After much given thought, we decided to go to Rome. So I spent months planning the trip, checking hotels, cheapest airlines.... the works! And the day finally came and we were airbone!
Living in the Azores is wonderful, but it can be a real bummer when you wanna travel. And the flight is always delayed. We were suposed to leave at 9pm... It was almost 11pm when we finally took off! We arrived at the hotel at 3am! Not funny. And worse, we had had to go to reception twice because the key wasn't working. We were bone tired... Did I mention it was my birthday?
My friend really wanted to go to Madrid, so I arranged things for us to stay at least half day there before we went to Rome... It's... nice. Maybe because I didn't get to see much of it, but... It didn't impress me. Maybe next time, with more time, I can really appreciate it. We left for the airport at 4am... the guys at the reception thought we were angry about something. Lol. I was nice enough to explain we had a plane to catch. Low cost ticket...
9am - Rome
Finally! We could see History from the plane! LOL. We couldn't wait to start exploring!
We decided it was safest to take a cab from the airport to the hotel, safe being the key word here. Word of advice: if you have a heart condition, pls, don't ever take a cab in Rome. They are MANIAC drivers! We almost had several accidents! The taxi driver almost ran someone on the road! Crazy drivers! And they don't really care about road signs either. Crazy people... When we finally got to the hotel, we where shaking! Don't get me wrong, I love italians, but they're crazy!
After a well deserved rest, off we went to conquer Rome! Beware of these Azorean women! We'll bring this Empire to it's knees! Lol... yeah, it's more like the empire brought our wallet to it's knees.
Rome is a beautiful, enchanted city. But it's an expensive one. You pay for every single thing. Maybe this is how it's done all over the world, but not in Portugal. You pay for the bread just because it's on the table, even if you don't eat it. You can't just ask for chicken, because that's exactly what you'll get. Just chicken. It's weird. I used to complain about everything being so expensive back home... Makes you really appreciate what you have.
Another tip, if you go to Rome, you'll go to the Colosseum. It's beautiful. And you'll be pestered by these nice tour guides that want to show you around for a fee. The thing is, and thank God I didn't fall for that, they charge you for 22€ per person for a 2h guided tour of the Colosseum and Forum. But if you go to the Forum you can buy the combined ticket for 11€ per person! And the best part: it's valid for 2 days! It has to be, the whole complex is huge and we spent a whole afternoon at the Forum. We didn't go to the Colosseum until the next day...
