Sunday 17 November 2013

A Rookie's Guide to Roam / Rome Alone

I am sleeping on the floor of London's Stansted airport waiting for my 5am flight, the ceiling is so high up and it's a big slumber party - buzzing with a quiet hum of adventure and explorers daydreaming here we go here we go here we go! 

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When in Rome, you will get on a stranger's motorcycle and explore ancient ruin sites; your heart will be full when you skip down cobble stoned streets and stumble upon the Pantheon towering over you. You will have a romantic dinner alone and the waiter will give you a mini furby toy that's wearing a wizard hat. When in Rome, you will hike to the highest point in the city at 2 in the morning; Dashboard Confessional's Hands Down will play at a sloshy student bar called The Drunken Ship, and you and I will wander to the Trevi Fountain, and it will be still - this night is wild, so calm and dull...When in Rome, you are brave and scared and terrible at speaking Italian, and will leave on a 5am train to Cinque Terre with a full heart.

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IMG_0610 I still haven't had much experience traveling alone, but I thought I'd share some things to look out for / heads up / mistakes I've made and tips and things with my first time in Italy, for anyone who's doing the same.

* Learn the language - if only a little, I practiced a few basic phrases like buona sera (good afternoon), grazie (thank you), per favore (please), mi scusi (excuse me), parla inglese (do you speak English). Naturally, I got flustered and forgot a lot of the time, by which I would end up saying English words with a bad Italian accent and hope for the best...

* Don't stress about taking photos - Everyone's different on holiday, but personally and in my experience, I just found it much more enjoyable to soak and bask in where ever I am and whatever I'm looking at, and take photos when I feel like it. All my photos of the Colosseum were poo

* Keep your valuables close - I'm sort of paranoid so I had a money pouch around my neck under my shirt that made me look like I was pregnant with a rectangular baby, and also emergency money in my Doc Martens. You wanna steal my $$$ you're gonna have to touch my gross feet ya jerk

* Rocking up solo - if you're worried about traveling to Rome alone and heard horror stories about gypsies throwing their babies at you, this is a sign - do it! - and be cautious and alert. I know I said I got on a stranger's bike / hung out with strangers which is the opposite of aforementioned advice but I can assure you I was being careful and had a shotgun on me (jk)

* Make yourself approachable - I was having a romantic dinner by myself and listening to a podcast about bees when these 2 girls asked if I wanted to join them, and I was being a dweeb and immediately regretted saying uh no sorry gotta listen to my podcast. I started talking to them after dinner and they turned out to be the loveliest people cry cry cry

* Drink your coffee at the bar - in some cafes, coffee is doubly expensive if you drink it sitting down, so go ahead and drink it at the bar and make awkward eye contact with the barrister

* Colosseum + Roman Forum - Buy a ticket from either and you'll automatically get access to both, so I recommend getting tickets at the Roman Forum first and then going to the Colosseum (as opposed to the other way round, which'll take you hours). Once you're done, it's heaps easy to walk to the Spanish steps, the Trevi fountain and the Pantheon (via del Corso) - it'll be around 20 minutes but there's so much to see around you'll barely notice!

* Places I found particularly dope - the Santa Maria church in Trastevere, Pincio hill, Claudio Torce's Gelateria, the vintage shops in via Vecchio in Piazza Navona.

* Sing This Is What Dreams Are Made Of on the streets - fucking do it

Happy traveling!

2 comments:

  1. LOL i laughed so much at the keep your valuables close "You're gonna have to touch my gross feet ya jerk" LOL and the "i had a shotgun" LOL
    but in all honesty these are really good tips and your photos look amazinggggg :)

    www.candypop-lamour.blogspot.com

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  2. i'm defo doing that last one

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