Arrivederci Roma!

As soon as this train leaves the station I will breathe a sigh of relief that I’ve managed to survive Rome. Which will only be followed by the anxiety that I’m on the wrong train. Seriously who ever thought it was a good idea not to include a notice of stops (or which freaking train to get on on the ticket of said train?? I missed my first train to Siena this morning by about 3 minutes. I wasn’t running late, I just couldn’t find any signage to indicate where the hell bin 2ES was, let alone which direction was east. And that’s after I pieced together that to go to Siena I need to get on the train to Florence. So after figuring out the general direction and half limping, being led astray by totally unclear signage not once but twice.. I arrived on the platform to watch the train pull away. The train I’m on now is for Milan and I’m really only about 70% sure that this train will get me to my connecting train in Chiusi. Alas, I’ll just have to deal with the fallout if it is not.

Where to start with Rome? It’s such an epic city, with so much to see. I’ve come to think of Rome as a Where’s Waldo puzzle. Regardless of which fountain, piazza, monument or museum you are looking for, you can be assured that as soon as you have that aha moment of recognition, you will realize that this piazza/fountain/monument is not the one you were looking for, but another one of possibly equal or greater beauty and you’ll need to press on to find Waldo. On the bright side, you don’t feel quite as wronged looking at a random fountain or piazza than you do realizing you have found an imposter Waldo.

It was definitely worth my time and effort to explore, and if I wind up back in Rome in the future I won’t be displeased. If only I could say the same about Vatican City, which was almost a completely a waste of my time and money.

Here’s hoping that Tuscany is all it’s cracked up to be!

Travel gems

You know how sometimes when you are in an awkward situation and you try to make the least noise possible so as not to disturb someone? That’s me, right now. And honestly, EVERYTHING I DO sounds so loud. I’m not kidding. Even my fingers tapping the iPad seem really really loud.

Here’s some background: I hopped an early morning train up to Inverness today for a four day trip in which I’m hoping to explore the highlands more. And I waited so long to book my hostel that I had a really difficult time finding someplace with an availability for the while trip and that wasn’t superbly expensive. So I ended up booking a mixed dorm, and I really don’t like mixed dorms. And before you start giving me the stink eye and telling me to grow up, I will tell you that I have stayed in them, Im not scared of men, i just prefer to stay in all female dorms.

Anyways, a few hours ago I got into my room for the first time and there’d just one guy in the room; an older guy and clearly a long term-er. I mean, I’ve lived in a hostel for long term, and we were horrifically messy, but this guy isn’t like that. Everything is super neat and tidy but his stuff takes up all the space. He even has a desktop computer here. It’s not like a tiny tower either, it’s like an old school fat tower with a wide, flat screen monitor and a little desk. There is a rack for hanging your clothes, and it is full of his stuff. He even has a kettle amongst a variety of juices, instant coffee and assorted personal hygiene items neatly laid out on the window ledge. Suffice it to say he seems well and truly at home here in this dingy little hostel.

But that’s not the weird part. The thing I find most weird/intriguing is not his full personal computer setup (I mean who does that?!) – it’s that he hasn’t moved since I came in hours ago. Full disclosure: that may or may not be true as I left for a few hours, but it certainly appears true! He is standing up and working on a laptop that is shielded by view with a makeshift curtain. He doesn’t talk, he doesn’t move, he just stands, staring at that laptop. When I first came into the room, I asked him a quick question about the beds, and without looking at me he gave me a one word response. And then it was awkward silence while I set up my bed, made some plans for tomorrow, repacked, and then finally decided to venture back out into Inverness. I left him standing up, pin drop silence (minus the occasional key strokes), focusing intently on that laptop.

And that’s exactly how I found him when I came back. So I proceeded to be as quiet as i could while trying to reorganize and munch on the food I bought. And after about twenty minutes or so I decided to break the silence and asked him how long he’s been living here. I still have no idea what the answer is because he mumbled it as again he didn’t even look up. Which completely ended my attempts to engage my new roommate (at least for the next few days). And now it’s just the sound of me crunching my carrots.

Tonight’s gonna be a good night…