With minimal sleep and a few minutes to spare, I embarked on my first solo trip, destination: Rome. I have always been captivated by the idea of Rome and its history, so I was pretty excited to see for myself if it lived up to the hype. Arriving at the Bratislava airport 3 hours early, my strong desire for a nap was starting to grow but I was concerned about someone jacking my stuff...a theme that held up for the rest of the trip. Travelling alone means there is no safety net, no other person to help you figure stuff out, or watch your stuff, its all you. I experienced Ryanair for the first time, it felt like they were trying to win the Guinness record for most people on a plane as I watched the line grow at check-in. The most disconcerting moment was when everyone clapped when we touched down on the Rome Ciampino runway...is this normal?
Arriving sweaty and tired to my hostel, I discovered I was rooming with 3 guys...somehow mixed dorm meant female dominated to me, wishful thinking perhaps? But no harm, no foul, my roommates were awesome! Omar, my bunkmate, and I went off to explore Rome the first night and after an accidental wrong turn, we ended up at the Colloseum. It was a profound moment and it hit me that I had actually followed through with a solo trip to Italy and I was soaking in history. Best moment: I looked at Omar and said I want to touch one of the columns, do you think that's allowed? We managed to cover a lot of ground and see some amazing sights, but I was ready for my first authentic Italian meal...Carbonara. It was the most delicious carbonara I have ever had in my life, I will never go back to the freezer section for carbonara after that. In a failed attempt to blog in the bar of our hostel, where the only wifi is, I ended up having an intense heart to heart with my roommate Bob. It was the last thing I expected but it was a pleasant surprise to have such an in-depth conversation with a perfect stranger.
I wandered off to see the Colloseum and Palatine hill on my own, but with a stop for gelato at 10am first...Erin, I am following your advice and eating dessert when it presents itself. Might regret it later when I put a bikini on for Greece. It was great to explore Ancient Rome and the Colloseum on my own, I have a new favorite activity for travelling alone...when I saw couples taking turns taking pictures of each other, I would offer to take their picture together. Personally, I would want pictures of me with my significant other in Italy, not solo shots. Forcing myself to keep walking, I pushed through the entire grounds of ancient Rome and got lost trying to find the exit to the Colloseum. I get lost in every single city that I go to...most people don't know that because of course it happens when I am alone, but it is second nature to me. Luckily, I am pretty easy-going about being lost and I take in the sights as I go. After about 6 hours of walking, I wandered away from the Colloseum site to find food, knowing that anything within walking radius would be touristy and overpriced. Arriving back at the hostel, I passed out for 3 hours...meant to sleep for an hour. But I think I needed it and I woke up at the same time as Jim and Bob, so we went together to see the sun set over the Vatican. I had seen the sun set over the Colloseum the day before with Omar...epic.
When you check into the Yellow in Rome, you are given an obnoxious bright yellow wristband as an identifier...but it is a good way to meet people when you are in the city, as I met Michigan that way. :)
With a bit of a late start, Omar and I headed off to Vatican city to see St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican Museums and of course, the Sistine Chapel. First off, I had no idea that my dresses might not be long enough for the Vatican. You are possibly not allowed in if your dress does not cover your knees or your shoulders...I squeaked by with knee length dress. St. Peter's basilica is insanely ornate and decadent...you could easily spend an entire day just soaking in the decadence. I had no idea what was in store for me, as we headed off to the Vatican musems. My mouth was open and head cocked to the ceiling the entire time, I was truly mesmerized and in awe of the beauty I was taking in. When we got to the Sistine Chapel, I felt like my senses were honed and ready for Michelangelo's masterpiece. It lived up to the hype in my opinion, it was stunning and so detailed. I wish that I could make my mark on the world like he has...such incredible genius.That was only the start to my day...afterwards we saw the spanish steps and the Trevi fountain. I was on cloud 9 after that, it was another great day in Rome. In the evening, we were enjoying the fading sun and drinks when a Navy guy buys limoncello shots for everyone. Tasting like a mixture of lemon pledge and sugar, these are not to be consumed often. But he bought another round after and the hostel photographer bought a round of drinks (not limoncello) as our group played along for a fashion shoot. He even fixed my hair to fall in a certain way around my face for the shots. Tres chic. This led to an awesome night of walking around with a group of 13 Americans and Canadians with a few Europeans...losing a few people at each bar, we came back to the hostel with only 5 people. It was one for the books.
Last day in Rome was a really late start, and I wasn't sure if my laptop charger would work in Pisa as the Yellow had altered the plugs to fit Western European plugs (slightly fatter than Italian plugs), so I had to stick around and wait for a charged laptop. I managed to see the Trevi fountain one more time and buy some souvenirs from street vendors as I headed out for my first regional train experience to Pisa!
