Rome

Well today has been a very long day already. I woke up at 1:30a.m. UK time. I managed to get my stuff together and then got the call from the taxi service. I think it was called ComCab or something. It is so weird to actually sit in a car that is driving on the left side of the road. So I got to the bus stop almost 30 minutes early. I waited and finally this little van thing shows up, and I get on. Well I think I might have fallen asleep for a few minutes on the bus before it was time to get off. Stanstead airport is crazy. I didn't know what to do and I couldn't find anybody to ask, so eventually I just waited in the RyanAir bag check line, even though I didn't have any bags. Turns out that that’s what I was supposed to do to get my passport stamped. So I made it through security alright, and after almost freaking out because I didn't see my flight on the list, I finally saw it. I headed for gate 48 and after a while I got on the plane.

I was pretty close to the front of the line, so I picked myself a window seat. RyanAir is crazy. It really felt like a roller coaster when it took off. The other planes I had been on were not so bad. One kid even screamed or something. Well it was dark when I got on the plane, and the runway lights were really cool. I saw part of the sunrise before I took a little nap. It was really really orange. My flight ended up lasting about 2 hours; we arrived 20 minutes early. When I got off the airplane I went through the boarder thing and got my passport stamped. Then I managed to get a bus ticket and on the bus to Termini. I think I dozed on that bus ride too, and I'm still tired.

Well, it is kind of sad, but the first thing I noticed about Rome, is that it isn't as awesome as London. Well it is kind of strange to see people on the right side of the road again, but they drive like crazy people. I probably have almost got run over about a hundred times just today. I think the locals are used to dodging cars, so I just follow them now mostly. I feel like I am playing a very serious froger game. Another thing about the roads is that there may be clearly two lanes, but there can be three rows of cars in the two lanes. They all have tiny cars or vespas, so they just go where they want and don't care. There are very few stop lights, and no buttons to push to cross the few actual crosswalks.

After getting off the bus I wandered around until I found my hostel. It was very hard to find, I walked past it probably 6 times or more, then finally I saw this little sign and so I went up the two flights of stairs to check in. I got my free breakfast coupons, a map, keys, instructions, and got a towel. Then I unloaded my crap and headed back to the metro. I intended to go to the Coliseum, but missed the stop twice and finally realized it wasn't open. Good job Rome Metro at keeping people informed. Another thing, I hate the metro system here. There are entrances and exits, and they are not even close to being in the same spot. Oh, and if you accidentally go too far, and need to go back you have to leave the station and come back through the entrance. This is stupid. I miss the tube. Basically the Metro is the dirtiest place I have ever been in. There is trash everywhere, and it smells horrible. The seats don't have cushions, but that’s probably a good thing.

So, after I got done being lost on the metro, I decided to go to the Capitoline Museums. I saw a lot of statues. There were pieces from this colossal statue of Constantine, and they were huge. I also saw the famous wolf statue with Remus and Romulus. There were a lot of other cool things too, although the staff there was not very nice, and there are literally no directions as to what to do, then they yell at you for not checking your bag. Oh well, it was cool, tomorrow morning I hope to go back to that area and see the Coliseum and the Roman Forum and Palatine. I got some pretty cool pictures of the city from the third floor of the museum. I also saw the place where they used to race chariots. Now it just mostly looks like two gravel roads between two hills.

Getting back to my hostel was another story, I couldn't find the metro stop, so I had to get on a bus to termini and go from there. At least I did get back, and found it with little trouble, well after I got going in the right direction. Now I am going to figure out what I am going to do with the rest of my trip, well at least tomorrow.