"Rome-ing Around" Part 1

I've been back from my week-long trip to Rome for a few days, but long and filled days they have been. Now, I finally have the chance to fill you in a little bit on my wonderous trip. =] Hopefully there will be a series of updates, fairly close together...so keep checking back this week!
So as you've heard several times now, I spent last week in Rome! (It never gets old saying it.) It was a lot of fun. Since I had been there before (for a grand total of 2 days? maybe 3), I quickly became the group of five's tour guide and event planner. It was a real challenge, but I enjoyed it for the most part. It definitely honed my map skills and stretched my ability to plan ahead. Personally, I find myself happy to just BE somewhere...and major events and sightseeing are good things, but not altogether the point of travelling. There is something to be said about being able to visit the same attraction 4 times, simply because it's your favorite and you want to absorb all you can of it. Hence, the group found themselves at the foot of Trevi Fountain several times. =]
One thing I also had to learn is how to feel out what the group, as a whole, wanted to do. This group was fairly flexible and would do "whatever", but there were also times when we'd go somewhere and all would be bored, tired, and dragging their feet. That meant naptime or some good quality sit-down time.
Another thing that caught my attention was the desire of the group to "eat cheap". The first three nights we stayed in an apartment above the Rome Nazarene Church. Those nights we went to the supermarket and bought food to cook at the apartment. We bought a big loaf of bread, parmasean cheese, pasta, sauce, and italian sausage. It was sooo delicious and a lot of fun to cook together. The next four nights we stayed in a hostel that had "free pasta dinners", which meant a small plate of pasta per person. So we ended up needing to supplement that many-a-time with the oh-so-amazing gelato found on just about ANY street corner in Italy. Mmm mm. The major difference in food preference for me, was McDonalds. I think we went to McDonalds almost 4 times. I ate the first time, but not the rest. I was hoping for Italian pizza, or pasta, or even a side-stand panini! I don't just want to see the city, I want to taste it. That's why the one night we chose to go out for dinner at a local restaurant, I was thrilled. Not only was the food incredible (I ordered brushchetta, pasta with a delicious red sauce, and tiramisu for dessert), but it was in my newly designated "favorite" part of Rome.
The Trastevere borders the Tiber River and by day is bustling with Italian people. It often gets overlooked by tourists because it's not labeled as a "main attraction", so as you stroll the streets there are obviously less lost and confused (usually English-speaking) people and more Italians who know the area like the back of their hand. The streets are narrower than normal and the architecture is "older" than in other places. There are little shops, cafes, and restaurants around every corner and each street reveals something more exciting than the last. The oldest church in Rome lies at the center of this area and stands proud with a bubbling fountain rising from the middle of the piazza. Everything about the Trastevere says "this is Rome", and I love it.

Alright, I must be off to elderly club. I must say, life in Romania has definitely "taken off" and the days continue to get more and more filled. To give you an example, since being back from Rome, we have not had a regular sit-down dinner together at home. We've been out and about every single night. Schedules are ever-changing and more adjustments are being made as life here constantly throws us new things to juggle. But it's good, very good. God has been faithful and ever-present through it all. It's amazing to watch the ways in which he works not only through us, but through other people to reach us and those around us. I guess I didn't realize just how much he would have to hold my hand through this, but hold my hand he has, and for that I am so thankful.

On that note, I'll leave you with a few pictures from the trip:
The colesseum. Always an incredible sight to see.

The Trevi Fountain. My favorite monument. =] And my favorite place to get gelato.

This is the fountain in the Republicca Piazza. We got to witness it's beauty almost every day.