I have been taking random full or half days here and there along my trip but fair consistently working 40 – 50 hours a week while traveling. I’ve been touring all day, working all afternoon and evening then partying all night while also planning for the next parts of the trip (transport to the next place, accommodations when I get there, bus and train research for while I’m there and creating a list of the ‘absolutely have’ to see and do’s)… all by myself. It’s exhausting to say the least… trying to exist and be present in one moment while planning the next. So I was grateful to not only have a travel companion for a bit but also to take a real vacation away from the computer and to have full days to do with as I please.

For Christmas, I gifted my boyfriend of a year money for a passport and the offer of a ticket to meet me in Europe… anywhere and anytime he’d like. I realized that we might not stay together as the different stages of life we were in were dragging us further and further apart, but I wanted him to have the experience of traveling abroad. I have wanted to see the world my whole life, but up until two years ago, I never thought I would have the opportunity. Jon works so hard and does his best to be a good man in a world where that may not always get you very far… I wanted him to know that it is possible and real, that hopefully life won’t always be so difficult. We did end up breaking up right before I left for the international part of my trip, the unknown of what would happen when I came back was too much to bear and worry about while I was traveling. But we kept in touch – I thought it would be troublesome to have to keep in contact while traveling before I left, but when I got to my first foreign speaking country and had that mini-meltdown, I was so grateful to have the support and encouragement throughout the day (I’m able to text internationally). It’s like I had home with me, even 5,800 miles away. He decided to take me up on the offer and we began planning a week in Italy.

I arrived a few hours before he did, seeing the beauty of a sunset in Rome on the hour long bus ride from the airport. I walked through cobbled alleys to meet Pietro, our AirBnB host, and had a brief but lovely conversation. He thankfully pointed me in the direction of his favorite pizza place as I was starving and knew Jon would be too when he arrived at 11pm. When I got home with the food after an exhausting day of traveling (including the sketchy cab experience and frustrating airport situations), I saw that a smiley face had been drawn on the box from the older waiter who told me I had a beautiful smile… it made my day and was a great start to the trip.

They say ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’ but it is very possible to walk it in such! We walked over 25,000 steps every day we were in Rome (according to Jon’s FitBit). We spent 3 1/2 days strolling and stuffing our faces. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to enjoy Italian food in the states again.

Moments in Rome:
–Strolling along the streets of Rome… seeing so many beautiful sights, archways and statues (more than would be worth noting and boring you)
–Fontana di Trevi: though under construction, I was still able to through in a coin and make my wish that I might one day return!
–The Pantheon: the columns on the outside, the art on the inside
–The Vittorio Emanuele II Monument: the building itself was stunning and we took the elevator to the top floor to get a great panoramic view of Rome
–Circus Maximus: at first we couldn’t understand why people were taking pictures of a dirty, random field, but then we figured it out… it’s pretty cool to know that it’s where the chariot races were held!
–Largo di Torre Argentina: remains of the old theater where Caesar was killed, now a ‘no-kill’ shelter for homeless cats… ironic?
–The Colosseum: architecturally stunning and incredible to imagine what it was centuries ago (minus all the awful death, ya know)
-walking down Tevere River at night (which is probably everything every tour book warns you against) and coming across a group of sketchy people… deciding we’d pass normally and (I took out my spoon for defense) then their dogs started barking and we hightailed it in the opposite direction
-we had terrible, rude service but a delicious cocktail at Barnum Cafe, danced to decade old music at Sloppy Sam’s (motto: classy in the front, sloppy in the back) after jager bombs and gross fruity shots (as it were college all over again) then fancy cocktails (including a proper Sazerac) at The Jerry Thomas Speakeasy (it’s hard to find and the bouncer peeks through a slider when you ring… we are official card-carrying members now)
–Terme di Caracalla and the baths: ruins of roman baths… the area is huge and even what remains is beautiful, I can only imagine what it would have been like
–Piramide di caio cestio: an ancient pyramid from 18 B.C. built as a tomb for a religious leader, it felt pretty random but it was cool to see A pyramid even if it’s not THE pyramids
–Campo di Fiori: we were staying just a few minutes away from this square which is lively during the day with vendors and again at night with restaurants and bars
–Vatican Museum: the Egyptian exhibition, seeing a Van Gogh painting, the paintings and statues from several hundred or even thousand years B.C. and obviously… the Sistine Chapel
-after hours of walking around in the rain, the jacket my mom lent me was not holding up and the two layers under it were also soaked… luckily a North Face store was nearby and had a 50% off sale… sorry mom, but maybe your jacket is keeping a homeless woman in Rome warm now?
-on our last day, with full bellies from Dino e Toni’s, we trekked over an hour and up many hills in the rain to find ‘the keyhole‘ (a recommendation from Arnee)… this inconspicuous door gave us a beautiful cylindrical view of green shrubs and the Vatican (which is on the other side of the city)… even in the cloudy weather, the view was worth the hassle

Recommendation:
–Buy your tickets in advance for the Vatican museum and book the earliest tour… even with our tickets early in the morning, we dealt with an insane crowd. We ended up not going into to Saint Peter’s Basilica after the museum because the line was so long (and this is the off season) and we kept being harassed by men selling umbrellas and selfie sticks and ‘tour guides’ trying to sell you a ’tour’ for 20 euro when the entrance is free (the last guy was such a dick, we actually just had to walk away).
–Beware of the scooters. They will mow your ass down without hesitation.

Food highlights:
–Sette Oche: baked potatoes with different types of cheese, pork covered with pancetta, spaghetti alla gricio, salami pizza, wine, espresso and limoncello (the best aperitif there is!)
–Gelato every day… it’s so different than what I expected (I thought it was fruity and more like sorbet, instead it is creamy and comes in all sorts of amazing flavors… it’s better than ice cream!)
–Luzzi’s for Lunch: thanks to Mel for the suggestion… we had melon & prosciutto, phenomenal pizza and the tastiest lasagna I’ve ever had
–Pompeii: a taster selection of 4 tiny tiramisu 4 taster and canolis that we ate on the Spanish Steps… does it get any more Roman than that?!
-Babington’s Tea Room: I was so exhausted, I fell asleep mid-pour and spilt hot water into my lap… classy
–The night we had two dinners: at the first place we had minestrone, zucchini blossoms (with anchovies… yuck), fried artichoke, spaghetti carbonara (my favorite dish) and a bottle of wine… at the second restaurant we had rolled pasta stuffed with spinach & ricotta, meatballs, another bottle of wine, prosecco (my favorite drink) and grappa
-lunch at Dino e Tony… this was so amazing that it’s going to get it’s own post… seriously

Language highlights:
-Hearing my last name pronounced by the airport limo driver… as it should be!
-Hello and goodbye: ciao!
-Thank you: grazie!
-Fuck you: vaffanculo (I knew this one already from being babysat by my great great great aunt and namesake, but it was funny to hear and recognize everywhere!)

AIRPORTS: 13
FLIGHTS: 15
TRAINS: 3
BUSES: 3
STATES: 7
COUNTRIES: 6
CONTINENTS: 3
DAYS TRAVELING: 101
CURRENCIES: 5