So i had to get up reasonably early to take a 4 hour train down to London, which, being new to travelling alone, was an adventure in itself to be honest. So upon arriving at Paddington Station, i had to work out the underground, which wasn't actually too complicated once i'd stared at the tube map for ten minutes. the underground was included in my train ticket, which was brilliant because tickets seemed to be about £7 and there was a long queue for the ticket machines - not that i would have known which ticket to get anyway. so that was a plus, but one stupid thing i did was wear summer clothes. you'd think that would be fine, but in England in July, there is no guarantee with the weather, and i was freezing. i had been trying to save space in my carry on backpack, because it was a mission trying to fit a weeks worth of clothes in without the extra jumper, however i really could have used it.
I got to the airport with very little trouble, and met up with Vikki, who i'd never met before, but she was a friend of the friend i was going with, so we spent a while getting to know each other while waiting for Eliot. once he got there, we wandered around for a while, then headed to the security check in bit. i was slightly worried that they'd scan my bag and find something terrible, but everything was fine, minus the mammoth bottle of sun-cream in Vikki's bag. after security we stood around for another half an hour, waiting for them to let us on the plane. which was terrifying. the plane, not the waiting. i'd never been on Ryanair before, but now i completely understand all the jokes - it was cramped and horrible, and it turns out that i'm not really that keen on flying. i spent most of the flight with my ipod in, head down, eyes shut praying that i wasn't going to die.
We landed at about five in the evening, and the airport in Rome was really basic - completely different to Heathrow, which was surprising considering Rome was the capital city ect.. but it was nice and warm, so i was reasonably happy, and it didn't take us long to find a bus that would take us to termini station - the main train station in Rome, for ab
out €3. that was at that moment that i realised my phone wasn't going to work the entire trip as i'd completely forgotten to go to the phone shop to ask them how to make it work in Europe. so i spent the 40 minute drive trying to work it out myself, although i did manage to glance around and stare at some of the amazing architecture and Italian writing.
Arriving at termini station i realised that i'd completely forgotten to print off a map showing how to get from the station to our hostel,
Ape Latina, so we spent a good while wandering around looking for it. we ended up bumping into a lovely Irish priest who helped us out considerably, although upon getting there we discovered that we were supposed to have been there at midday, and despite being a little angry about having waited for so long, the woman there was lovely and friendly, and spoke a considerable amount of English. she showed us to our rooms, and then showed us a map of Rome and told us we could look at it when we wanted. she also recommended some bars and eating places we could go to, so after a few minutes of looking around our room - me and Vikki were sharing, and Dan and Eliot had the room next door - we decided to go out and get some food.
Dan's plane had been delayed by a few hours, so we got some pizza and wandered through the streets a little. at this point it had started getting dark outside, but there were food stores open everywhere, and almost every single one we walked past had a man outside trying to drag us in to eat their food. it was a little intimidating to begin with, but you learnt to just keep confident, and they normally wouldn't kick up a fuss when you walked away. it was the same with crossing the road - you kind of had to just walk out and hope for the best, because no car was going to stop just to let you cross the road unless you didn't give them another option.
After pizza, we decided to try out the Irish bar that had been suggested, which seems ridiculous - going to Italy to hang out in an Irish bar, but it was actually holds some of the best memories from the entire trip. we met JJ, this Scottish bartender who was completely hilarious, and the bar itself was adorable. there were only a few people in there, one being the owner of
Ape Latina who came over and said hi, seeming pretty pleased that we'd followed her advice.
 |
'JJ - such a legend. the best barmaid
in Italy! or anywhere for that
matter, love Vikki & Emily' |
behind the bar was an entire wall covered in currency and little notes from people who had visited all over the world, so we left a twenty pence, and a little note of our own. after a few drinks, we got a call from Dan saying he'd arrived, and Eliot wandered off to find him. he was gone for a while, which is when me and Vikki ended up talking to JJ, getting quite drunk and watching her make some crazy cocktails. she showed us a map, and told us all the best places to go, so with some help, Vikki and i planned out the next day. it was then that we were told that public transport was on strike, so we'd have to walk between 8am and 5pm. the boys got back eventually, and after another few hours of what turned into basically a private party in the pub, we staggered back to our rooms, falling asleep at 3am with plans of waking up at 7.. it was a good first day in Rome.
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