The Trevi Fountain

After my late night on Saturday, I was feeling a little tired! However, Noreen suggested we go see the Trevi Fountain and how can you resist?! We hopped on a bus and were there in no time! There are so many ways to get around places here and there is always one way that is better depending on where you are going. By the Trevi Fountain there are tons of shops...some are touristy, but most are clothing stores or stores that would be in a mall. They only have shopping malls outside of the city accourding to Noreen, my expert! It was so surprising to me because the Trevi Fountain is very hidden. It wasn't like the Colosseum where it's like, "Hello, there it is right in front of me!" It's also very disproportionate to the surroundings. It is very large, and it is in such a small space. Of course, there were tons of people there taking photographs and tossing in their coins! I asked Noreen why the Trevi Fountain is so famous...there are loads of other fountains around Rome. Apparently it is a combo of things, but mostly because it has been in many movies and because of the coin situation. The thing with the coin is that if you throw in a coin backwards, you are coming back to Rome in the future. They have guards around the fountain with whistles to catch people who try to take money out of it! I made my American mark by throwing in a quarter! Here's a picture! :)

Here are some other photos I took whilst at the fountain....

Noreen and I! (my host mother)

After the fountain, we walked along to see all the shops! We stopped in Noreen's favorite chocolate shop and treated ourselves to one chocolate! I had coffee, and it was seriously delicious! They make all of their own chocolate on site. We continued strolling and met up with Noreen's friend Rosie. Rosie has lived in Rome for 40 years and such a sweet lady! She took us to a shoe stop, but in order to get there, we needed to travel by tram. This was my first tram experience and after this occurance, I hope it is my last! There was a man in a wheel chair that got on, but he was scruffy and looked homeless. Rosie said he was probably not disabled at all, but just used it for sympathy so people would give him money. He was yelling and talking to himself in Italian. Rosie said he was very drunk. He wheeled his chair over to a woman sitting by the door and he was apparently yelling at her saying she was blocking the doorway. She was yelling back, and remember, this was all in Italian! All of a sudden, the man slaps the woman across the face! It was a packed tram and everyone was a little shaken up, including me! A dad who was taller, told the guy off and stood in front of the women so he couldn't hit her again. Luckily, we got off at the next stop! Like I said, I hope I don't have to use a tram again any time soon! We made it to the shoe shop and also went through a little outside shopping area where people set up tables outside and sold stuff they made! We also grabbed a drink, because that's what everyone does around 7 pm! We made it home and had some dinner, and I quickly went to bed because I was so tired!

Tomorrow, it is earth day at school and we are having an alternate schedule! We are playing games, making crafts out of recyclable material, and making smoothies. Should be a fun day! We also don't have school Thursday because it's a public holiday. Who doesn't love a 4 day week? :) I miss everyone, but I am having a fun time! Love you all!

Ciao!

xoxo Katie