My Version of the Roman Holiday

A girl, protected and spoiled by her parents, moves hundreds of miles away from her home in India, to live alone and go to a good University and that too, to study Architecture; can you imagine the culture shock she had? Then add to it the pressures of doing all the preparations for a study trip to Rome. It was a very tough time; but, thanks to friends, she managed. That girl is me. Of-course, now, that I am older and Wiser (I like to believe I am), I can manage such things now, but then, it was a monumental task to even apply for my Visa.

Then came the actual trip and I have never had more fun. We were 200 hundred students of Architecture, who overtook the city of Rome. The first time I visited a European city, outside of the UK and it was amazing. The romance of the buildings, the cobblestones on every street, the crazy Italian Drivers, I fell in love with it all.

Being a student of Architecture, we walked the entire city, ate when necessary, except for when it came to the Chocolate croissants, which we found abundantly in every cafe in the city, as these we gorged on. No matter how cold or warm these croissants were, the chocolate would just ooze right out.

We spent our days, walking the city seeing the places, figuring our ways out around there, in the evenings, we would go sit and sketch our favorite spots and the nights were reserved for finding a nice restaurant, sitting with friends, discussing all what we saw, felt and experienced during the day, eating lovely food, and drinking lovely Italian Wine... Lots of it...

Eight days this continued, and then when it was time to go back, we regretted it for being such a short trip.

The aura of love and excitement of this city, of the massive architectural beauties, of the size of these structures, of the Colosseum, of the Pope coming out to wave at the people crammed into the Vatican Square, of the food in Trastevere, of the drunken walks home, of the stilettos that broke after getting stuck between two cobblestones, of the arguments over who has managed to sketch the building best, of the buildings painted light pink or a bright yellow, of the Armani-clad Policia... stays with me forever.

I was there for 8 days, and I covered lots, but I believe that even a lifetime would not let me have my fill of this city.

Beauty lurks around every corner, whether it be in Architectural structures, or the sharp features of some of the most fashionable women in the world, which I would love to see again.