It’s been about two years since my trip to Rome, Italy. Have I forgotten most of it? Yes, ’cause my memory is horrible. But will I ever forget the feeling I had while walking through unknown places, staring at beautiful buildings and just being alive? Never!
To start off, I should say, that this trip had been my very first real vacation. Sure, I travelled to places with my school class and we also visited family in my mother’s home country Sri Lanka but it’s different when you plan everything yourself, pay yourself and actually get to go out of the house (which I couldn’t do much in Sri Lanka – well, not alone). So, finally being able to travel somewhere with two of my very close friends was a dream come true. I was scared, yes, but I will never regret going. To this day, I love reminiscing about the time we spent there which is why I would love to share some of the stuff I do remember. Maybe, this will encourage you to take that trip with your friends to some unknown city, away from your comfort zone, out into the world!
Getting there is half the fun! Its true. I live in Germany, which is not that far away from Italy. Still, we had to get to the aiport by train which already took more time than what we spent on the plane. However, the train ride turned out to be an adventure in itself. We had problems with the train (nothing new in Germany), but thankfully we left quite early in the morning anyway despite our flight only being in the afternoon. Sitting in the train we couldn’t stop but laugh at how badly the trip was already going and one of my friends was jokingly making fun of us and how she could already see how we would get lost and stuff like that. A man that was sitting on the other side of the aisle was listening to us and laughing with us. Before he got off, he even wished us good luck with our trip, that’s how pathetic we must have looked. So funny, I’ll never forget that moment.
When we finally arrived at the airport, we had so much time left that we just went around looking for celebrities. My friends even saw one and got a photo with them but I didn’t even know who they were. Still, it was cool! And there were even some cosplayers going around, two of them dressed as Adrien and Marinette from Miraculous. I know I’m too old for that but I got a photo with them anyway XD
And then our flight got cancelled. Yes, cancelled. You might think I was crushed by the news, but again, I couldn’t help but laugh. After talking to some nice people working at the airport we were thankfully seated in a different plane. Our original plane ride was non-stop, this new one made us stop in Turin but I didn’t mind it, the view from above was beautiful. We had to run to catch our transit flight but we made it and then we landed in Italy late at night in the dark.
Dying in the heat but loving it. It was summer time when we went so you can guess how hot it was. We stayed at the “hu Roma camping in town” and while it really felt like we were in a caravan or cabin, they thankfully had air conditioners in the room. On our first actual day we made the mistake of going out at midday – we were melting in the sun and learned not to repeat the same mistake. The two other days we went out in the morning, came back for a quick shower and then left in the late afternoon again. Rome is incredibly beautiful at night time, so it was nice to roam around at different times of the day. Plus the heat was much more tolerable in the night, so that’s another reason why you should check out late-evening Rome. The only problem we had was getting back to our accommodation after 9 PM because hu Roma was located a bit outside of the city centre where we spent most of our sightseeing-time. There seemed to be a problem with the subway during our stay (if we understood correctly) so we had to take the bus back. Once we even got on the wrong bus and landed in the middle of nowhere. Thankfully the busdriver pointed us towards another bus that would take us back. You can image how scared I was for a moment, since it was pitch-black outside and the area seemed completely abandoned. Still, a memory I’ll cherish because we made it out succesfully.
Too much to see, too little time. So, we had 3 full days to check out Rome and multiple screenshots of maps and places we desperately wanted to fit into the schedule. The first place we saw was the Vatican museum (it really is worth going in!). Then we also saw the Petersdom but only from the outside. We spent some time in Vatican city just strolling about and taking pictures from the middle of the square. So many people were there! The long queue was one of the reasons why we didn’t go inside the Petersdom.
Of course, we bought lots of souvenirs – there are so many stores where you can do that and at some places you will even find street markets where they sell souvenirs for just one Euro. And so the days went on: we saw the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain (multiple times – we even saw them cleaning out all the coins), the Pantheon (just from the outside), went to a handful of churches (all very beautiful) and so much more. A place I recommend if you like it a bit less crowded is the Villa Borghese. That’s an old building you can see across a calm lake with lots of ducks swarming around. We went in the late afternoon just as it was slowly getting dark and we had to walk through a huge park to get there. Once there, we sat on a bench and called home to share the view and just chill for a bit until it got dark and it was time to head back to the camp.
I really recommend going to Rome, maybe even as your first trip without parents. There’s so much to see, so much good food and the whole city just exudes a vibe I can’t describe. It was simply amazing. I’ll never forget that taste of freedom, pizza and sunny weather.
I have to add, though, that this trip would have never been so beautiful if I went there alone. Solo trips are fun, but company makes adventures great. So, thank you to my two friends for convincing me to tackle this adventure!
Well, that’s enough from me. I do hope, though, that I’ll get the chance to visit Italy again in the future. Maybe in a few years or so, when I’ve got an acutal job after university. Although, is was also kind of fun to check our money every evening during the trip to make sure we had enough for the next day (and sending a video of us showcasing our empty wallets to our parents on the last night XD).
If you’re planning on going somewhere soon or next year, I wish you a wonderful time!
Yours,
Tanniyan