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| On the way to Roma |
I tried to sleep in today in hopes of sleeping through my hangover. It didn't work very well. I definitely still felt terrible when I woke up. But, luckily I had some amazing food to snack on to make me feel better. My parents packed a little care package that Kevin brought me, and it was the best care package ever. Because first of all, it wasn't a care package, it was an entire duffel bag that was packed to the brim. And it was full of the best goodies EVER!! There was a dozen bagels, Girl Scout Cookies, goldfish, awesome cereal like Lucky Charms and Trix, peanut butter (because for some reason they don't sell it in this country!) some new clothes, some much needed necessities like more shampoo and conditioner, travel sized toiletries, another converter, jewelry, and shoes, shoes, and more shoes :) I have the best parents...
ever! So we ate some breakfast, finished packing, then headed out the door to Rome! We realized about 15 minutes before we left that Ryanair, the airline we were traveling through, REQUIRES you to check-in online prior to arriving at the airport. What kind of airline
requires you to check in online? Isn't is just supposed to be a feature for added convenience? And the penalty for not doing so is 40E...CRAZY! So thank God we realized that. But then we realized we were also required to print out our boarding pass, which was an issue because I obviously don't have a printer at my apartment. So, we hurriedly went to the copy store that is right around the corner from my house and printed them out there. However, we ran into all sorts of trouble. The files wouldn't open on their computers so we had to jump through all sorts of hoops to be able to print them out. But finally, after about 30 minutes of stress and debacles, we had the tickets printed out and we were on our way! We go to Centrale and of course missed the bus to the airport by 1 minute, so we had to wait 20 minutes for the next one to leave. When we got to the airport, we were told that even though we checked in online, we still have to wait in the "check-in" line so the receptionists can check our passports. What in the world is the point of requiring passengers to check-in online, if they are still going to have to wait in the check-in line when they get to the airport? European systems kill me sometimes...they are all so terrible inefficient!!! So after waiting in the check-in line, then the security line, then the line to board the plane, we were off to Rome!! I was so, so, so excited!
We landed right on time, bought a bus ticket to the train station, then went to find our hostel from there! Hostelworld.com gave pretty clear directions on how to get there (unlike the Paris hostel, refresh your memory
here). We followed them exactly and ended up finding the hostel very easily. Kevin and I were two for two with finding the hostel! I was beginning to think that Emily, Caitlin, and I are idiots and just really bad with directions, which is why we always failed miserably. Actually, I take that back. If you look at Day 18 from the Paris post, you will see the directions that the website gave us: Leave the train station, turn right. There is no way anyone actually found the hostel from those directions. Anyways, we checked in with no trouble, dropped our stuff off at in our room, then headed out for dinner and some drinks. The hostel was actually really nice. Our room was teeny tiny, but it was clean, so I was happy! The bathroom was very clean too, which is a rarity when it comes to hostels!
We found a really cheap restaurant next right around the corner from our hostel. I had a massive plate of spaghetti for 5E, Kevin had a huge beer for 3E. It was pretty awesome, but I was so uncomfortably full afterwards. I literally couldn't move; I don't know why I always do that to myself! It might have had something to do with the basket of bread I ate before hand (sorry daddy, but I still finished my meal, so you can't be that mad)! Afterwards, we took a bus to a bar called The Drunken Ship. I had read about it on multiple websites, and everyone said it was must-do. Everyone said it was super touristy, but I honestly didn't care. I love hearing the English language! We walked to the train station, found the bus, and hopped on. However, after we sat down, we realized that there was a ticket machine right outside the door. So, because we are the honest people that we are, we hopped off to buy some tickets. And, immediately after stepping foot on the pavement, the doors to the bus shut, and it drove off. And the next one didn't leave for 20 minutes. Last time we ever buy tickets. So we got back on the bus 20 minutes later and headed to the bar. On the bus, there was the drunkest, sketchiest old man in the world. He had 1 tooth, a bottle of Vodka in his hand, and the raggediest clothes I had ever seen. He spent the entire 20 minute bus ride screaming racial slurs in Italian at a black man that was sitting in front of him, and pacing up and down the bus making a scene. I didn't even want to make eye contact with him, because I was afraid he was going to come over and punch me in the face. He was crazy.
When we got off the bus, I quickly realized that 5 inch heels and uneven cobblestone don't mesh well together. Each of the individual cobblestones were like 3 inches apart; it was literally impossible for me to walk. But, we finally got there about 20 minutes after we would have if I had been wearing normal shoes, and it was exactly what everyone had said. Everyone in the bar was American. The bartenders were American and spoke perfect English, even the menu was in English. And...there was a beer pong table in the back of the bar. It was like I stepped out of Italy and right into a house party in Blacksburg. And I loved it! It was refreshing to talk to Americans! It seemed to be to go-to spot for American students studying abroad in Rome.
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| Beer pong in the bar |
We both had a few yummy drinks, then headed back. We had a really long day planned tomorrow...one that we were both super excited for!
We found a really cheap restaurant next right around the corner from our hostel. I had a massive plate of spaghetti for 5E, Kevin had a huge beer for 3E. It was pretty awesome, but I was so uncomfortably full afterwards. I literally couldn't move; I don't know why I always do that to myself! It might have had something to do with the basket of bread I ate before hand (sorry daddy, but I still finished my meal, so you can't be that mad)! Afterwards, we took a bus to a bar called The Drunken Ship. I had read about it on multiple websites, and everyone said it was must-do. Everyone said it was super touristy, but I honestly didn't care. I love hearing the English language! We walked to the train station, found the bus, and hopped on. However, after we sat down, we realized that there was a ticket machine right outside the door. So, because we are the honest people that we are, we hopped off to buy some tickets. And, immediately after stepping foot on the pavement, the doors to the bus shut, and it drove off. And the next one didn't leave for 20 minutes. Last time we ever buy tickets. So we got back on the bus 20 minutes later and headed to the bar. On the bus, there was the drunkest, sketchiest old man in the world. He had 1 tooth, a bottle of Vodka in his hand, and the raggediest clothes I had ever seen. He spent the entire 20 minute bus ride screaming racial slurs in Italian at a black man that was sitting in front of him, and pacing up and down the bus making a scene. I didn't even want to make eye contact with him, because I was afraid he was going to come over and punch me in the face. He was crazy. 
When we got off the bus, I quickly realized that 5 inch heels and uneven cobblestone don't mesh well together. Each of the individual cobblestones were like 3 inches apart; it was literally impossible for me to walk. But, we finally got there about 20 minutes after we would have if I had been wearing normal shoes, and it was exactly what everyone had said. Everyone in the bar was American. The bartenders were American and spoke perfect English, even the menu was in English. And...there was a beer pong table in the back of the bar. It was like I stepped out of Italy and right into a house party in Blacksburg. And I loved it! It was refreshing to talk to Americans! It seemed to be to go-to spot for American students studying abroad in Rome. 
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