We’ve made a hobby out of dodging raindrops. It’s been pretty stormy in Rome for the past four days, and although the torrential downpours have a way of really bringing out the romantic beauty of the city, it’s made it pretty difficult for me to capture our day to day adventures.

A few days ago during a patch of sunshine, we hiked to the church of Santa Sabina which overlooks Rome and is surrounded by groves of the sweetest little orange trees. The view from the hill was spectacular. We laid in the garden and wandered around the pathways of wild, tropical-like flowers. I highly recommend coming to Santa Sabina and the Giardino degli Aranci (or gardens of oranges… for my not so Italian inclined friends).  It’s incredibly peaceful on a mid afternoon and not overpopulated with people wearing fanny packs. I have nothing against fanny packs, just sayin’!

It’s crazy that Luke and I have already been here for a little over a week. I’ve gotten pretty accustomed to the area around our apartment and in Trastevere. Speaking Italian is something Luke loves challenging himself with. I’m getting pretty darn good at understanding the majority of conversations, if I do say so myself! I’m no way as comfortable with striking up conversation with Italian speakers as Luke is, but I’m pretty proud of myself for even comprehending 60% of what they’re speaking about.

This week has been a great demonstration about how travel is not always glamorous. We lost our wifi and managed to break one of our keys inside our huge, wooden door facing the street, making it impossible for anyone in our building to get in… all in one day. Yep. Not the greatest.

But we’ve also had incredible experiences that surpass all the strife. We figured out Roman public transportation, people! This is big! On Saturday, we headed to Santa Marinella’s beaches for an afternoon of swimming in the Mediterranean. By the way, I don’t think I’ve ever been in clear ocean water… it was so beautiful. We also ended up watching the Italy vs. England World Cup game out on the streets of Trastevere, surrounded by hundreds of soccer fanatics peaking over each others heads to glimpse at the TV screens from inside the bars. It was nuts. Luke’s bought a new suit. I have a potential Skype interview for a job I’m hopeful for. Last night we hung out with Mauro and his wife Albi, the owners of the panini shop down the road. And we’ve eaten another round of gorgonzola pizza from Dar Poeta.