All of Roma in One Day

I just got reliable WiFi so imma post all of the last two days now.

Ciao Roma! I made myself wait an extra hour in the bus line cuz I accidentally bought a ticket for the wrong date. If this is the biggest mishap my whole trip I'll be very grateful. But I for real can't wait to get to my airbnb. I want to shower so bad cuz I smell like airplane.

My airbnb host is this cute little Chinese woman who lives in an area by the train station that is pretty much all black people. I was snooping a little around the house and I think she sleeps in the kitchen cuz there's a bed in there. Whenever she tries to explain stuff to me all the words don't sound real. I can't tell if she's speaking mandarin, Italian, English, or all of them at the same time. She's really sweet though, and it's amazing what technology and gestures can do. She has an app where she types stuff and it tells me what she's trying to say. She could honestly be mute if she wants to. This place is a little funky but I really got what I paid for. Maybe even slightly better. As soon as I put my stuff down. She brought me a bottle of water and that's really all I wanted for the past 24 hours. I'm so thirsty.

I took a really cold shower, mostly because I can't figure out how to turn on the hot water, but Rome is 90F right now so a cold shower is also the best thing ever.

I didn't want to waste anytime so I headed out to do some sightseeing. She tried to give me a key and show me how it worked but none of them could really open the door. She laughed then told me that when I get back she would be waiting and open the door for me.

I started my journey at the Colosseum, then the Forum, some chapels along the way, the Pantheon, and the Piazza Navona. I finally found a vendor who would let me barter and I bought a few postcards for 1€. I've forgotten all my Italian, but I can say 'grazie' and 'ciao' and read for the most part so it hasn't been too rough.

This is where I had my first gelato stop too. Outside the square where there was a riot/protest/maybe a celebration of how much the people loved Italy because there were a couple dudes just waving their flags in the air. I really have to rely on context around here. After wandering a bit more, I decided it was a good time to have my first real meal and when in Rome, pizza it is. I sat down in the cute little restaurant and ordered myself a pizza rossa mediterranea which has no cheese, but the most amazing tomato sauce, tomatoes, olives, capers, and a few anchovies.. I think. It was beyond amazing. And the most satisfying pizza ever. There was a group of old people next to me chatting about food in Italian and it made me realize I want an old people gang when I'm that age.

Random side note, I think I may be allergic to other tourists cuz I was sneezing so much on my walk through all the attractions today.

Next stop was the Spanish Steps that were actually built by the French and have really no purpose other than people can use it to get to the church at the top. It's a glorified staircase. At the top I saw a group of nuns and they were having a girls trip; it was so cute seeing them w their cameras and matching clothes like a religious group of sorority girls. That actually made my day I think.

I don't know why but I always pictured the monuments and famous sites being in really open spaces with tons of room around them but it's like you turn the corner of a small alley and oh shoot there's the Trevi Fountain tucked away on this side street. I didn't throw a coin it because they legend says it will bring you back to Rome but i think I've seen everything. Instead, i got more gelato and watched people w selfie sticks from afar.

After that I was so tired and super sweaty so I began my walk home. If I were to guess, it was probably a 10 mile day, which without the heat would've been fine. Thankfully, there's a lot of random public water spouts that pour out cold drinking water. It looked pretty sketch at first, but everyone was using them so I figured I can't be any less immune to the bacteria than they are.

When I got home, they key wouldn't open the door, but thankfully an old woman was trying to get in too, so she let me in. She asked me what piazza I needed to get off on. At first I couldn't remember what the word meant but she started counting and i remembered it was floor. I took another cold shower and sat there trying to figure out what I wanted to do here. Honestly all i want is food but I should probably walk to justify that. Im so thirsty that I've probably drank 10 bottles of water today, but I haven't needed to pee really; I think it's because I sweat it all. I'm pretty jet lagged too so when I sat on my bed at 1900, I fell asleep and woke up at 2130. Then I went back to bed cuz it was an acceptable time to sleep. I had a dream that Mai came to the hostel and was staying overnight with me, and I was really happy because I had a friend in this pretty lonely place. We talked about how weird this place was and that it smelled kind of funky. Then some random dude turned on the light and I realized it was a dream... and that this was a coed shared room.

Solo travel

Pros: can walk as fast as I want, can eat a whole pizza by myself, no one can complain to me that it's too hot outside

Cons: very lonely at times, seeing all this cool stuff feels a little less cool

Grateful for: being small but fit cuz I can fit in tight spaces but no one will mess with me, gelato, real Italian pizza, running water, art, history, big things that mean nothing, fans, McDonalds bathrooms because Rome is not for the weak bladdered