12 Days in Italy - Day 1
Day 1 - Travel and Trastevere (7/19-20/2019)
First of all let me say that I'm not a regular flier by any means. This was my second flight ever - but I'm quickly becoming a learned traveler as I explore the routine of flight and travel. I'm lucky enough to have an experienced partner and she helps me with the essentials (don't pack anything over 3.4 oz. and you really don't need 12 pairs of pants for 12 days in Italy if you have a laundry service in the middle - that kind of thing). I'll share with you what we did for this trip and maybe it will help when you decide to visit any of these places yourself.
We took a direct flight from Charlotte, NC to Rome, and while unusual, it's possible to find if you are flexible on your arrival and departure dates (and how much you want to spend). With no layovers we were in the 10 hour range both ways, give or take a half hour. Headed there we left in the evening (I didn't sleep at all because I was excited for the trip, but I should have - read on) and flew through the night arriving in Rome at 9:30am Italy time.
Basically you have to add 6 hours to your internal clock when you arrive as soon as you can or you will feel the effects longer. It took about 2 days to adjust to a relatively normal state of mind. After we took a 3 hour nap on day 1, we then ended up sleeping around 16 hours to catch up from the night before. Plan on a day of adjustment to be safe and then let it unfold slowly for the next few days as your system acclimates to the new rising and setting of the sun.
You won't see pictures here because I'm not showing off what we ate. I will tell you what to expect but unless you take a seriously different flight from us, or move to first class, the food isn't for enjoyment. It's to make sure you don't starve before you land. We were offered the following on the way over:
Dinner
Pasta with cheese and pesto
Bread
Salad Caesar dressing
Cream cracker
Gruyere cheese
Butter
Brownie
Breakfast
Yogurt
Granola
Fig bar
OJ
Coffee/Decaf powder
Arrival
When we exited the airport we went straight to a taxi stand and struggled through the initial adjustment to how things were going to work. In the EU, Uber isn't really a thing. Uber provides a car service (town cars and the like) and costs more than a taxi. The Taxi service can be a little sketchy but the rides are affordable and pretty quick. Things to note right up front though - if you are using a debit/credit card, ask if they accept them before you load your luggage. You may even want to say you only have a card and no cash. Several times drivers would say yes to a card transaction and then when we arrived they would say the machine didn't work. I kept a couple of 50 Euro bills in a safe place for those times when we were caught with no other option (more about that later).
The taxi ride from the airport to almost anywhere in or near central Rome is advertised to be 48 Euro. Even at the taxi stand there is a sign that says fixed rate 48 Euro to Roma Centrale. Don't be surprised if you are told 50 Euro, or 52 Euro by the driver when you arrive. In those cases I would let it slide but not offer a tip as the driver seemed to be tipping himself. When the ride was 44 Euro (surprisingly less than I expected) or right on the 48 Euro mark I would round up a few to make it known that I was happy with the ride and price.
We went right to the second floor after using a lock box to get our "Harry Potter"-esque key and then couldn't get it to work. Make a note that the ground floor in European countries is considered floor 0 so if you are on floor 2, that is generally what we think of as the third floor. That applies to almost every situation and at first you may find yourself looking all over for something only to realize that you are on the wrong floor. So after that bit of knowledge became apparent, we moved up a floor and found our space.
We made the most of the location and ventured out as often as possible to explore the local restaurants. That afternoon we were tired and didn't venture our very far but still found some pizza before a nap to help us catch up from the flight. We went to Nick and Tony's for a couple of slices and while it was decent, we were too tired to really appreciate it - but we had tried pizza in Rome.
On the way back we found a juice shop (Fresco) that actually made things to order with real fruit and vegetables so we had to stop in for a couple of those (11 Euro). Then a trip to Meccanismo across the street for a drink (it was HOT!) and home for a nap. This was the place we had our first Schweppe's Limon - basically a lemon soda by Schweppe's but better than anything I've had from them here in the states. Get one when you are out and about in the EU. Here's our window view of Meccanismo:
After waking we decided to venture out for dinner. I had looked into other places near us for pizza and there were quite a few that were very close. You generally expecte the map app to give distances in miles (or fractions of a mile) but my app referenced the restaurants in terms of feet. Now that's close! We were actually right over a pizza joint that we never were able to eat at because they were closed most of the time we were staying in Trasyevere. Here's a screenshot of our neighborhood to give you an idea of what the food situation was like. You can see Meccanismo in the top right where our apartment was and then food, food, food...everywhere!
We went out to Trapizzino and ordered pizza, but it was more like a meatball in a cone made of pizza dough. And yes, it was spectacular. We got a trio of Suppli - basically Aroncini (Italian fried rice balls) but with a surprise (suppli) inside - and made a meal of that just sharing everything so we had more options to sample (10 Euro).
Security
Upon arriving, we each had shoulder bags and wheeled carry-on size luggage. If you have more than that make sure to get a ride to your doorstep and plan the arrival time to coincide with your check-in. With just our small amount we were able to wander and grab a coffee and tea while we waited to check into our room. A couple of common things were shared with me before we left. If you have luggage of any sort, you are immediately seen as a tourist. People will approach you and will offer to help carry things, sell you things, change bills for you, ask you questions, etc. In many cases these are honest attempts to either help or make an exchange. In other cases it could be an attempt to distract you while others take your luggage or look through your bags. This never happened to us but there are signs posted in many areas (train stations, airports, city streets, public transportation and the like) showing this type of thing. Just keep in mind that it's like any big city and there are people that will take advantage of you if you seem to be vulnerable. Keep hands on your bags and luggage and look alert and engaged. This seemed to be an effective deterrent to any untoward approaches in our case.
To protect our finances we did a number of things prior to and during our trip. Let your bank know you are going to be in another country. There were a few times that a card would not work at a specific place but generally we had no trouble using our debit cards for almost everything. I actually took a couple of cards that were connected to different accounts so that if one was lost or rendered unusable (in the event of theft or loss), we would still have access to another. I found a security belt with a zippered pouch on the inside to stash a few bills in, and a Travel Blue wallet that would attach to the belt and could be then tucked into your pants or into a pocket if needed. It had a zippered section for coins, another for bills and a velcro-secured card section. That gave a bit of peace during some hectic moments while trying to board a train, or making a run to the pizza stand before leaving for an excursion. Just knowing that you have a connection to your cash makes a huge difference.
Language
I had practiced my Italian phrases but went in with little confidence. It took several days to feel good when asking for things but it really helps and immediately makes you more appealing to the locals when you try to speak the language. And speaking of fitting in or experiencing the culture as a tourist, be sure to look past the streets that you immediately encounter when you arrive at famous destinations or major tourist attractions. Some restaurants offer "local" food but then the menu will be entirely in English and will have pictures of the food. Also people will be standing on the street encouraging you to come in to their restaurant. In the single case that this happened (we had little choice as we were on a limited schedule and in the middle of a tour), the food wasn't bad at all but it wasn't great either. Avoiding the tourist traps was high on my list of things to focus on during the entire trip. If you found a restaurant where the menu had the items in Italian only, you were probably safe, although you had to know a bit of the language or rely on help from the staff. In many cases the English translation would be under the Italian and I found this both helpful and indicative of non-Italian speakers being welcome, but not prioritized. If the menu was in English (or in many languages at once) it was usually meant for the tourists that wanted only the familiar. After a few meals you get used to certain things and know what to ask and look for, and in over half the places we visited the staff spoke a little English (and were fluent in several cases). One final thought - although this isn't conclusive - the word "tipico" means typical and is quite often used to describe restaurants that serve the expected seasonal food of the region. When it was in the name of the restaurant I generally found the place to be using that title to appeal to outsiders. When used to describe a place though it means the place serves what can be found locally. So "cibo tipico" used in the description of the restaurant is a good thing, while Pizza Tipico as a name for the place may not be so inviting.
In my next post I will be taking you through our travels day by day so look out for 12 Days in Italy - Day 2!
Love it! <3
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