After spending the first six days of my journey in the United Kingdom, it was time to go to Rome, where the next part of my trip will take place. My trip to Rome did not go smooth when I arrived there, as I struggled with the language barrier, and unclear, or lack of, directions on where to purchase bus and train tickets. Whatever preconceived thoughts of Rome I had from watching the Lizzie McGuire Movie, where I would somehow find Hilary Duff singing “What Dreams Are Made Of” to me, were thrown out the window. I got lost for about 30 minutes in Termini Station, figuring out where to buy the bus tickets (which happened to be at any newspaper stand in the station, and only accepted cash) and where to exchange currency (which was next to the newspaper stand, and turned out to be a rip-off because of the 20% commission fee). Once I got past the logistical frustration and my constant swearing, I eventually made my way to the bed and breakfast, where I would be staying for the next three evenings.

The bed and breakfast was at a 19th century building in east Rome, and I was greeted warmly upon arrival by an attractive lady working at the receptionist table. She was kind enough to point out places I should visit in Rome by marking those places with a pen on a map. It was hard paying attention to her as she was giving me information, because my mind was saying, “Gosh, she’s so attractive. Her Italian accent when speaking English is sooo hot.” She also gave me coupons, which I can use for discounts at certain recommended restaurants around the area. Too bad there was no coupon for free hugs.

After settling into my room, I went to a recommended restaurant near the bed and breakfast for dinner. Due to the language barrier, I had my order mixed up, where I got a salad instead of a pizza. I could have sworn that the word “Pizze” meant “Pizza” when I pointed the item listed on the menu to the waiter. Being by myself and not knowing anyone in a foreign place, where speaking English may not be enough to get by, was unsettling. The rainy weather that evening did not help in getting past this unsettling feeling. I spent the rest of the evening watching Dear John, where Channing Tatum’s voice was dubbed in Italian. Go figure.

The following day, I went to Vatican City to visit St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museums. Vatican City is an actual sovereign state within the city of Rome, ruled by the Pope. I found that fact to be interesting because I expected to show identification to the guards upon entering (they do not check, but you do have to go through a security screening of your belongings). Fortunately, the lines were not long that morning because rainy weather discouraged tourists to come. After exploring St. Peter’s Basilica, I went to the Vatican Museums (you have to go outside Vatican City and go back in the city to enter the Vatican Museums).

The Vatican Museums is a “museum of museums”, founded by Pope Julius II in the early 16th century, where multiple exhibits are interconnected with one another. The art collection is primarily from the Renaissance Era, containing works by Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Since drawing and sculpting are hardly my forte, and art can be interpreted in many ways, I make fun of the art when touring an art museum. Not only do I get entertained by a person’s work of art, but I also find amusement analyzing as to why that particular work of art was made in the first place. The Vatican Museums take you across a myriad of exhibits, before ending at its most infamous landmark, the Sistine Chapel. The Sistine Chapel is known not only as the place where a new pope is selected, but also for the ceiling painting by Michelangelo. Unfortunately, taking photos is not allowed in the Sistine Chapel, so I could not take selfies of me making fun of the art to appreciate the moment even more at a later time. The humid environment inside the building made enjoying the moment difficult. I was tired from walking all day, and felt lazy staring at the ceiling with the other tourists while standing, so I sat at the benches towards the back of the chapel. I ended up taking a 20 minute nap in the Sistine Chapel. I have fallen asleep in places, such as karaoke bars, class lectures, and in-house parties, but the Sistine Chapel?! That one took the cake.

After touring Vatican City, I visited the high-end shops of Rome. I got lost getting out Spagna station, because I made an incorrect turn towards one of the exits, which led me to a highway with nowhere to go. At that moment, I felt like Bugs Bunny, who often gets lost digging his way around places at the beginning of an episode. His catchphrase, “I knew I should have made a left turn in Albuquerque!” went through my mind. I retraced my steps once I went back inside the station, and I eventually found my way to the shops at Via Condotti. At one store where I bought souvenirs, I met a Filipina who co-owned the shop. I found amusement when she spoke Taglish (a combination of the Tagalog and English languages) to me, and then spoke Italian to her partner.

“Dynamic planning” was in full-effect, as I realized that I was not far from the Trevi Fountain from Via Condotti. During my trip abroad, I have been unable to access cellular data, so I can only access the Internet if I have WiFi access. The GPS on Google Maps was perhaps the only useful feature my phone had outside of a WiFi hotspot. By using the GPS and my handy-dandy map the attractive receptionist gave me, I made my way around Rome just fine.

On my third day in Rome, I visited the Roman Coliseum. I had found the subway trains and stations of Rome creepy because of the poor lighting and smell. While aboard the subway train heading towards the Coliseum, a lady wearing loose clothing asked money to the passengers, while she had her baby tied to her. I looked away from her, as I did not want to attract her attention, but she persisted in asking me for money. I relented, and gave her most of my coins that totaled about €4. When I kept a €0.50 coin for myself, she shook her donation box, signaling to me to give her more. I considered her reaction to be rude, because not only did she not express gratitude, but she wanted more. I shook my head, and then ignored her, since the train had just arrived at the station. Looking back, I could have handled the situation better by not expecting her to express gratitude, and by being more upfront in telling her that is all the money I want to give. Little did I know that this was not going to be the last time where people would try to scam me.

Touring the Coliseum went well, because there were not many people visiting that day, and the lines were not long. After walking around the arena for about an hour, I ate lasagna at a local fast food place for lunch. Following my lunch, I walked to more parks and monuments, such as the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and Campo de Fiori. I somehow managed to eat gelato along the way at a place called Giolitti’s. I crossed the Tiber River and walked 30 minutes up a steep hill towards Janiculum. Janiculum is a hill in western Rome that offers a nice view of the city landscape. I hung out at the hill for another 30 minutes, before making my way down the hill towards Castel Sant’Angelo. Since I was too cheap to pay €10 to get inside the castle and the weather did not look great, I instead took a picture outside the castle and walked back towards the bed and breakfast where I stayed. Only a guy like myself would do such things.

On my last day in Rome, I returned to the Roman Coliseum because the ticket is valid for two days, and can also be used to visit Palatine Hill, a park across the Coliseum. The sunny weather was a nice change from the cloudy days before, so I used that opportunity to wear my sunglasses. I walked around the park for about an hour taking selfies, and as I exited the park, a man dressed as a Roman soldier offered to have my picture taken with him. I had a feeling he was too friendly, because he told me to pay him €10 as I was about to leave. I gave him some coins, which totalled about €4, leaving him unsatisfied and feeling upset. Ugh. I went to a pizzeria afterwards, and had two pizzas for lunch. After having those tasty pizzas in addition to what I ate my first night in Rome, I do not think I can eat Pizza Hut or Papa John’s Pizza, because of their freshness and abundance of toppings. My last day in Rome was cut short, because it was time to fly to Spain for the next leg of my trip. As I picked up my belongings from the bed and breakfast, I spoke to the attractive receptionist. My attractiveness towards her was lessened when she laughed creepily and snorted as I said goodbye. The receptionist’s laugh reminded me of model Maria Menounos, where her laugh creeped out my attractiveness for her.

My journey to Spain that afternoon was going to be a test of my patience. I was fined by an officer inside the bus heading towards Termini Station, because I failed to validate my ticket upon entering the bus. She did not check the other passengers who did not validate their tickets, and there was no sign inside the bus indicating where to validate my ticket. I appealed to her, telling her that I did not know, to no avail. Upon arriving at Fiumicino Airport, there was no concept of a line to check-in my luggage. Passengers formed a bottleneck towards the check-in counter, as teenage couples publicly showed their displays of affection. Luckily, I already had my boarding pass, which led me to a shorter line and away from those affectionate teenagers. After checking in my luggage, I made my way to security. After “failing” the metal detector (despite having removed my belt and emptied my pockets), the security guard asked if I only spoke English, to which I replied “Yes.” He pulled me aside, where he swabbed my arms, shoes, and belongings three times. After passing the residue test all three times, he let me go. I was pissed, because no one else in the line was as extensively examined as me. Now I know how certain foreigners feel when singled out by airport security. There was a survey, which had four buttons (Blue – smiley face, Green – less smiley face, Yellow – no reaction, and Red – angry face), where passengers can rate their experience. In a vainly feeble attempt to vent my frustration, I pressed the Red button as I made my way to the airport gate.

When I boarded the plane, a tall man sat in my assigned seat. He asked if we can switch seats, but I told him that I had that seat reserved. After five minutes, he asked again if we can switch seats because his legs could not fit. I relented, and realized this man was 6’5” tall when he stood up. His friend sitting next to the window was about 6’0”, which meant that I would be sitting in between two people over 6’0” tall in a cramped row. I was upset, because not only because I had booked the aisle seat to have more leg room, but this 6’5” man was too cheap to pay for the more expensive seats in the front of the plane that offered the leg room he needed. The plane also had about 40 teenagers (from the same group I saw at the line for check-in), which meant that the flight was going to be fairly noisy. As the plane headed towards the runway from the gate, the song “Happy” by Pharrell played over the audio system, and the teenagers clapped to the beat. The combination of my bus citation, experience in airport security, tall co-passengers, and noisy teenagers clapping to “Happy” wanted me to angrily tell them to be quiet. I was “not happy” and “did not want to clap along”, to say the least. After temporarily controlling my emotions, I felt the leg skinship of two tall Italian men that lasted for two hours. Ewww. The experiences that afternoon gave me an opportunity to pray the rosary and calm down. Praying the rosary helped me meditate and put the experiences into perspective, all of which calmed me down. No trip would be entertaining to look back at without having my fair share of unfavorable experiences to help me appreciate the favorable experiences even more. There is beauty in reflecting the unpleasant times, and expressing gratitude for being in this situation, because not many people have the opportunity to travel abroad and enjoy the simple fact of being alive.

I arrived at Seville in one piece, and was greeted with my “cuz”. The second part of my trip has now been completed, and I was halfway through my Europe trip.

Here is Part 3 of Europe. Cheers! 🙂