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Published: September 7th 2009
August 29, 2009
When I got to Rome this morning, our plane made it over thirty minutes early….6:55 am, Italian time, and already 24 degrees Celsius (that’s like 78 fahrenheit!) I got an expensive taxi (65 euro = 100 US dollars) from Roma Fiumicini (sp??) and the cabbie dropped me off at the wrong hotel… I guess that’s bound to happen though when there are 4 hotels in a row, all named after the street they’re on… So it was no big deal and I got to the Hotel Flavia around 8 am, and they were nice enough to let me check in four hours early. I was worried about how I would get in touch with Natalie, a girl from South Carolina, that I was supposed to be meeting at the hotel and traveling with. (It turns out Natalie had had quite a rough time getting in—after having taken the train from the airport into the city center, the taxi driver charged her 55 euro for ten blocks, then ripped her off - slight of hand by convincing her she had only given him a 10 and 5 when she had given him a 50 and 5… and then made her go to the atm and give more money! So that was a bummer for her, and we learned our lesson).
I went to my hot little closet, err, I mean hotel room, and fell into bed for what I was planning to be a short, one hour nap, and woke up around one oclock after having slept the day away! I jumped out of bed and took a shower before I was going to go downstairs and leave a message for Natalie, but she got to me first and we managed to get in touch easily. We decided to do a bit of walking and grab some sort of lunch, and thankfully we hit it off immediately. Though we are quite different, we definitely had plenty to talk about…so much so that after a great little lunch of Panini, and a short walk to the Spanish steps, we eventually found ourselves completely lost on the southern part of the city next to the Tiber River… Somehow we managed to pass the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, AND the coliseum and Forum before realizing we were lost…it was quite frustrating, but we decided it was a grand adventure and had to laugh at ourselves for being dumb tourists. :-) Having been walking for so long our feet had big blisters swelling up, and needless to say our map-reading confidence was wavering, so we took the time to figure out the bus system and managed to get home without a lot of trouble. After this “grand” adventure we were hot and sticky, and exhausted…. The few days we spent in Rome were absolutely sweltering and I felt that all of our hydrating was not even enough, our hotel rooms did not have A/C and we were suffering—but we did all we could, just grin and hear it. Back at the hotel I realized just how dead my feet were, but I managed the few blocks to a ristorante where Natalie and I shared il vino della casa, antipasto misto (artichoke hearts, cheese, salami, and olives), e funghi pizze (mushroom pizza!!) The best part of the meal was when we received il conto and were on euro short (I had no cash as my atm card’s pin was not working…) and the owner was very sweet, telling us no problem and actually gave us sweets and more vino… At the hotel that night we had planned on splitting the 5 euro wifi charge but it wasn’t working. The hotel manager let us use the connection in the office but we were only able to get on for a moment and I was able to email everyone to let them know I had made it safely. (I still have not figured out the calling cards or pay phones here!)
August 30, 2009
On Sunday we woke up with optimistic goals for the day; I would attend mass with Natalie at the church a block from our hotel at 9:00 and then we would head over to the Vatican City and see if we could get into the Sistine Chapel, and St Peter’s Basilica… Turns out we must have still been extremely jetlagged because after breakfast, we were late for mass, and decided to do a bit of research for the Vatican. We actually ended up falling back asleep until four in the afternoon and it was decided that only being one and a half hours from Roma, we would definitely return and sightsee what we had missed. One thing I was definitely not prepared for was the heat and humidity here in Italy, and I did not pack accordingly. With only one pair of shorts I have been dying- it’s a good thing all my roommates and Natalie were so willing to share their warm weather clothing with me because I would have never made it! The heat in Rome was almost unbearable (since we’ve gotten to Viterbo, it is still very warm but nearly as bad as Rome- the temperature here is probably 5 or 10 degrees cooler). We were taking cold showers in the morning, afternoon, and as well as before bed, we were so sticky and sweaty and hot.
Rome is unbelievable and at first I couldn’t believe I was actually in Italy… the first few days were so surreal. We got lost several times (it felt like a hundred) but now that I’ve gotten more used to the nature of the streets I know I’ll get the hang of things quickly. Give me one more week and I’ll be able to navigate the streets of Viterbo like a true italiano!
The worst part of the weekend was Monday morning, as we had decided that the 10 or 12 blocks to the Termini was close enough to leg all of our suitcases to, and save 65E for a cab. Although I am still glad we saved that money, we definitely worked hard to get our heavy luggage to the Termini in the ninety degree weather. Natalie had been corresponding with two other girls on Facebook who were going to meet us outside the McDonald’s. Bailey (Univ. Nevada, Reno) and Allison (Ohio) easily recognized Natalie (thank goodness for Facebook stalking) and the four of us figured out the train to Viterbo, arriving about four oclock in the afternoon!
Just some quick notes;
a) If I haven’t stressed it enough, let me make sure I’ve gotten my point across; Rome was the hottest place I have ever been, and that’s including St. Maarten, Costa Rica, Missouri (haha), etc!
b) Never bring 2 suitcases and a backpack again -- or wait until I have enough money to afford a cab, then bring as much luggage as I want…
c) Worst blisters of my life- Beauty is Pain? I think not…I’m definitely sticking to sneakers from now on!
d) Italian tap water is ok to drink, even straight out of the Trevi Fountain!
e) Italian MTV is ridiculously entertaining
f) The bidet works well for washing sore feetsies (just make sure it’s clean first)
g) LOVE shoes and purses and clothes…if I had any sort of hopes I would come home with any money at all, those hopes are definitely gone now! :-)
As we arrived in Viterbo I began getting more and more excited, it had finally started to sink in that I was really, truly in ITALY and whoa, I am actually going to be living here for four months! Kind of a crazy realization, but I couldn’t be happier with this place and the people here. Monday, the first night, not everyone had made it but the rest of us took a short tour and ate at an outdoor pizzeria in the Valle Faul under the Papale Palazzo. I was very excited to get to know all of the other students and learn my way around town, and I couldn’t wait to see our apartment. When going on the tour of town we found out where exactly it is located, and I was dying to move in our things and get settled in after toting around and living out of a suitcase for several days.
I'll try to figure out how to put up pictures, but it might be a few days....
Con amore e Arrivederci!
Viterbo Goals (On A College Student's Budget) by Natalie and Alix
1. Weekend/Day trip to the Mediterranean
2. Thermal hot springs
3. Hike and a picnic!
4. Zipline?
5. Roma
6. The Pope - Santa Rosa Festival
7. Mouth of Hell
8. Go out dancing!
9. Open air market
10. Wine country/crush grapes
11. Other nearby villages
12. XMAS gifts (while we still have $$, thats kind of important)
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Jessica Crawford
non-member comment
YAY
It all sounds soooo exciting alix!! u better be taking tons of pictures, i am so jealous reading all this. good luck with school i start tomorrow! LOVE YOU