italy journal #2: rome, the good and the bad

friday

19 gennaio 2018

We landed in the Rome at 10 am and we were able to get into the city quickly by taking the train. It’s a pretty anticlimactic way to arrive in Rome. The train is super humid, old, and nasty; and the scenery along the way is mostly cement walls covered in graffiti. I was looking forward to getting out of that humid train but I had no idea what was waiting for me at the end...

We took the train to the train station in the center of the city. We really wanted to brush our teeth- it had been about 18 hours since we had last brushed them and we felt disgusting. We managed to scrounge up some change finally to enter the bathroom, and we went in together.

This bathroom was the most hellish place I have ever been in. It was a tiny, tepid room with a sopping wet floor, and I think the walls were even wet. There was a small toilet with brown clumpy water and no seat. A mirror so stained you could barely make out your reflection. And the STENCH. It was awful! We brushed our teeth and got out of there as fast as we could. YUCK.

Though the worst was over, this plebeian Roman experience continued on as we went upstairs and outside the station in search of something to eat. We were starving and just wanted to find something super cheap so we could splurge on a nicer dinner that evening. We found a Kebab restaurant a block away from the train station. We actually really like Middle Eastern food, and to be honest, I actually frequented a Kebab restaurant in Grenoble last summer.

There were actually two Kebab restaurants that looked almost identical right next to each other, with pretty much the same menu. Giuseppe asked a worker standing outside of one of them which one was better. “This one, of course!” We went inside.

We ordered a something with pork and unfortunately it wasn’t good. The meat was so fatty and bland, and the bread was dry. As I was eating my yucky food pondering about our "off" morning I started thinking about what it would be like to travel luxuriously... Man that sounds awesome. But no complaints, we are just excited to be here! 

After the Kebab shop we got gelato to drown out the taste.

LUCKILY, once were fed and cleaned up and out of that "ehhh" area of the city, we started to experience the magic of Rome. We found the neighborhood of our airbnb and hung out there for a little bit before we could check in. It’s in a PRIME location, next to an ancient wall that used to encompass the main Roman center and an amazing basilica called San Giovanni. It was my very first time seeing something ancient and crumbling amidst the more modern city and I fell in love with it! We explored San Giovanni, and that's when Europe started to feel more like the magical place you want it to be rather than the dirty, stinky place it is in most places. The art is amazing in there, I couldn't stop staring at the ceilings. It's so big too, I think it's even bigger than the Notre Dame de Paris! It was built in the FOURTH century.

When checking in with our host Pilar, we also met some of the other guests staying in her home this weekend, three American guys who are studying at a school in Paris. Fellow French learners!

Pilar’s apartment is very old but well taken care of and clean. It has a classic European design with it’s funky tile, tall white walls, french doors in every room, and long windows with shutters. My favorite part is the elevator, it’s one of those super old fashioned wooden ones inside the metal gate. Just like in the Lizzy McGuire movie!

We planned on just dropping off our stuff and jumping right into sight seeing but we got so tired because having a good night's sleep (or any sleep at all) is pretty impossible on a plane. So we took a couple hours and rested.

Once we left the apartment, it was dark and we headed towards the Trevi Fountain to start a progressive dinner. We really enjoyed the walk there, discovering lively neighborhoods and ancient ruins. Rome is incredible! We found a pretty fountain on the way there and I stopped to take a picture of it. “So this is the Trevi Fountain?” Giuseppe asked…

We stopped in a mall for a bit because Giuseppe was interested. For some reason he loves to go into really expensive stores and ask the sales reps a lot of questions about products even though he has no intention to buy anything. For most people that’s a nightmare, but to him, it’s a thrill. He really enjoys doing this here because it's great language practice. He kept striking up conversations with people in Italian. It was cool to hear him speaking Italian, but it always created an awkward situation for me. I think people assumed I also spoke Italian too, or at least understood it so they would include me in the conversation. All I could do was smile and try and nod at the right parts and say, “si”. Haha it was pretty hilarious.

Anyway, once we reached the fountain I was annoyed to see it was packed with tourists, even thought it was dark and it’s supposed to be the off season! We couldn’t even get a good picture or just enjoy the beauty of it because it was so crowded. We kept getting shoved around and solicited to. It really is gorgeous though with it's bright blue water, glowing white statues, and the loud sound of the rushing water. We were able to throw in a coin and make a wish! 

After that we meandered about trying to find a restaurant to get some antipasti. We found one quickly because it front of every restaurant is someone trying to convince you to come in. We got suckered in pretty fast.

We entered a small, pretty restaurant with white linens and candles on the table. We ordered an “appetizer” plate of meats, cheeses, and vegetables but it was HUGE! Giuseppe was in heaven, he loves prosciutto and other dried meats that are so popular in Italian cuisine. I really liked the artichokes but everything else was "meh" for me. We drank carafe after carafe of sparking water, it’s our FAVORITE. The restaurant was so lovely EXCEPT for the most annoying playlist! It was soooo bad. DJ Got Us Falling In Love Tonight, Low, and basically any other annoying song you can think of that came out between 2006 and 2010. I felt like I was back in middle school PE. To me there is nothing worse than overly loud and stupid music in a restaurant. Eventually I decided to just sing along with it rather than be so annoyed! Haha and I knew every word to every song.

After the antipasti we explored little shops that lined the cobblestone streets. Rome is so pretty in the evening with its soft orange glow! We rounded a corner and I gasped as I saw the Pantheon for the first time. It is magnificent! I couldn’t believe how massive it is. It’s so regal with its huge greek columns and bold latin inscriptions. 

We couldn’t seem to get hungry again even hours after our antipasti, so we found a cute restaurant facing the pantheon and ordered dessert out front underneath the heat lamps. I don’t remember the names of what we ordered, but one in particular was so delicious. It was a plate of crumbly pastry flakes drizzled with cream and nutella.

Afterwards we kept waking through the city and eventually came upon Rome’s capitol building. It is AMAZING. There are statues everywhere and lit torches. The actual building is pretty high up on the hill, and it was gated with soldiers walking around. 

We kept walking down the street and passed so many ruins, huge greek-styled columns, some still standing but most with only a stump left or even lying on the ground. The best part of the evening though was seeing the colosseum, lit up at night! It gave us the chills, we were so excited to go inside the next day. 

Today started out pretty wacky with our bathroom/kabab horrors and jet lag, but the evening was so perfect. We love Roma!

italy journal #1: along for the ride

THURSDAY
18 gennaio 2018

Today was a long day of flying. Our flight plan was: SLC --> Denver --> Newark/New York --> Rome, with only 40 minutes between each layover. We realized it was our first time on a plane together for a vacation rather than work!

When we landed in Denver, a bit early, we got a text saying that our connecting flight to New York was going to be an hour late! This was bad news because it meant we would land in New York with only two minutes left to board our flight to Rome. Giuseppe and I talked about how worried we were as we went to go talk to customer service. The customer service rep for United Airlines informed us that they were already aware of our situation and had already arranged for us to get on a flight to Frankfurt if we arrived in New York and the gates were closed, which would most likely be the case. Even with the connection in Frankfurt, we would arrive in Rome only 4 hours behind schedule! I was impressed with how fast United Airlines was able to solve that and that it was such a convenient switch, not like we would need to hang out in an airport for a whole day or something, which I was kind of expecting.
After walking away from the customer service representative Giuseppe teased me, “You were so worried! All for nothing!” I was confused because it seemed like he was the worried one and so I was acting worried too. Why? I don't know, maybe to seem like I cared more?
I told him this and we argued about who was more worried before we discovered that we were both just acting worried in order to validate each other! We thought this was hilarious. Apparently neither of us are the type to get worked up over this kind of thing, but we thought we needed to act worried for the other person. Does that even make sense? I guess neither of us are the kind of people to get worked up over stuff like this, we’re just along for the ride. You learn something new about each other every day!

So with that discovery, we enjoyed hanging out in the airport for a bit and getting lunch.

Our flight to New York got delayed even more, so we knew there was no chance we were going to make it on our original fight to Rome.  So when we landed in New York, we took our time getting off the plane, expecting to hang out at the airport for a few hours before taking off to Germany. When we finally exited the gate (it took forever because we were near the back of the plane), we heard a voice on the intercom say “all passengers on flight number 513 from Denver headed onto flight number 40 to Rome have one minute to get to the gate before it closes.” What?! Apparently there had been a small maintenance issue and the flight to Rome was delayed! I looked at the closest screen and quickly found our gate number. We sprinted! It was so fun weaving past people saying, "excuse me! excuse me! excuse me!" Luckily the gate was nearby and we made it in time! What a rush. 

The flight crew kept telling us, “you guys are sooooo lucky!” and referred to us as the lucky Denver passengers. In the end, we didn’t need to sprint through the airport because the maintenance problem persisted and we were stuck on the plane for an hour before finally taking off. So that was rough. The flight was fine, it was a red eye but of course it was extremely difficult to fall asleep in those uncomfortable seats. There is nothing worse than needing to sleep on a plane, but we didn't mind too much because we were just so excited to get there. 

this is the greatest christmas!

The title of this post is inspired by The Greatest Showman which was phenomenal and definitely the sound track behind these moments and probably most moments to come. BEST MOVIE. 

@ contact music

It seems like everyone I know is really connecting with one of the many themes of the movie. The best thing about the movie for me is its message of making your own happiness through hard work, creativity, and a positive attitude. Anything can be the GREATEST if you make it.

Every night I lie in bed
The brightest colors fill my head
A million dreams are keeping me awake
I think of what the world could be
A vision of the one I see
A million dreams is all it's gonna take
A million dreams for the world we're gonna make.

-a million dreams.

LOVE you, hugh! ;)

and here we go, Christmas 2017 in review

the borscht
Every year during December, our ward does a combined Sunday worship with the Catholics. I've never seen anything like this in all my years as a member of the church and I think it's just the greatest! I volunteered to make soup for the shindig afterwards. I wanted to get rid of a bunch of red cabbage, so I texted my cousin Romney for her favorite borscht recipe from Russia. It turned out lovely, with a rich red color thanks to the cabbage and beets. The recipe called for a whole chopped onion and it was the most acidic onion I had ever encountered in my entire life. I was a flooding faucet! Mascara all over my face. Giuseppe walked into the kitchen and said, "you look like a doofus!"

During the meeting the next day, I noticed a friar in his white robes. I imagined him eating my borscht in the flimsy little foam bowls that were sure to be used and spilling it all over himself! What a nightmare. Later, as the shindig was winding down, he came over and sat by us! And what do you know, he had a flimsy bowl full of bright red borscht! Turns out he's Polish and borscht is a traditional Christmas dish in his culture. He was delighted to see it at the party! He loved my borscht, he told me he wouldn't change a thing about the recipe. I was really pleased with how I creatively asked, "So, what would you do differently?" to figure out if it was good or not. Luckily he ate it successfully and we all became great friends.

the sweetest gift exchange
I had the greatest night with my old roommates! We dined at Terra Mia in Provo and then chatted late into the night at Ally's apartment. We did a gift exchange and seriously, they were the most thoughtful gifts. Madi gave me a handwritten note that said, "I want to wear his initial on a chain 'round my neck, not because he owns me. But cause he really knows me" and a little necklace with a G on it! SWEETEST gift ever. Kylie, of course, created a work of art for us that I'll have hanging up forever. Good friends are the best.

the mysterious tipper
One Friday afternoon during my lunch shift at the sushi restaurant, I waited on a particularly finicky table of 6. The old lady who paid for everyone was very demanding and I was constantly running around fulfilling her random requests. I did a really good job, got everything out quickly, removed used plates and trash from the table promptly, and I was super charming. The greatest waitress. Anyway, after they left and I picked up the checkbook from the table, I noticed she took ALL of the receipts, meaning I had no way of adjusting a tip for her bill! I was so bugged. The restaurant had been so slow that afternoon and I was relying on that table to make the shift worth it. Well anyway, I shouldn't have fretted for so long because later couple tipped us TWO hundred dollars on their little $40 tab and said "Merry Christmas!' Aren't people the NICEST?!

christmas eve
We drove up to Brigham City early on the 24th to go to church with Laura. Afterwards at her home, a doorbell ditcher came by and dropped off the last gift of an anonymous 12 Days of Christmas. Mama Hess was more irritated than gleeful over her stash of trinkets. We watched her unwrap about 8 of the presents she had shoved into the corner that had piled up from the last week. "What am I going to do with all this stuff?" We ended up walking away with a terrarium, a puzzle, and a box of things to go to DI! She did, however, love the leather key clip Giuseppe got her.

a christmas SHOCK
Giuseppe TOTALLY spoiled me on Christmas morning. I was getting a little sad to be honest, because I knew he wasn't hiding any gifts in the appartment- I had deep cleaned multiple times. I thought he might be pulling a Valentine's Day Giuseppe, which means that he doesn't get me anything. However he totally came through with things I LOVE, such as a super long, sturdy yoga mat, a new sports bra, TWO candles from Anthro, a hand cream in my favorite scent (Florence by Tocca), a new lip balm, a romper, and.... PLANE TICKETS TO ROME. I was shocked. Confused. In a large Tumi box, I had opened several gifts from him and I was ready to discard the empty box. "There's something else in there..." he said casually. I saw a Rick Steves Rome travel guide and boarding pass-looking things with the United Airlines logo but it didn't make sense. Half of me was saying, "you're going to Rome. YOU'RE GOING TO ROME." But it just seemed too unrealistic. So I had the lamest reaction, just reading the itinerary over and over saying, "what? What? WHAAAT!?" Once I finally accepted reality, I squealed and jumped and kissed and celebrated. Isn't that the BEST Christmas surprise in the world?! We leave on January 18th! I spent the rest of the day planning our trip. I just CANNOT wait!! 

fun house
One evening I got together with Liz & Tate, Brett, Luke, and his girlfriend Savannah. My high school clan! We met at my parents. Brett was late, so we prepared a warm welcome for him. He gets scared super easily, so we turned off all the lights in the living room, dining room, and kitchen. I played the Insidious soundtrack softly in the background and placed Suzi Kin, the mannequin head from high school we demonized, on the table to glow under the dimmed chandelier. I hid under the dining room table prepared to grab Brett's leg as he walked by. Everyone else hid in a different corner of the dark room ready to jump out at him. We texted Brett and told him we were all in the middle of a game in the basement and to just come downstairs. Unfortunately when he opened the door, the soft eery music alerted him that something was off. He stood his ground on the porch. "I am NOT coming in! I am not falling for this! I am NOT coming in!" He yelled about his refusal to come in for several minutes before Luke, pretending to come up from the basement, came to the door and told him his yelling was causing a ruckus and he didn't know where the light switches were and that Ava was just listening to some weird music. He finally convinced Brett to come inside. He bolted through the house but I still managed to pop out from under the table and hiss at him devilishly. His scream was satisfying to us all.

saying YES <3
Later that evening when Giuseppe joined us after work, we decided to pull another prank. It's our thing! I highly doubt the person that we pranked would ever read this blog, so I'll write about it comfortably here. :) A friend of ours who had long since graduated high school was working an evening shift. We found his car in the parking lot of the business and covered it in cotton balls (water freezes them on in the cold!) and a note that said something ridiculous along the lines of, "I cotton not say no to going to PROM with you!" Hahaha.

goodbye 2017
we spent new year's eve at my parent's house. Unfortunately I was sick with swollen glands and a cold and I napped for a chunk of the evening while everyone else played games. I came out in time to see everyone dancing to eighties music. Of course Giuseppe was stealing the show, I don't know where he got his moves from but he's seriously so good. I played a bunch of rounds of Skip Bo with Callie, Giuseppe, and Ava. My mom told us about the woes of Tonya Harding. And then finally it was almost midnight! We counted down from ten while watching the ball drop in Times Square and as soon as it struck midnight, Ava blasted New Year's Day from her bluetooth speaker. It was hilarious as we all ran outside hollering and banging on pots and pans with fireworks going off in the distance, and then Taylor's soft piano music echoing through the house. Love you Taylor! 

TWO YEARS
I love how much we have changed over the past two years. I feel like such a different person from my 19-year-old self and honestly I couldn't be happier about that. There are so many things I want to become and I feel like I'm on the right track to becoming them. Our relationship is so much different too and that's definitely for the better. I love change. 

We celebrated our second wedding anniversary with handwritten letters, dinner, window shopping, and a movie. It was a perfect day, and the perfect end to a perfect Christmas break!

...this is where you wanna be