Yes, I Made it to Rome!

This morning my new alarm clock went off but I couldn't figure out how to turn it off, so I hit the snooze button. Since I had to take Seymour out for his morning "sniff and stuff" I didn't want to leave the alarm clock in case it went off again. So, I stuck it in my Italy bag and left. I did turn the button off on the back of the clock, so I think that worked. Slight missing but important part of the instruction sheet!

I then went to the bar across the street where I have seen them delivering espresso and asked if I could get a cappuccino to go. They poured it into a plastic cup and covered it with plastic. It worked. I see that "take away" is much more common in Napoli and Rome than in other parts of Italy.

After stuffing everything into my new suitcase I headed to the train station. On the tram/streetcar, 2 officials came around checking if people had their tickets stamped. I noticed an older woman and man get on and it looked like only he stamped his ticket. When the officials asked for her ticket, she made a big fuss of going through her pockets, etc to find it. When her companion gave them his ticket, the man across from me, quickly handed her a ticket without anyone (but me) seeing. That was such a sweet thing for him to do. I happened to have 2 tickets left that I hadn't used, so I gave them to him. Pass it forward. It was cool to have that connection with strangers.

I found my first class seat on the train and there was no special drink given out! I think all they did for us was roll the cart through the first class section, so you can purchase a drink or snack, instead of having to go to the dining car! Bummer!! While I was on the train, I looked through my Rome map to try to figure out where to go to get to the apartment.

I got to Rome and when I went outside of the train station, there was a large tree with just lights and pieces of paper. People had put notes on the tree in different languages for Santa. It was really touching.





This is the note I found in English:





Then I started looking for the street I was supposed to take and couldn't see any street signs. Can Italy not invest in more street signs? So, I went to the information booth and asked where the street was. It could only be 2 or 3 ways. She instead looked at my directions and told me a different way to go. I kept trying to get her to just tell me where the street was located and she finally threw down her papers and said " Take the bus right behind you. It's easy!' So, I took the bus, which was 9 stops instead of the tram that was only 2 stops away. Luckily, a nice woman helped me find the stop and from there, it was pretty easy to find the apartment. So, I ended up getting there just when I said I would - but no one was there. I called the owner and she sent a couple over to let me in. They didn't speak much English so I have just wandering around the neighborhood to find things. I did find a grocery store and this is the first one that wouldn't allow dogs. I had to leave Seymour in the apartment while I went back to get food for both of us. When I got back to the apartment, you would have thought I was gone for 3 days. He was running around and whining when he saw me. We have definitely been together too much.

My new neighborhood is like a little "China Town". There are "made in China" shops all over. I will take pictures of the apartment tomorrow. I bought a 7 day bus pass to get back and forth to Rome (2 stops on the tram to the train station and then a subway or bus to the different places I will be visiting) I saw the Tour "On and Off" bus at the train station, so I will take that tomorrow.

I am now watching TV and found a couple stations in English. I have just watched Rachel Zoe Project and Kendra. Hey, that's all I could find in English so far :)

I leave for home in 8 days -


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