Rome, Day 1

I arrived in Rome later that night and went to the hostel I had found online.  The hostel was near the train station and was very cheap.  However, once I got there, I realized why.  It was basically a 2 bedroom apartment that had been converted into a hostel.  It was run by people from India, who spoke Italian, in an area that could be described as Asia Town (more than Chinese were there).  The hostel could host about 30 people a night, but only had 2 bathrooms.  Each bathroom had a shower, sink, and toilet.  So, at any given time, only 2 people could be using the facilities.  The room I stayed in was slightly larger than my dorm room and had 12 people in it.  Fortunately, half the people in my room were Australians who stayed were staying for the same 3 nights I was.  I got to talking to them and we decided to tour Rome together.

My first full day in Rome, we went to the Trevi Fountain and threw in a coin, which promises a return visit to Rome (or throw in 2 coins to find true love).  We then walked to the Spanish Steps and went to McDonald's.  It is one of the world's largest and definitely the fanciest, as it was featured as the number one unique fast food place on the Travel Channel.  It was laid out in a Roman ruin style with mosaics and weather-worn statues.  However, we decided to bypass McD's and get pizza instead.  Italian pizza is not like ours.  They do not use tomato sauce normally.  So, my pizza tasted like a cheese breadstick, but without a dipping sauce.  Strike 2 for Italian pizza.  

Trevi Fountain

The Australians I met in my hostel...taking pictures the Japanese way, with the peace sign

The Spanish Steps

The entrance to the McDonald's near the Spanish Steps

We then went to the Pantheon and wandered around aimlessly the rest of the day, just enjoying the Roman atmosphere.  We found a small grocery store and rather than buying a small Fanta, I paid about 10 cents more and got a 1.5L bottle, so I looked like a fat American carrying it around the rest of the day.  I made this comment and the Australians told me that they overtook us as the fattest country this past week; it had been all over their news.  So, since we are no longer one, when you are finished reading, go eat something.  Fortunately, I had the bottle that I could just fill up all over Rome at natural spring fountains that had really cold drinking water--everyone just carried around a bottle and filled up whenever we saw a fountain.  That night, we returned to the hostel for a (free) supper of pasta.  

The Pantheon

The interior of the Pantheon

A view of the Colosseum and other ruins in the distance

"Expensive" and "precious" can have the same Italian translation

My room in the hostel--capacity of 12