Roma Roma Roma!

This past weekend, my roomate (Emily) and I went to Rome on our own. We booked the train and the hostel and we were off. There were ups and downs, some good times and some not so good times but in the end it was all worth it. It would take me forever and I don't really feel like giving a detailed itenerary of our trip so basically I'm just going to list some of my thoughts and reflections about the past weekend.

1. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS carry your passport with you everywhere, regardless of what anyone tells you. If you are asked for your documents and you don't have them, they will throw you in jail for three days.

2. Arriving in a foreign city by train at night is not highly reccomended. Some people hate Americans and will even refuse to help you.

3. Taking the FAST train is the way to go, even if it is 28 more euros than the regional train.

4. 24-Hour Bakeries should exist everywhere!

5. I had never stayed in a hostel before but rooming with complete strangers is more fun than I would have ever thought.

6. Australians are the nicest people! I'm in the process of booking my next trip to Australia.

7. It actually SNOWED in Rome! Oh, and the Colloseum closes when it snows. Word of advice.

8. Whoever had the idea of putting a Foot Locker store in a train station is Genius!

9. 4.50 Euro Hot Chocolate is like pudding and completely worth every penny.

10. You have to go with the flow and have fun. Not everything will always go your way or the way you planned.

11. BEST friends will stick by your side even when you are whining, complaining, and about to have a nervous break down in the middle of a snow storm because you slipped in a puddle and you were walking on the road and some car splashed you and you feel like the world is coming to an end even though it's not.

12. I have come to the realization that my diet is now: pasta, pizza, bread, nutella, and gelato but mostly just GELATO & NUTELLA!

13. There are only two metro lines in Rome but I never quite figured out the bus system.

14. I am very skilled at reading maps. I swear I looked at the map for 23 out of 24 hours. Then once, we decided not to use the map and ended up completely off of the map.

15. I have never been able to pack for three days in one backpack in my life before and I really admire all of those who backpack across Europe.

16. I take pictures for other people to see and sometimes don't even know what I am looking at when I'm taking the picture.

17. Who knew you could sit on a park bench for an hour and have the BEST time!

18. Whenever your looking for something, you can never find it but then when you are not looking, they pop up everywhere. We looked for a panini shop for over an hour until we finally found one but when we aren't hungry, you find them on every street corner.

19. When in doubt, just cross the street and hope you don't get run over.

20. I actually ate Chinese Food in Italy today.

21. Florence already feels like home and the comfort of returning to a city where you know where to go without looking at a map is comforting.

22. BELIEVE in yourself. You can do anything you want. Sometimes certain things in life are meant to happen and you just have to let them.

23. A 2 Euro Breakfast is probably not going to be all that great and you would think a 1 Euro Beer would taste bad but it doesn't.

24. Traveling and very little sleep results in exhaustion but a very fun-filled weekend.

When asked what most people regret most... "not studying abroad." I won't lie to you, it is challenging and frustrating at times but it is a life experience that you won't ever forget. It is definitely allowing me to see the world and from a different perspective, to grow, and hopefully deciding where I want to go in life.

Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day!