Italy Day 1 - Rome

Morning 5:50 am - almost ready to leave

Psst... Hey you. Wake up! I know it's early, but I have to tell you something. 😃 I'm leaving for the airport soon. What did you say? Again? Hahaha, yes definitely! 😄 Want to know where I'm going? 🤔 Yes? I'm going to Rome, a beautiful city in Italy. 😍 Mostly very historical. There you can find monuments from my favorite time: the Greeks and the Romans. You know what I always like about historical monuments?

1. They are so beautifully built! All those little details and so sturdy! Just look at the houses of today... just like in the fairy tale of the wolf and the three little pigs... One gust of wind and the house is already knocked over. You get my drift.😄

   
   

2. Imagine people from hundreds of years ago walking around there, touching the walls... and you can touch that exact same wall. When you think about it, isn't that insane? Isn't it? Real tangible history, instead of just theory and stories.

   
   

Oh yeah, I told you I was going to start my own travel blog, right? Well, I did it! And I've already received a lot of nice and motivating messages. Nice, right? 😄 So from now on we'll share our story. My goal is to really continue with this. Inspire people, make them laugh... And hopefully build my own business with this. Like an online webshop with travel items with my logo on it, tips & tricks, checklists and so much more.

I am really curious how this trip will go. Well, I am leaving. I will write you when I am at the airport. See you later! x

7:49 - Coffee time, arrived at the airport

Hey hey, here I am again.😁 The ride from home to the airport is always exciting.😅 Especially with me, because something always happens. This time I fly from Zaventem. Only the second time so it's still a bit of a search.

The ride went smoothly, not much traffic, I was able to drive nicely... but then... I normally always book a parking lot close to the airport, but not this time. 🙄 I thought: I'll just drive there and enter the first available parking lot. So I followed the signs, but instead of going right (the parking lot right at the airport), no I went left.🤦🏼♀️ I thought: "P1, that must be close." Well, 120 euros for 4 days... But anyway I stuck to the thought: I made a good choice. 💪🏼

I kept driving up and up until I got to the 5th floor. I found a spot and parked there. But when I got out and looked around, there was still so much space and I saw that the airport was on the other side. Shit, at least another 20 minutes of walking. I didn't feel like it and said "we're not going on this tour." Back in the car, drove all the way down. Even though I had only driven around there for 10 minutes looking for a spot and to get back out I had to pay 5 euros. Sacks! 😑

Drove around again, looking for a better spot, I ended up somewhere where I thought: Sara, how do you do it? 🤦🏼♀️ Luckily I found another parking on the 4th floor, near the entrance to go in and out and this was cheaper: 101 euros for 4 days. Still better than 120, right? 😎Okay it's still a lot but swat. The floor had a butterfly as an icon. (Remember this!)

I left the building, man that was a beautiful building!

When I got outside I had a panic attack. 😬 I thought: Oh no where am I? I saw Brussels Airlines and thought: sh*t, I shouldn't be here at all. I fly with Ryanair now, that's only for Brussels Airlines flights. Everything felt different too, even the view seemed like I was already abroad. Palm trees, a horizon that was immediately the sea, which I found very strange because I was only sitting between buildings. But anyway, I followed the people inside in the hope that I was right. If necessary, I could always sprint back.😅 Because when time starts to run out, I really am a stress chicken.

When I saw my flight on the screen I felt reassured again. But then...

I realized I had forgotten my sunglasses in the car. And I had said I shouldn't forget them. 😂

Security

I am glad I switched to bags for my liquids in then instead of such small transparent bottles, much easier. In Zaventem they are much stricter than in Charleroi.

Everything should be in a clear plastic bag. Tip: use these bags if you travel with hand luggage. They save space and are super handy.

I can now go and get in line to board the plane, so I'll leave you for a while. This trip seems to be well deserved 🥰. This time I don't have a 5 hour delay like when I went to Portugal. Only those typical 'how do you do it' moments. 🤔😅🤦🏼♀️But that's what makes it exciting, right? 😂

12:04 - Train ride to Rome Termini

I landed safely.🥰 I don't know how I do it but every time I fall asleep on a plane, I wake up to a magical moment. This time I looked outside and thought: wooooow. 🤩Nothing but mountains, most of them with snow on their peaks and the peaks of the mountains were sticking out above the clouds. On the horizon it looked like a sea of mountain peaks. Beautiful!

I was thinking about which country we were flying over. And no cheating!

Weet jij over welk land ik vloog?

• 0%Duitsland
• 0%Zwitserland

Yes, you guessed it! I flew over Switzerland. Definitely on my list for next year.

Now to get from the airport to the center of Rome. I first thought about a taxi, but that turned out to be too expensive. Uber cost between 50 and 60 euros. A bit too much to start my journey with. Then option 2: train or bus. In terms of travel time, it only makes a 10 minute difference, so I looked for the bus but I was only guided to the train. So yes, then it was the train.😀 That brought back memories of when I first traveled alone. 😅 Then the ticket clerk was super unfriendly, I barely knew English, was freezing cold and felt so alone. I really wanted to cry then. I also thought then "me too with my great ideas, see now."

Anyway, I bought a ticket, off to the center of Rome! And the first thing I'm going to do is eat.😀 I'm starving!

Kun jij al raden wat ik ga eten?

• 0%Pasta
• 0%Pizza
• 0%Lasagne

I'll let you know as soon as I'm at the restaurant. See you later.😀

1:38 pm - at the restaurant

Pfff... it's so hot here, say... 33°C.🥵 And I'm wearing long pants, wow! Luckily they're airy summer pants. Still, I'll have to look for shorts later.😅

From the station to my hostel it was an 11 minute walk. Uber would cost 13 euros for a 4 minute ride, so no thanks I'll walk. 😄 Along the way I saw a few nice restaurants, one of which really appealed to me. I had to remember that one.

Finally arrived. Honestly 11 minutes of walking in 33°C is really long and tough. 😅🥵 Luckily the air conditioning was on. When I entered I thought: wow, did I book this? 😅🤩 The employee was super friendly (unlike the one in Portugal 😅). He said: "You had a room for 10 but we gave you one with 4, for more peace. And because you have a nice name." Wow, what luck.🥰

I left everything behind in my room and rushed as quickly as possible to that little restaurant I had seen that appealed to me so much.

And what did I order? No, no pasta this time! 😂 You guessed right. It was ravioli with tomato sauce and basil, and a Bellini. Yummy!

Honestly? I was looking for a pasta but I thought hmm.. let me not be predictable this time and keep it exciting. So sorry not sorry..😂 Here they make Bellini with peach juice, prosecco and something else but no idea what. I forgot.😂

Beautiful glass with a piece of peach and flower in it. Love it. Now let's see what I'm going to do today, because I still have a whole afternoon and evening ahead of me.

I also ordered water so I could have a quick drink, because if I drank that Bellini in one go I would immediately feel it in my head. 😅

So I got water that was presented as if it was a bottle of wine including the proper serving. And when I left the restaurant, I just got the whole bottle with me.

For a moment I felt like an alcoholic who couldn't part with his bottle. 😂

22:03 - back in my room

One sentence: I'm exhausted! That heat really destroyed me.😵 After dinner I went to the Colosseum, which was a 20 minute walk from the restaurant. If I could hold out for 11 minutes, I could hold out for another 9 minutes.😅

When I arrived I was really impressed. So big and beautifully built! I started taking pictures and went down the stairs to get closer.

And now you're going to laugh. 🤣 I didn't fall down those stairs.🤣 A few steps down but luckily no pain otherwise it would have been a sour one.😅 Those steps were really slippery.

When I got down, I saw that I couldn't touch the building. So I had to buy a ticket. So I booked a ticket via GetYourGuide, which was valid from 16:25.

In the meantime, because I had to wait, I went to the Forum. And yes, you needed a ticket for that. Luckily, that was included with my Colosseum ticket that I had purchased. But I could only enter with a physical ticket and I had to pick it up at a local office. I walked all the way back, back up those stairs and picked up my physical ticket. Then back down again. And yes, those stairs again, but this time it wasn't me who fell, someone else did. 😅 So luckily I'm not the only one. 😂

First I tried to get into the Colosseum, but the person said "Ela,

you are way too early, won't be back for another 50 minutes. So I visited the Forum first. The guard there also spoke to me and said: "The Forum alone takes 2 hours, so that won't work because we close at 6pm." I thought hmm.. sh*t it's half past three but I still told the guard "I can do this." So around half past three I went in and saw everything in 40 minutes and then towards the Colosseum. And if you know me, oh yeah, I touched as many walls as possible. Yes I know, it sounds weird, but that was the highlight for me. Tangible history. So let me be happy. 🤣

I had imagined the Colosseum differently. I thought the inside was just a flat field but that was gone and all we saw was rocks. I really wonder what it looked like back then. And how did we evolve into the people we are today?

After the Colosseum I thought: what now? I had something planned on Friday, but that didn't really fit into my schedule anymore. So I did it differently. Last week I met two nice ladies in the wellness center where I work. I don't know how we got into this conversation but they told me they had just come back from Rome. I thought oh my what a coincidence because I'm leaving for Rome on Wednesday. We started chatting and Chelsea sent me some photos and tips that I had to visit but one stuck. So I thought: let's do that. Let's do something crazy. Just like they did something crazy. 😂

Remember that butterfly by the parking lot? It's coming back now! 😄

So I got two tattoos. One with the text Godersi la vita "Enjoy life" and a butterfly. I wanted a second text too, but that turned out to be politically sensitive in Italy, so I said "no no I'll stick to these two then." You can compare it a bit with the left and right parties here in Belgium. While actually the text just meant: with God on my side nothing can hurt me.

There was also a girl there who was seriously hard to understand. She couldn't articulate well. She actually had a car frame put in. Without wheels. To each his own, right? 🤔😅

Oh yeah, while getting a tattoo I only thought about one thing: FOOD. I was so hungry and thirsty after walking all day in that sun.

So I walked around a bit, in and out of the street and I came to a restaurant that didn't quite convince me, but I was too hungry so I just sat down. And boy do I regret that! The staff was friendly, but had no insight into the catering industry at all. Just chaos. 😂 The terrace was full but was actually perfect only for someone with experience. They were walking around there with 4 like a headless chicken. I actually didn't feel like ordering anything there anymore.

All the order is finally taken. I ordered an Aperol Spritz and a bottle of water to drink. As a starter watermelon with ham and as a main course pasta carbonara. The bacon of the carbonara was inedible by the way.

Yes, yes, I know. Pasta again. 😂 In between meals a musician came by and played his violin. A typical Italian tune that you might know from a commercial and then he went around asking for money. Then someone came by with wooden pots and baskets that you could also fold up. Then another one with accordion music and then also came around asking for money. And the last one walked around with scarves.

I really thought: come on, can't you see that you're disturbing people while they're eating?

I just wanted to get back to my room and lay on my bed. I was really exhausted...

The service was also really bad. There were tables without cutlery, and when they brought a plate of food, one person had cutlery and the other didn’t. At one point an older British lady asked the young couple next to me: “Er… are you going to use that cutlery?” The girl didn’t dare say “yes” so she just said “no”. While she was saying that, the lady just took the cutlery from their table and gave it to the woman who was sitting without it. By the way, those people had been waiting to pay for a while. It was really loud, chaotic and way too busy. I just wanted to go to my room and crawl into bed as quickly as possible. I was and am completely exhausted. 😮💨 By the way, I also have to get up really early tomorrow for my other activity that I had booked. 🤩

But all in all I had a really nice and eventful day. 🥰