Roma!

Friday 2/17/12
Rome, Italy, what a better way to celebrate President's Day Weekend.

Fortunately, Elise and I purchased the earliest flights possible. (Sarcasm) The night before we had "the guys" come over to chill. We ended up staying up far too late, but it was worth it. We get about 4 hours of sleep before waking up to pack. Yes, pack at 5am for the flight we leave for in an hour. We're flying Ryanair so we have some luggage restrictions we try to work around.

We arrive at the airport at about 6:40am or so. I am dead as ever, but my excitement is keeping me awake. We wait around our gate and talk about random topics. I die of laughter once Elise starts talking about the cornrows some girls have. "I knew I should have cornrowed my hair this morning."

Elise called the window seat so I sit in the middle seat next to her. I want to sleep so badly, but I can't take my eyes off the window and the views I'm seeing. Flying is great!

See you in a few days Spain.

Italy ahead!

Roma. 

Landing in Rome is surreal. It's also frightening considering we're flying Ryanair. You get what you pay for. :)

Such a beautiful day here in Rome. I'm in love with this place already.
After some extra traveling from the airport we arrive at our hostel. It's my first hostel and I have no idea what to expect. We stay at The Yellow. (Such a cute place) We get in our 6 person bedroom and realize we're the only girls. None of our roomies were cute. (Disappointed)

1/2 of the room

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Dish 1: Lasagna unlike any other

We begin our trip with a delicious Italian lunch. Food here is truly amazing. As we eat we plan our day. I took a book from work to guide us. It's a little outdated, but it definitely helps us.

I pick the meal of the day which comes with 2 dishes.

Dish 2: True lemon chicken with a side of potatoes

Cutest old man. He helped us with everything.

Spanish Steps

Walking out of the metro station near the Spanish steps.

Next up, Spanish steps.
After lunch we walk to the main metro station. Underground there are stores and places to eat. The next level down is where the metro is along with the ticket machines. Walking towards the ticket machines is like a strategic game of Black Friday. Everyone is in such a rush. (Pero por que?)
I find a line that looks promising and proceed to get my ticket. For some reason, Elise and I struggle to figure out what's wrong with the machine. I have a 20, but it will NOT happily accept my money. Luckily, there is a line of impatient people behind us.
We figure out why I can't get a ticket. The machine only takes certain bills. So we try a few other machines, but the largest bills taken are 10 Euros. Well, time for a little game I like to call, "Breaking a 20 while attempting to communicate with the rushed Italian people." This was fun until my game hit about 30 minutes or so. How did I communicate? I used a mixture of English, Spanish, and sign language.

 The steps have what I like to call 4 levels. The top 2 have tons of artists selling their work. Once I get to the top, I climb up onto the highest ledge. The backside of the ledge is a good straight drop down. People were all freaked I'd fall. 

:)

Since this post is getting far too long I'll continue on with numerous posts for Roma. Follow along as you see how my adventure boots really took a beating this trip.
Day 1: Ti Amo Roma.