Alright here's the deal. Am I immortal? Most likely. However, I finally reached the age that makes people old. 28. Late 20s. 10 years of being an adult. But if you're going to grow old, you might as well do it in style, so my girlfriend decided to take me to Rome! My 28th country for my 28th Birthday, how cool is that?!?!?! I think we all know she's just trying to get into my pants. We flew out from London on Thursday night so we could have a full 3 day weekend in Rome, before flying back Monday morning.
We kicked Friday off early by going to some ruins about 30 minutes outside the city called Ostia Antica. It's a really cool place to check out if you are into history, as it used to be the harbour city for ancient Rome. It's a massive outdoor complex and you have pretty much free reign to go walk around and explore. It's always crazy when you walk around these places that are hundreds of years old and realize how smart people were. Like how did they figure out how to build any of this stuff or the science behind it? It took me 30 minutes to build my first Kinder Surprise toy and it was only 4 pieces... And it was made for children. Damn you ancient architects.
After knocking out Ostia Antica, we made a brief attempt to see the Mediterranean Sea, but the beach was closed off since we were there out of peak season, so we ended up going back to the main city centre since that is where everything else on our list was. I will say that one of the coolest things about Rome is that everything in the city center is super condensed, so getting around on foot or public transport is super easy. We were both starving, so we started out by having lunch outside the coliseum and then found out that it was operating on winter hours, so we wouldn't be able to see it until Sunday. Rats!!! Thus we ended up walking around until we found the Pantheon, which is one of the coolest buildings I've been into and was completely free! I love free stuff, not because I'm cheap, but... No it's because I'm cheap.
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| So this isn't THE coliseum. This is just A coliseum. Technically I don't even think it's a coliseum, it's probably just an arena. But right now I'm just teasing you, tantalizing you. Maybe even titillating you. I don't know. I'm just a man, doing what a man does. You can't control me. You can't control what a man does. |
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| Birds flying over the Pantheon. |
We also went to Piazza Navona, because Sarah's aunt told her the gelato there is amazing and we had to get it. Now normally I would be like, "Hey, why is the first thing out of your aunt's mouth not about how handsome she thinks I am. Why is she not praising my looks first and offering hints of gelato second? Is it too much to ask for to be cherished and loved by everyone solely based on my looks? I don't think so. So just maybe next time, know that I expect to be told how handsome I am and then follow it with whatever statement I won't be paying attention to, because I'm zoned out into a state of self-absorbency." Now, that being said, it was hands down the best gelato I've ever had in my life. Coconut gelato for the win.
Walking around a new city at night will always be one of my favorite things in the world, so as Sarah and I were roaming around Rome, we found a giant castle. I mean who wouldn't want to go walk around a castle in the dark because they have a lingering fear of being beheaded by an executioner with an axe after seeing the cover of Goosebumps vol 27, A Night in Terror Tower, when they were 7. Certainly not me, I don't remember that to this day. The place we stumbled upon was the Castel Sant 'Angelo and it offered some pretty wicked views of Rome. I love cities at night, the world looks amazing when it's lit up. After walking around the castle, we accidentally meandered into Vatican City and were standing outside of St. Peter's Basilica! Who needs a map or a plan?
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| I still ain't got a home...but I found my way to Rome. No I ain't got a home, I'll forever roam. |
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| Just out for a wander...Found a giant castle. Life is good. |
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| I am the last of a dying breed. Prone to wander, but born to lead. So light your torch and follow me. We'll burn the boats back to who we used to be... |
As someone who is agnostic, I figured there was no better place for me to spend my Birthday than the Vatican. We pre-booked our tickets to the Vatican Museum/Sistine Chapel, which was definitely a good move as you can bypass the queue and save yourself an hour waiting in line!! The Vatican Museum isn't just a religious museum, it is a full out museum with mummies, maps, tapestries, artwork, etc. It's a really cool place and it's laid out really well so you can see everything without feeling rushed. I will say that I was slightly underwhelmed by the Sistine Chapel. I mean obviously it's super impressive and detailed, but I just found it to be too much. It's really small and there are so many people, it's too claustrophobic!
After the museum, we popped back over to St. Peter's Basilica since it was closed when we went there on Friday night. The views from the main entrance facing out to the city are amazing, and the inside is even more so. It was awesome. After hanging out in the Vatican all day, we made our way over to Trevi Fountain, which is a massive water fountain with a bunch of sculptures. We hung out there for a few minutes and then made our way over to a restaurant called That's Amore, where Sarah booked us a pizza making class for my Birthday dinner!!
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| So here's the thing about art. This giant gold ball is pretty cool and probably worth a lot of money. But if you offered me this or some coconut gelato, I mean what do I really want more? I want the fucking gelato. |
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| When I make this face, you know I'm dealing with constipaSean |
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| A lot of people don't know this about me, maybe because I'm Asian or maybe because I'm immortal, but I actually come from a long line of popes. Dating all the way back to Pope Sean Paul the First. True Story. |
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| Sarah's favorite room - The Hall of Maps! |
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| St. Peter's Basilica |
Sarah and I cook together all the time and I have a tradition of eating pizza on my Bday, so it was basically the perfect gift! We also got lucky because we were the only couple that signed up for that night, so we got the lesson all to ourselves! They also hooked us up with free wine while we were cooking, so it was a super relaxed environment with no time constraints. We hung out and made pizza dough, rolled it out into a giant pie, added sauce, got to pick all of our toppings, and then got to relax while everything was cooked! They were also awesome about taking photos of us, so we would be able to remember the entire experience.
I'm not sure if it was because it was my Birthday or because we are way more adorable than everyone else, but they also hooked us up with a ton of extra wine and food, including dessert! The Italians know how to do it, the food is amazing and they're all about the three course meal. Once you add in the wine and gelato, it's unstoppable. It was honestly the best Birthday I can remember, I wouldn't trade the food or the company for the world.
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| Look at my dimples, I'm so handsome. |
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| This girl and her romantic Rome antics! |
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| My Birthday Pizza!!! I always eat pizza on my birthday. ALWAYS!!! |
We spent our final day in Rome doing the most touristy thing that comes to mind - visiting the Coliseum!! The Coliseum is probably one of the oldest structures I've been to, having been built in the first century. Isn't it crazy to think something that was built nearly 2000 years ago is still standing? One of the cooler features is the partial reconstruction of the actual arena ground. They redid a tiny portion, so you can then see the entire section that was underneath the main fighting stage where they had trapdoors to send up fighters and wild animals.
The Coliseum ticket also includes access to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, so we decided to check those out as well since we had the entire day open. Both places are connected, so we spent the day wandering around the ruins, which are almost set up in a park like layout. It's such a weird feeling to walk through the ruins where emperors used to roam. It's such a cool city, I wish I could have stayed forever! We spent the rest of the day hitting up random spots, including a super creepy temple of skeletons my old college roommate recommended!! It was pretty, pretty, pretty creepy. Pretty creepy.
Random GoPros
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| Ostia Antica |
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| Proof that we got super close, but not quite to the Mediterranean Sea. |
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| Like 80% of GoPro pictures are throwaways, but sometimes you get crazy awesome ones like this. |
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| I love Rome. Take me back :'( |
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| I feel like I could win a gladiator match solely by tapping into the fighting knowledge I've accumulated through watching thousands of hours of Jean Claude Van Damme footage. |
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| You haven't seen my best, so... Just spend an evening with me, just a lazy evening. And then you can be leaving, or we could stay and talk until three. I will think it's magic and I hope you'll agree. So light a Roman candle with me...Just a Roman candle... |
I figured it was only fair to add a new section to my blog for when we travel together.... So here goes nothing. A little selfie section with my main squeeze.
Sarah and Sean's Sensational Stockpile of Snappy Snaps
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| When looking at this photo, I couldn't come up with any captions that wouldn't lead to me getting punched in the face. |
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| I'm not quite sure how I ended up with this girl, but hopefully I can figure out how to keep her :) |
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| Unless she keeps making that face. Then she's on her own. |
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| Everybody's searching, searching for a reason, and I... Oh I... I was searching for you. And everybody's waiting, waiting for a sunrise, and I... Oh I...I was waiting for you. And everybody's chasing the beauty they don't have and I... Oh honey I... I'm chasing you. :) |
