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Published: April 17th 2009
April 4-5, 2009
So much has happened in the last couple of days! Yesterday was our last day in Sardinia. We got up, got our free continetal breakfast and got ready to go to the airport. We slept in a little bit and it was very nice😊 Me, Hollie and Jake got 2 taxies to come soon and pick us up so we would be in time for our 3pm flight to Rome. The taxi ended up being 10£ a piece. We got to the airport and checked in and walked around. I was going to buy some shotglasses, but they wanted like 4 or 5 £ for them and I couldn't justify that!
Hollies flight didn't leave till 5ish, so she sat and waited and we went to check in and sit in our terminal. We found our gate and sat there waiting for it to board. There was a plane that was also supposed to board to Pisa. A bunch of people lined up and were waiting, but the flight got delayed. They started boarding my flight before the Pisa flight. The two gates were pretty much through the same door, so our two lines converged into a big mess. The stewardess said something in Italian and the whole crowd was in an uproar and pushing and shoving and yelling in Italian. It was quite scary!!! We met this guy at the gelato store that we went to the last days in Sardinia and he happened to be on our same flight. He spoke English and just started laughing at us when we freaked out about what was going on. He said, "Just push your way through, this is what we Italians do!" We all made it on our flight and landed just fine. It was wonderful flying over the Mediterrean because at some points you can't tell what is sky and what is ocean. Beautiful blue....
We landed in Rome and then proceeded to find the way to our hostel. We bought a ticket for the metro and the train. Apparently, riding the bus is very free here, so we do it often! How nice! It took us a long time to finally find our hostel, and when we did, we were all a bit surprised. It wasn't a hostel; it was a campsite. We knew it said tent when we booked, but wasn't quite sure what that meant and booked anyway. The pictures we saw on the internet looked promising! We are in a tent...3 and 3, with 3 beds in each on a platform in a tent. GO FIGURE. WE ALL FROZE THE FIRST NIGHT. NOT FUN! It only cost 11£ a night, so that is probably why we booked it.
Anyway, we were starving, so we found the restaurant in this campsite, which is huge and has a pool, a restaurant a bar...and all the above and sat down for some good food. I had pizza and it was delicious. I am going to miss Rome's pizza because it is AMAZING!
After dinner we went to the supermarket right across the street for some groceries. We ended up buying 5 liters of wine for 5£. That turned out to be a bad idea in the end, because 1/3 of our group ended up puking that night. UGH. The next morning was not too pleasant for some...I DID NOT PUKE, so I was fine. The only bad thing was that I was FREEZING and when I went to take a shower, there was NO hot water at all! ANYWHERE. I skipped the shower and got ready. We left about 9ish and then went to buy some tickets at our campsite for the bus and metro to Vatican City. We squeezed on our bus and made it in the right direction and ended up in Vatican City and I got to hear the Pope speak and I got to see him! It was pretty cool to be there on Palm Sunday, but at the same time, I'm not catholic, so it wasn't that big a deal for me.
Vatican City is beautiful though...before we went into the city, we got coffee. We walked around after Vatican City and saw some chapels and the magical fountain and the Pantheon. We ended up eating at McDonalds...which is quite different here than back at home. Fries never tasted so good!
It is good to note that the weather today was somewhere I would say in the 70s and we were hot and tired. We ended up leaving soon and coming back to our campsite. We got some more groceries, especially water, (you can't drink the water out of the tap here), and then came here to their lab to buy internet. We were going to go on night tour or Rome, but that is not offered until Saturday and in summer. Oh well. I think we could all use some sleep now anyway! That is pretty much our day so far...
I have more blogs I could send, but don't have my laptop...and this keyboard is super screwy! I love and miss you all and wish I could talk to you more often. Their truly is NO PLACE LIKE HOME!
I only put the cost in there as a note to myself about how much I am spending...I am a little scared, but at the end I am going to add it all up and actually see what this trip cost me!
Hope you enjoy and hope to talk to you soon!!!! Pictures probably won't come until I get back!
ALL MY LOVE....
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Lisa Tucci
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Bus Rides in Rome
Buses aren't free, and if you're caught, it's a 50 euro fine. Having said that, they rarely check (but they do check the tourist runs often - another shake-down for the yankee dollar). Once you get a ticket, (now even frm machines on board), you have to TIMBRARE - punch it in a different machine altogether. It's an honour system, but very few people honor it! It's another form of socialism at work, as rarely do people pay for their rides. L.Tucci www.touringtracks.com burntbythetuscansun.blogspot.com