May 19, 2012

Today we got a very early start to get traveling to Roma.  We woke up at 4.00 AM and were in a cab on the way to the airport by 4.45 AM.  We arrived at the airport and waited for an hour and a half to board the plane.  We took off at about 6.45 AM and arrived in Roma at about 8.30 AM.  To bad we were nowhere close to being done traveling.  From the airport we took a bus that took an hour and a half, and then took another bus that also took about an hour and a half to get to our hotel.  I was asleep for most of both bus rides but I think the reason it took so long was because of the traffic, we got here on a Saturday.  We finally made it to the hotel at around noon and we had the afternoon off until six.  A few of us went to a restaurant that came highly recommended called Primo.  It is one of the oldest restaurants in Roma, so it was a little pricy.  I had some beef ravioli that was very good; it was just a smaller portion.  Since they will not split checks over here, we have been taking turns fronting the checks at meals and it was my turn.  The bill was 115 euros for 7 people, not too bad.  I used my card so when everyone paid me back I got a really good deal regarding getting cash, no exchange rate.  We met back up at 6 o clock and we went to the Gates of Rome.  It was really cool to see because I had just finished the book “Emperor: The Gates of Rome.”  We were released for the day and we walked down the main drag of Rome.  We passed by the Spanish steps and saw the Pantheon… I didn’t get any pictures because we are coming back tomorrow, so check in again for tomorrow’s pictures.  We walked down the drag for about two miles and met up with Linda Ruth’s group that is over here as well.  Linda Ruth is a professor at Auburn over here with a human sciences group.  Tucker’s girlfriend is in the group so he got a hold of her and we all met up at a place called ‘The Drunken Ship’, it is an American bar that is about 100 yards from the Pantheon.  In their group there are 20 girls and two guys, in our group there is 13 guys and two girls, so it was good break from hanging out with just the people on our trip.  We stayed here until about midnight and came back to the hotel.  We caught a cab because Anoop said that as long as we have four to cab he will reimburse us… I’m sure it’s because he doesn’t want us taking public transportation back to the hotel.  That leads me to another note; our hotel is on the outskirts of Roma, not the best neighborhood, and not the place you want to be walking back home to late at night.  It’s nothing to worry about. Anyways, I’m about done for today but I’ll post again tomorrow.

T