ROME Day 1

THE AIRBUS

Wow it was one crazy trip to get here and I'm EXHAUSTED! The flight to Paris was very luxurious. Traveling on Air France was really awesome because they were very hospitable.  They gave us blankets, earplugs, pillows, and headphones all for us to keep. The Airbus was huge and had televisions on the back of the seats in front of us.  During takeoff they had a camera attached to the tail of the plane and we were able to watch ourselves take off on the screen in front of us.  Ashley wasn't too happy about that.   But it was the smoothest take off I have ever been on.  The jets themselves were also really silent.   After the takeoff we were able to watch any movies we wanted that they provided us. You could also play games, watch the status of the flight, and listen to music and radio.  I watched Rango and Ashley watched The Social Network.  For dinner, they served us a cheesy pasta that was really good along with a bar of cheese, lemon cake, some sort of beefy vegetables, and TAPIOCA, which I found to be pretty tasty.  After dinner, I tried to sleep on the plane but it was impossible.  I took a sleeping pill but it didn't help at all but I still closed by eyes for about two hours.  Ashley was unable to sleep as well, she just watched another movie.  By the time I gave up on sleeping, it was breakfast time and we were served concentrated orange juice and a muffin.  Not long after we landed, both being extremely tired.

On board the Air France plane upon landing

See the cool tv screen behind a very tired Ashley

We got off the plane and had to walk FOREVER to get to the new terminal.  We had to get our passports stamped and then had to go through another security checkpoint.  By the time we got there we would have NEVER made the 7:15 flight to Rome.  A ton of people had the same flight we originally were supposed to take and missed it.  So we waited for our plane.  And waited.  And it was freezing cold! Our plane was delayed then delayed again and we continued to freeze.

Freezing cold Charles De Gaulle airport in France

We finally were able to board around 10:00pm and had to wait for another thirty minutes for several reasons.  The flight was originally late coming in because of the fuel strikes and the plane was unable to take off from its original location.  Then we had to wait on the plane because there was way too much air traffic over Amsterdam which is where we would be flying over.  The plane was an extremely old Airbus  that still had ash treys in the arm rests.  Furthermore, the plane creaked the whole trip and it sounded like it was going to fall apart on take off and during the landing.

Ashley and I slept the whole trip and were knocked out.  It seemed like the time flew by when we landed in Rome.  We got off the plane and successfully obtained all of our luggage!!! NOTHING WAS LOST!!  And for some odd reason we didn't have to go through customs or get or passports stamped.  We just walked right out the door and got into a white taxi. The taxi driver didn't speak English and I was able to tell him where we were going.  I think he though I spoke Italian because he continued to talk to me in Italian until I told him I didn't understand him.  The ride was very nerve racking.  If you think DC drivers are bad, come on out to Rome.  They speed and cut corners real close.  I enjoyed the ride, but Ashley did not.  The ride took about thirty minutes and cost about fifty Euros.  We were able to see the dome of the Vatican on our way to campus which was pretty cool!

The driver dropped us off in front of the alley of campus which was very beautiful.  He even helped us with our luggage.  In Italy all taxi drivers buy their own cars and use them as taxis.  So we got into campus and moved into our rooms.  I am on the 3rd floor with a kid from New Jersey who likes the Yankees.  Ashley is on the fourth floor with a girl from St. Louis.  Both of our roommates are pretty nice.  We missed the walking tours because we were both exhausted.  The only thing I ate all day at this point was the muffin on the plane and I was too weak to do anything.  I was also pretty dehydrated and extremely jet lagged.  It took me awhile to get my energy back.  Ashley crashed out on her bed for half and hour. But so far we have been able to cope with the new time zone.

We made it!

After getting a sandwich in the cafe in the basement, I felt better. We then attended a mandatory orientation meeting.  After that we had a picnic outside in the courtyard where we got to know everyone.  We were free to go into Rome if we wanted, but Ashley and I were too tired.  So we just walked around campus and explored the area and the surrounding neighborhood.  We found out that there are a lot of stray CATS on campus.  We even saw a little black kitty jumping in the bushes and running across the road. 

Kitt

The area doesn't feel like a foreign country yet, it feels like we are still in the States on a retreat or something.  Ashley and I do not know anyone here except for a friend of Ashley's who lived with her in Mertz freshman year.  We are both in Italian II together.  Ashley has since gone to bed and I would too, but my floor is too noisy.  I have tried several times to call home but I am having difficulty.  I will attempt again later.  Tomorrow we are going to a lake/beach and have our choice of going on a lake tour or a 16th century castle tour.  Ashley and I want to do the castle tour.