I was also joined by two friends from NABA, Isabela and Annika, both of Mexican descent. I opted for a Ryanair flight, my first, leaving Milano at 8:25 am (well, an airport 50 minutes away from Milan). The plus side: I got to Rome at 9:30 in the morning. The down side: I had to wake up at 4:20 am. However, this was a good idea in the long run; the train costs the same amount and takes 6 hours (this was the mode of transportation taken by Isabela and Annika). Ryanair was pretty easy and security in Italian airports is, frankly, a joke - a point that made me a little uncomfortable after realizing I was flying out on Sept. 11. All went well though!
Upon arriving in Rome, I dropped my stuff off at our hostel (see map below). It touts itself as a "party hostel" and I found it to be clean and the staff to be pretty respectful. EVERYONE staying there was between the ages of 20-23 and it had an unusual 11-4 lockout, which I took advantage of by doing what I love: walking around a new place listening to Beyonce. I saw the Pantheon and went inside, hung out in Piazza Navona (the story of that place is just too much to describe) and walked along the Tiber river.
My eyes quickly became pinwheels at the sights of such things like the Colosseum, which was literally about 4 blocks from our hostel. Annika and Isabela arrived after I did, and Georgia was on a school trip, so I had a good 3 - 4 hours to wander the city. I brought nothing but a map, not even a camera or phone. I wanted to be alone with my thoughts and have no distractions, so there are no photos from those first few hours, or the first day of our trip in fact.
However, what follows is part 1 of 2 of my Roman adventure: our trip to the fabled Colosseum.
Our hostel is the red pin. Notice the short distance to the Colosseum.
Our first glimpse of what was awaiting us: a fucking huge line (I later realized this is the case with almost all "touristy" things [duh]). I shouldn't have worried though, it only took about 30 mintues to get through and was a reasonable 12 euros for entry.
Here I am! So happy! Devotees to my life will notice the quintessential Jai'me outfit: camouflage and skull scarf. Some may call these patterns clashing. However, I believe a classical look befits classical architecture.
In awe.
You can only imagine the delight Isabela and I felt when we found out smoking is in fact allowed at the colosseum, and we would one day (well, that day) be able to say we smoked a cigarette at the Colosseum.
There really isn't a day that goes by that I don't remind myself how lucky I am to be here. I of course dread coming back to America; I know that when I return I will be kind of sad. But for now I am really enjoying this experience and learning a lot, especially about myself. It is making me so much more confident and comfortable with myself and my abilities. I guess I really do feel like I'm on top of the world.
Perhaps Mary J Blige and Lil Wayne would be the best to sum it all up:
So I like what I see when I'm looking at me
When I'm walking past the mirror
No stress through the night, at a time in my life
Ain't worried about if you feel it
Got my head on straight, I got my mind right
I aint gonna let you kill it
I wouldn't change my life, my life's just fine.
-Mary J Blige, Just Fine (remix), featuring Lil Wayne
Ciao! Part 2 coming very, very soon.
-Jai'me
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