Rome In Rome

We just got back from our vacation in Italy. That was amazing! Where do I begin...

Day 1, 2 - The Longest Day

The first leg of our flight is from Los Angeles International (LAX) to London Heathrow (LHR). 10+ hours of non-stop monotony... Or so I thought... We flew on a Air New Zealand 747. They had on-board entertainment and I got to watch The Bourne Ultimatum, Roman Holiday, Superbad Wassup gangstaz [flashes sign]... and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. We arrived at Heathrow at 10AM. We then had a 4 hour wait before proceeding to the second leg of our flight: London Heathrow to Munich Strauss (MUC). I was surprised by the cleanliness of the Munich Strauss airport. So modern and soooo clean. In Munich, we only waited 1 hour before the last leg of our flight: Munich Strauss to Rome Fiumicino (FCO).

We arrived in Rome at 9:30PM, and by 10PM, we were ready to find a train to the city. When we reached the train terminal, I was shocked to find everything closed! What kind of international airport closes train terminals at 10PM?! The only thing operational were automated ticketing machines. Man this sucks... Luckily, there was a man who helped stranded tourists like ourselves. He stood by the ticketing machine helping people choose the right options to get to Roma Termini. Many of the tourists returned the favor by tipping him a Euro.

Now comes another shocker. When we arrived at the Roma Termini, we found EVERYTHING closed!! Man this really sucks... At night, the area around the Termini is not the best. Graffiti and tagging everywhere. We asked a policeman to point us to our hotel, the Bettoja Nord Nuova Roma on Via G Amendola. He told us it was nearby. Great!... So we walked a couple of blocks according to his directions. After attempting to cross one intersection, we soon feared for our lives. Crossing the street is very dangerous. The cars don't seem to want to stop. And when they do stop, it's literally inches away from you! We somehow survived and eventually found the hotel. 23 hours after leaving LAX, the day has ended.

Day 3 - The Late Start

We woke up around 2PM. We finally got some much needed sleep. Sleep deprivation + jet lag = no fun... We went out for a walk to see what is around the neighborhood. We ate at a nearby pizzeria. Hmm... They don't put tomato sauce on the pizza... And tried some gelato. Good stuff.

Along the way, we had a small... argument. Something about her wanting to take lots of pictures and me not wanting to stand out like a typical tourist. But my argument was moot... Wearing sweats and sneakers already made us stand out. Typical American tourist... It turns out everyone is fashionable in Rome. Even the pan handlers... Man we suck... But an hour later, we made up and all was good again.

In the evening, we decided to walk to Trevi Fountain. According to a cheap map from the hotel, the fountain is nearby. Take Via del Vimenale to Via del Quattro Fontane. Make a left on Via del Tritone and look for the crowds. Simple. But they forgot to mention that many intersections do not have street signs! Man this sucks... A short walk that should have taken less than 3o minutes is turning into a nightmare of streets with no names, narrow sidewalks, and speeding cars. Will we survive the walk to Trevi?!

Semi-lost, we walked along Via del Quirinale and ended up in front of The Quirinale, the White House of Italy. Hmm... That explains all the guards with the assault rifles... With the help of a policeman, we found our way to Trevi and, later on, the Spanish Steps.