I made it to Rome!

I made it to Rome!

After a long journey (I left the house on Monday evening at 6:30 and I arrived at my Airbnb at 3:30 this afternoon), I am finally here!

But more aptly put, I am finally here after many fabulous trips to many other places, including two prior visits to Italy.

So here’s a little rundown of my first afternoon in the Eternal City

Fiumicino Airport

Last time

The last time I flew into Rome Airport (its full name is Aeroporto Leonardo da Vinci di Roma–Fiumicino) was fifteen years ago. (So yes, technically, I have been in Rome before. I took a train from the airport to I think Trastevere train station, where I transferred to a bus and immediately left the city and headed to Siena to begin a trip to Tuscany and the Cinque Terre. So I count this as my first trip to Rome.) That was my first solo trip overseas and my first time blogging what eventually became this blog.

I didn’t write about it at the time, but I found Fiumicino Airport to be utterly confusing. When I disembarked, I could find no signage directing me to passport control or the exit to the train station. I wandered through the airport looking for an information desk, but when I found one, no one was working there. Eventually, as I remember it, I walked down a narrow corridor to a flight of stairs where, almost by accident, I came upon passport control. And from there, I practically walked straight into the train station. Don’t ask me how I figured it out. I don’t remember.

This time

As it turned out, nothing was even remotely familiar this time.

So it was with some trepidation that I disembarked from my flight this afternoon. I decided to spring for a driver to take me to my Airbnb so I wouldn’t have to deal with figuring out how to get here by public transportation when I was jetlagged. (Maybe that was my mistake fifteen years ago?)

As soon as I stepped out of the jetway, there were signs directing me toward the exit. Easy peasy. Well, actually the signs led to a platform for a little train to the main terminal. By the time the train arrived, the platform was packed with people from my flight as well as at least one other. When the train arrived, in typical Italian fashion people jammed their way in until the door couldn’t close.

Finally we were underway, and after a very short ride during which I listened to a cacophony of Italian conversation in loud voices, we were at the main terminal. I followed more signs to the exit. I was feeling optimistic. Then I arrived at passport control. EU passport holders were directed one way; everyone else was directed another way. So I got in a long line and waited. I messaged my driver to let him know that it might be a while.

As I got closer to the front of the line (but still quite a ways back in the zigzag), I overheard a worker telling someone at the front of the line that, as a US passport holder, she was in the wrong line. Apparently, there was a third option for US passport holders to go through. So I called to him and asked him about it. He said it’s only for people above the age of 14. I assured him I was over 14, and he directed me where to go. I had to weave my way back through the line, ducking under cordons until I found the other path. All I had to do was scan my passport. A door opened, and then I had to pose for a camera. And then another door opened and I was done. (This is how it works in other places I’ve been to. Who knew the Italians had learned about efficiency since the last time I was here?) 

I had no problem finding my driver, who was waiting at the exit from customs. (There was no one monitoring customs. I just walked through an exit marked “Nothing to declare.”) Then we had to go back inside (through a passage marked “exit only, no entry”) to exit the opposite way and cross the street to the parking garage (which was also the train station).

Welcome to Italy!

Trastevere

I decided to stay in Trastevere (which means “across the Tiber”). This is a very popular neighborhood, not quite in the heart of things, but still popular with tourists. Here’s how Rick Steves describes it:

Trastevere is the colorful, wrong-side-of-the-river neighborhood with a village feel. It’s red pastel buildings are draped with green ivy, Vespas rule the streets, and locals frequent mom-and-pop cafés. Trastevere is the city at its crustiest…and perhaps most “Roman.” It’s short on sights, but long on atmosphere and restaurants.

I got to my Airbnb, followed the instructions for getting the key out of the lockbox and navigating my way to the secondo piano (we’d call it the third floor) to my tiny apartment. 

ATM

My first order of business was finding an ATM. Credit cards are accepted just about everywhere, but two of the tours I have scheduled are to be paid in cash.

I have no idea if I could successfully navigate the streets of Trastevere with a paper map. How did we do it before smartphones and Google Maps??? After I found the ATM, I tried to get back to my apartment the way I came, and I quickly got lost. 

On this short walk, I encountered four sets of people (couple and groups) engaged in conversation. Two were speaking Italian. Two were speaking English. This is definitely an international neighborhood. 

Exploration

Next I went out to explore the neighborhood. I walked to the river and rather than wander aimlessly, I decided to follow the Trastevere Walk from Rick Steves’ guidebook. 

The starting point was on the bridge that connects Trastevere with Isola Tiberina (Island in the Tiber). While I was there, I walked across to the isola, where I encountered not one, not two, but three different tour groups gathering to begin their walking tours of Trastevere.

Here are all my photos from my first afternoon in Rome.

I quoted earlier from Rick Steves’ guidebook that Trastevere is “short on sights,” but I was so impressed by these churches I visited. If this is what “short on sights” has to offer, I can’t wait for my full-on explorations of Rome to begin tomorrow!

About this post

Incidentally, I started writing this post in the evening after I got back from my walk. I was too tired to go out to dinner (not to mention that I was well fed on my business-class flights on Turkish Airlines and in their lounge at Istanbul Airport). By around 9:30 my eyes refused to stay open. I crawled into bed and fell asleep quickly.

But as is often the case on my first night of travel, I woke up at 1:30. Rather than lying in bed wishing I could fall back to sleep, I got up and finished this post. It’s now 4:30 am on Day Two. I will try to get a couple more hours of sleep before I have to get up and head out for today’s activities.

Good night from Rome. Or should I say Good Morning?