Feeling lost? Pick up at my last European post, Adventures in Palermo!

One of our last major adventures with my parents was our trip to Rome. My parents were never there and it was essential that they see some of the awesome history and impressive ruins. We got up early in Palermo, took the bus to the airport and got a small shot of coffee before going through security.

The flight to Rome was luckily a fast one. We splurged and got Mom and Dad seats with extra legroom. Unfortunately a very tall and large man had purchased the third seat in their exit row and my mom was forced to hold her breath all the way to Rome. I was in the back of the plane, and had plenty of room! Our master plan of comfort backfired.

After picking up our luggage, we found the bus that was going to haul us relatively close to the city center. From there we had to walk about a mile to our apartment. Paul of course found us an excellent deal on an apartment to rent for the long weekend. It was hard to get used to how little the streets were and scale them down to the map I was carrying. We ended up walking in a circle at first and finally straightened out and were heading in the right direction. However, finding the road to turn on to locate our apartment was challenging. We decided lunch was our first priority, and stopped for our first pizza and lunch combo in Rome! The restaurant was pretty quiet, but our waiter was too much fun. He was so nice, and eager to help. From that day, every time we walked past the restaurant, he would wave wildly to say hello to the tourist Americans! The pizza was perfect, and we needed a bit of fuel after dragging our suitcases for a mile and running over men selling selfie-sticks.

Once we got to the apartment, we were greeted by the rental company, and they informed us that the previous tenant had gotten violently ill, ended up n the hospital and had some how damaged the plumbing in the bathroom. NICE. Naturally, it had taken them a little bit longer to turn over the room than they anticipated because they had to call the plumber. We were able to leave our luggage there and started exploring. We went next door to the Draft Book, a small pub with good company and very pleasant atmosphere. We then went to grab a few groceries that we could prepare in the apartment for breakfast in order to save some money. It didn’t take long until we were able to get settled into the apartment.

**Our little apartment in Rome, "Rome as you Feel"**

Paul was at work in Palermo most of the day and was slotted to join us later in the evening. Before he got there, my parents and I went for a quick stroll to find our Groupon restaurant: Ducati Café! We were seated right next to a fancy motorcycle and enjoyed an appetizer, burger, fries, and a large slice of cake. Paul and I were all about the Groupon dinners while we were in Italy, and this dinner did not disappoint. We had a nice time eating, earlier than most of the locals, and then decided to stroll back to the apartment to wait for Paul. He was going to be self-navigating in the dark. Considering that we had some difficulty in broad daylight, I was slightly concerned. Although my OCD and obsessive planning and directions seemed to help! Not long after we expected him, I got a text from Paul who found some WIFI and was standing outside our apartment! It was a perfect ending to our first day in Rome!

**Paul has arrived! He is oversized for Europe in general.**

Arriving in Rome

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