Rome: Day 1 (8/13/19)
What a day! Successfully made it to my 8am flight to Atlanta and had a lovely conversation with the lady sitting next to me, Suzanne. We chatted about our thoughts on education (she’s a retired elementary teacher) and how to strike up conversation with a stranger.
I had a 1 hour layover in Atlanta so there were no issues finding/getting to my gate on time. Sat next to an Italian-American named Gary. He’s actually in in college in Sicily studying physics right now, what are the chances! So we had a short chat about research, renewable energy and science in general, then settled in for the 9 hour flight. Netflix, Alita Battle Angel, Isle of Dogs, and a fitful nap got me thru the flight but I was definitely feeling a bit fried by the time we landed in Rome.
Found a public piano in the luggage claim and played a few songs. A Chinese family with two little kids stopped by to listen for a bit and the kids danced around to the Howl’s Moving Castle theme, which was just about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. Found my hostel without any major issues, though there was a bit of confusion when it came to obtaining a train ticket but I managed to get the right one after some fiddling around. I dropped off my bags but couldn’t check in till 4pm, and it was just after 8am so I had a rather long time to kill in the 98 degree heat.
Wandered north towards a park I saw on the map, Villa Borghese, with a pit stop at a neat church on the way. Park was pretty, lots of fountains, a live harp player, and some romantic rowboats on a little pond. At this point I felt like crap: dehydrated (100% out of water), sweaty, overheated, sunburned, exhausted, etc. Fourtunately I happened upon a family playing in a fountain and filling up their own water bottles. Well it turns out that the fountains are 100% OK to drink from and its fine to dip your feet and such.
With water obtained, I located a stone bench off in one corner of the park and took a much needed nap till 2pm. I figured the Rome public library would have AC so I hauled myself in that direction for a good 20 minutes before deciding that I was far too hot and tired to actually make it all the way there. Was just turning around when a random old guy, with very few teeth and a thick Italian accent, pulled over and asked for directions to flower shop. Of course I said I had no clue and cue this guys sob story that he works for Ferrari in Chicago and hes here for a conference. But his wife is mad at him and he cant find a place to buy flowers that accepts his credit card so could I please give him some cash and in exchange he can offer me a “special item” which is a gold watch and fountain pen he says are worth 140 Euros. Now my brain is currently functioning at 10% power and so I basically give him a “no no, I can’t, I can’t” and he drives away with a big ol’ frowny face. Did I almost get scammed, did I miss out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have a gold Ferrari watch, who the heck knows. All I know is that I took a really cold shower when I got back to the hostel and passed out till 7pm.
Walked to the closest Indian food, got some 9 Euro biryani which was wholly mediocre, and passed right back out when I got back. Day 1: survived, I call that a win.
