From Parma to Rome...to see MORE loves!

This is how my morning started:

He is so silly!

We went down for breakfast, and it was good, but not as good as the hotel in REggio! :) HOwever, this hotel was pretty nice in general!  SO, after that, we went upstairs to get ready to go out.  We had a few hours before we had to catch the train, and we definitely did not want to push the train situation because of all the snow, and the general delays.  We had to get to REggio on time for our first train to get to Rome, and then to Bologna for our train to Rome.  So anyway, we went out to sightsee!  We asked last night, and the theatre opened at 10, so we killed time looking around other places first.  We started with a church that was having service, so I only have these few pictures.  Nick said he thought it was one of the most beautiful churches he has seen in all of Italy!  High praise right there!

We saw this gorgoues building, but being that it was Sunday, it was closed!

So when there wasn't much to look at, Nick decided to make snow art!  He was so funny walking around all day jousting with the snow, using his umbrella to do so!

 

Silly Nick!!  We then went to the theatre, but they would not let us see the theatre because they were setting up for a show! I was sooooooooooooooo incredibly sad because this one is supposed to rival La Scala in Milan.  SO, Nick promised that we would come back when we go to Bologna!  Then we went to the Duomo and Baptistry!  The Baptistry cost 6 euros, so we didn't go in, but it was pretty and unusual (pink marble).

 The Duomo was beautiful!  When we left the Duomo, we saw this sweet family dragging a child in a plastic tub through the snow; very creative, and looked like fun!

We started making our way back to the hotel, but first we stopped to get coffee (well, Nick did) and we tried a local sweet...it was AH-MAZING...and it was a little bit much for 11 am, but it was incredible.  

Duchessa di Parma

 As we walked to the hotel, we spotted this store for Nick, and then I had to stop at the bank...Nick had a photo shoot while I was at the ATM, but I only included a few of them! 

Last pics of the snow

 

NIck making me laugh!

We're upside down for each other!

To avoid some snow and slush, we used the underpass, and saw this!  I hypothesized that it must have been an old bridge.  My friend Judi later informed me that they found this when they were attempting to build a subway in Parma...I love that about Italy!  So then we got our stuff from the hotel, called a cab, and went to the train station to head to Rome. We shared a sandwich and some water while we waited, and thank goodness the trains were running on schedule!

To Rome we go!We took a train back to Reggio Emilia, and did not have to wait there very long, before we took a train to Bologna, where we then took a train to Rome.  The train rides were uneventful, and we spent the time talking, laughing, napping a little, and just enjoying our time together.  When we arrived in Rome, we discovered that Fulbright had put us in a hotel that was like a thousand miles away, but we were walking it anyway!  We did pass this hotel that we had seen once before, back in January when we were on the bus to go pick up my momma from the airport.  It's hotel ME!!!

When we arrived at the hotel, and were checking in, Mattea text me to see where we were!  I was VERY excited when I saw her turn the corner!  I love me some Mattea!  So, we carried all of our stuff to our rooms, and then started chatting.  The boys went to their end of the hallway, while Mattea went in our room to catch up.  Sadly, Andrea was on her way home from Verona, and could not come hang out with us.  We sat around and talked for a while, even though Mattea was just craving a banana, which Myles gave her right before we left to go get food.  It was so good to be with my friends again!  They are all so smart, funny, witty, kind, and all around amazing!  It's nice to just sit and be comfortable with people.  After David came back from having a pizza with his teacher, we talked with him for a while, and then we left to go find food.  David told us all about how he was going to propose to his girlfriend when she comes to Italy in the next few weeks!! I was beside myself with excitement for him, and he has thought of a BEAUTIFUL and wonderful plan!  I cannot wait to see pictures and hear him tell the story!  It turns out that we were relatively close to Andrea's apartment, and therefore very close to the area where Nick and I explored last time we were in Rome, and also near where Mattea stayed in January. 

We headed for a place Mattea had eaten with her parents, and it turned out to be really good! We had red wine, pizza, veggies, lasagna, and that's it I think.  I named all of it because we ended up sharing things and tasting others' food.  We sat there for like 2 hours or more and laughed so much it hurt.  I cannot post the pics we took, but just know that they are hilarious!  I love laughing with my friends...I love how much fun we have together, and the fun definitely did NOT stop once we left the restaurant.  We stopped in a photobooth and crammed 5 people into it TWICE to get one picture.  THe results are HILARIOUS and Mattea has the hard copies.  I'll have to scan them at some point!  It was soooooooooooooooo much fun!  We are such a great group...and I think we have a great dynamic...We think that we are probably the first Italian ETA group, and maybe only??? to get along so well!  I had so much fun!  The boys were also picking on Mattea and sneaking up behind her to scare her and such!  We had fun laughing at this...laughing at Nick walking in  goofy manner...Nick and David scaring us...we probably looked drunk, but we truly were not; we were just having so much fun being with each other...the photobooth thing was PRICELESS!!! I wish I had a video of it! 

When we got back to the hotel, the boys continued their joke from earlier about stealing our pillows, and this time they succeeded!  Sillly boys...but again, we were having so much fun!  It is fun to just be silly, goofy, ridiculous, fun-loving, and free spirited with your friends...I love these people! 

So, with the return of our pillows, we all went to sleep so that we could get up early and meet for breakfast before we went to America.