Tag Archives: rome

Goodbye Rome, Hello Sarajevo!

Today I am leaving Rome and heading to Bosnia.  This section of the trip is both where I got all frustrated while booking it, and then even more frustrated living it.  I originally wanted to go from Rome to Puglia and take an overnight ferry to Dubrovnik.  Well today is Wednesday and guess what day of the week that ferries do not run?  Yes.  Wednesday.  So I opted to fly to Bosnia.  This was the start of several days where I watched my “Best Travel Planner EVER” crown turn to rust before my eyes.

Hotel check out is at 11:00  My flight is at 4:05.  I decide to go to the airport this early because I don’t want to be in Rome anymore. Plus my flight has changed and I am not all that sure of the new time because there is no wifi in my room and I am limited on what I can see on my phone.

There was no one upstairs when I checked out of my room. I just left the keys there.  I had to restrain myself to keep from leaving a note about YOU LYING BASTARDS. THERE IS NO WIFI HERE.

I walked downstairs and the dude who checked me in is out there!  He asks me how my stay is.  I say “there is no wifi” and he says “yeah…”  in this sheepish tone that causes me to FLIP OUT on him.  I am so pissed off,  I am yelling about how I never would have stayed here, this is bullshit and false advertising.  I basically just keep yelling at him.  He basically just keeps standing there.  I finally walk away while giving him the finger.  I am still so mad about this.  It is so irrational but I hate liars and to knowingly lie about having wifi when you don’t just really set me off.  The hilarity of all of this is that this is the first trip ever in my life where I have brought a laptop type thingy.  On any other trip to any other place I have been to in my past, I wouldn’t have even known that this hotel is a liar liar pants on fire.

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Rome, Italy: Colosseum, Palatine Hill, Roman Forum and St. Peters Basilica in Vatican City

Today is my last full day in Rome.  I will not lie; I am looking forward to my stay here being over.  I am just dying to go east.  I am doing that thing again where I wonder why the hell do I keep coming to places that are not even in my top 100 places to see before I die.  I keep getting sucked in by famous tourist spots. Like how can I not go to Rome and see the Sistene Chapel or the Colosseum?    I need to guide myself away from doing this in the future.  The three days I have spent here could have been spent anywhere east of the Adriatic and I would have spent these three days in absolute heaven.

But then I think of things like my time in Naples or last year in Florence.  I fell in love with Florence.  I loved my time in Naples and all its surrounding areas.  I wasn’t really expecting either of those things to happen.  I am so glad I went.  I love finding new places I love that I hadn’t planned on falling in love with.   It makes me feel like I am learning about the world and growing as a person.  I guess I am bipolar about my vacation destinations.

But anyway, less deep thoughts with Jennifer and more back to Rome.

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Rome, Italy: Vatican Museum, Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps

After completely losing my mask of sanity on my first night in Rome, I was awoken at around 5:30 am by a thunderstorm.  I went to make sure my window was closed and that’s when I remebered my window doesn’t even go outside, it goes into the hallway and across from that is an open window.  I am not so sure my sanity will return to me today.

I get up and get ready to go out.  My hotel leaves your breakfast for you the night before.  I went from fresh breads, fruit, smoothies, yogurt, pots of coffee and home made deserts in Naples to this:

breakfast

I leave a note for someone to please fix my WiFi and I head out.

Today is Vatican City day.  I do not have much of a personal interest in seeing the Vatican Museum, but I am in Rome.  I have to go, right?  So I do.

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Rome, Italy: Train Mishap and Where is My WiFi Dammit?

I do not like Rome.  This is not entirely Rome’s fault.   I acknowledge that.  But I do not like it.

I was leaving Napoli today.  I last left off leaving Castel Sant’Elmo.  I had to go back to my hotel and pick up my luggage.  Dying, hot, sweaty, death.

I walked back over to Centrale to buy a train ticket to Rome.  The next train was leaving in ten minutes, I wanted a tiny bit more time to do things like buy an ice cold drink (DYING, HOT, SWEATY, DEATH) and smoke a cigarette.  I look at the later times and see prices €40 and up.  What the hell, I thought it was going to be like €10.  Then I notice the too-soon train is only €11.20.  Perfect, I will take it.  Who needs a cigarette and ice cold drink when you will be in Rome in about an hour for only €11.20?

Ugh.  Did you know they have slow trains between Naples and Rome?  I didn’t.  I am now on a three hour train.  I boarded late so there are no seats left.  I am sitting outside between the two cars, burning hot.  There is a guy selling cold water, he does not have change for a €20 bill.  I don’t have anything smaller since I just put all my change and smaller bills into the ticket machine.

I did see some cool scenery though:
View train from Rome to Naples

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