When in Rome!

Sorry again that this blog post is so long after the fact, but at least the memories are still fresh! My trip to Rome for Christmas was fabulous, though it went by much, much too fast. I left for Istanbul on the 19th, a Saturday afternoon and spent the night with a friend from my exchange in Spain. We had time to do some brief site-seeing around Istanbul Sunday morning before I left, and it left me wanting to see more! Istanbul is enormous, around 13 million people, and there is so much history within it. There is so much to see, I hope to be able to spend some time there later this year.


I arrived in Rome on a Sunday night and felt very accomplished and fortunate to have found my way from the airport to the Pantheon square where the our apartment was. I was especially proud because the only directions my mom gave me were “just go to the Pantheon and somebody will be there.” I love my family, but I could easily imagine myself standing in front of the Pantheon for hours with all my bags, in the cold I am very not used to. I was worried needlessly though because I had barely wondered into the square when I heard Steve’s gruff voice, he had been waiting nearly for three hours. We first dropped my stuff on in the beautiful little apartment we were all staying in. With hard wood floors and little windows that look out over the pantheon square it is exactly the kind of place one should stay at when in Rome. After we went to the restaurant where we met up with my Grandma Helen and her husband Howard, my aunt Kate and her husband Stefan, and their three adorable children, Thomas, Peter, Anna and my siblings Michael and Lizzy. It was surreal to see all of my family in such an amazing place.

That was the beginning of a very quick trip, or what felt quick anyway. That night Steve, my mom and I took a walk to the Trevi fountain, and I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to be in Rome on Christmas and throwing coins in the Trevi Fountain no less. It was beautiful. The next few days we saw the main sights, the Colosseum, the Roman forum, Campidoglio Square and museum, St. Peter’s Square, Sistine Chapel, Borghese Gallery, Pantheon, Spanish Steps and more. Rome is a beautiful city with an incredible amount of well preserved history. Rome has this majestic feel to it, and wandering around the streets was magical. We all had our favorites though Steve’s was the most obvious. Steve can’t get enough of the Colosseum. He could stay in there for hours imagining himself as a gladiator. He was our enthusiastic guide tour guide and almost gleefully explained the battles and different methods that were used to out on a good show. My mom loved every place we went and could barely contain herself from saying at each one “just imagine…” whoever was the key player at that particular spot. One of my favorite sites was the Forum; the remains of what used to be the center of Rome. It is amazing to see these huge stone columns attached to nothing and think about what they had been. Throughout the trip we were able to see if from almost every angle which just added to its awesomeness.

For the most part our trip went very smooth, with just a few minor incidents. One of Lizzy’s flights was canceled on the way over and it was a test to her travel endurance that she was able to make it safely over without breaking down, or to the front door at least. Michael and Lizzy left Grandma Helen’s purse in taxi, though due to grandmas amazing karma Michael and I were able to find the same taxi (one in thousands) and get the purse back. I had to go to the emergency room because for some reason I had terrible stomach cramps that lasted for about three days, but thanks to some sort of painkiller drip (free of charge in Italy) I felt much better. Though the plane ride from Italy to Turkey should only be about two hours it took me about 36 hours with not plane, but airport changing time. I was happy to get back to my other family in Adana.

Italy has just the right amount of Christmas, not to big as tends to be in the states and not non-existent like in Turkey .On Christmas eve only Kate and Stefan’s kids opened presents from Santa, who fortunately was able to find his way to our apartment in Rome. We enjoyed amazing food, mostly from our apartment as Rome is the city is SUPER expensive.. Overall it was a pretty relaxing trip and it was great to see my family if only for a week
Sorry if this is somewhat poorly put together, I am writing from my Ankara where I am visiting my host dad.