The great thing about living near an airport is that you can be from home to through security and eating your breakfast in 45 minutes flat.
After a 2 and a half hour flight, I landed at Rome’s Fiumicino airport around lunchtime, and with just hand luggage I waltzed through and out the other side to the train station. It was easy to buy a ticket and to find the ‘Leonardo Express’ train into the city’s Termini station. The boys were not due to finish the Epic Cycle until about 5pm, so I knew I had plenty of time to find my hotel and get some food, before making my way to The Coliseum.
Phone in hand, I started following the Google Map directions. Which was fine, though after a while it felt like I had gone round in a bit of circle. At which point I realised I was following the driving directions not the walking ones, so I’d obviously gone right round a one-way system! Just as my bag was starting to feel a bit heavy and my feet beginning to ache, I stumbled across a very nice looking small restaurant. I managed to order a lovely spaghetti pomodoro and 2 glasses of white wine, which fortified me enough to finish the remaining 10-minute journey to the hotel.
I was quietly proud of myself for getting to Rome, getting the train, finding a restaurant and walking to the hotel. The idea of travelling alone doesn’t scare me, but it’s not something I’ve done much of. I felt like a proper adult, and even managed to work out how to use the room safe – one of the hotel room features that frequently foxes me 🙂
So, buoyed by my travelling success I headed off across Rome in a cab to meet @madgie. I had an wonderful jar (yes, jar) of Aperol Spritz while looking at the The Coliseum and a cup of coffee at a nearby café. I really enjoyed my day of solo travelling, but I was glad to see @madgie when he finally came in.
