, eating unbelievable pasta, and waiting in lines with the rest of the Easter crowds. It was fantastic. Rome is not a place that can be done in a short weekend and I already can’t wait to return to see what I missed. We packed in as many of the big sites as we could but were limited by holiday closures and looooong lines. We waited 4 hours for the Sistine Chapel but learned our lesson and arrived at 7am to St. Peter’s Basilica and walked right in.

In some ways, Rome was exactly what I expected: narrow cobblestone streets and OLD OLD monuments and buildings. Unfortunately, we picked the wrong weekend and ended up walking with our umbrellas in the air the whole time. Any movie, postcard, or recount of a friend’s adventure had solidified my vision of Rome as a sun-filled warm city—which I know is true in the summer. It’s amazing how a vision can be morphed with a gray spring cloak. More then anything, it made me realize that Rome really is a city like any other, it is subject to weather and tourists and dirt. In the end though, it was still stunning. It is impossible to fully grasp the age that great place. I had to catch my breath when I walk into the Colosseum—and that was built well after Nero’s kingdom had come and gone.

On Easter morning, Elise I headed to the Vatican to arrive at 7:30 AM, 3 hours before mass begun. We had tickets and were thrilled when we found seats in the center of the fourth row. As the weather had predicted rain, the dry, blue sky of the morning was nice change of pace. About 30 minutes before the mass was to begin, it started to sprinkle, just a little bit, and the decision of a cardinal near the altar to put up his umbrella sparked a domino effect through 50,000 spectators. Elise returned from the bathroom asking why all of the umbrellas were up!! 10 minutes later, we joined the crowds, and blocked the now heavy stream. 40 minutes in, the wind picked up, and the 50+ nuns next to us decided to leave. We were determined to stand our ground. We were staring at the Pope!! However, with 10 minutes left in the mass, the rain reached an unbearable intensity at which our umbrellas were completely useless. The ground was covered with 1-inch of rushing water as evidenced by my canvas flats that were finally dry 3 days later. We joined the rest of the fleeing nuns and made it to a café before the onrush of the rest of the crowds. Sadly, our hostel had a “lock-out” time for cleaning until 4 PM so we spent the rest of the afternoon between two cafés. Like the rest of that weekend, Easter at the Vatican went beyond all expectations, but introduced to Roman café culture (very different then its Parisien counterpart) and we still did have a great view of the Pope!

I returned on Monday morning in time to prepare for Kelsey, my friend from high school who is studying in Brussels, to visit from Tuesday until Thursday night. I got the chance to play tour guide again and we probably walked 4-5 hours each day just seeing the sites. Starting tomorrow with the arrival of Sarah, my German sister within my Munich family, I will have a constant flow of visitors until mid-May. Today is my rest day, my feet need the break and I have homework to do in advance.

If I was surprised at all by Rome, I was even more surprised upon my return to Paris. I arrived to an apartment with working internet and decidedly fixed running water! Though they never actually did anything to the pipes, they are convinced that the longevity of the temporary fix must mean that it is really fixed. I don’t know how comfortable I am with this conclusion, but am satisfied to know that the hole in my bathroom wall will be repaired this week and that I no longer have to venture to McDonald’s for free wifi! As my mom recommends, if my showers once again turn into mini-floods of the restaurant below, I am going to “Let it rain”, maybe that will convince someone to take some action!