Traveling Tips

After spending seven weeks in Rome, here is some general advice I have for the fellow traveler (particularly those spending at least a couple of weeks in one location).
1. Develop Some Routine: cappuccino every morning, pasta from the same lunch place, dinner every Tuesday at Cave Canum. Having something you look forward to and having a sever who maybe knows your order is comforting when you are somewhere where everything else seems unpredictable.
2. Your Health Matters: drink plenty of water, you need to stay hydrated, and it helps keep you stay regular :) Eat your fruit and veggies, bring the allergy medicine you might need, sleep enough. In seven weeks, you'll need every trick in the book to stay healthy.
3. Travel Well: invest in a good map and buy a couple of bus tickets just in case it rains, or you shoe breaks, or there is some place far you want to visit. In my opinion, if you always have a good map and an emergency ticket you'll feel a lot better about taking risks and exploring someplace new or walking a little further than your usual destination.
4. Watch Your Money, But Try Not to Worry About It: do some budgeting before you leave or you might spend a lot more than you plan, but also realize that plans change and maybe a trip to Almafi is worth it even though it wasn't in the budget. In my opinion, try to do breakfast and lunch on the cheap side (or even at home) and maybe try to have a nicer dinner out a few nights a week, rather than a cheap meal every night. House wine is pretty good, especially the white, but maybe splurge on a good glass of red once in a while.
5. Be Safe, Not Scared: close your purse, keep your hand on your wallet in close quarters, pay attention to where you are. Rome is a safe city, but there's no need to test things..
6. One Bad Experience Won't Kill the Trip: something will go wrong, maybe something small, maybe something major. In the moment, it won't be fun, but maybe later it will seem like it was. Don't worry if something isn't perfect, you will have other experiences too.

Where to Park It

This weekend and last taught me a couple of lessons about hotels in Italy. Certainly one can (and perhaps should) use major search engines such as Expedia, but I have learned a couple of important lessons. Read the reviews! Should you pick the cheap place anyway, at least you will know that you need to bring earplugs to deal with the noise. Make sure you are clear about whether or not you will be sharing the bathroom with other rooms--I take private bathrooms as a given in the States, it's not here in Rome. But my biggest piece of advice is pay close attention to the location of a hotel. "In Sorrento" can mean a twenty minute bus ride from the town, and your lucky if the bus is regular or even an option at all. It isn't always clear where the central area in a town is, or if the central area is even what you want to see (because maybe it's "old town" or some other section), but the more informed you are going into it, you're probably better off.

Just a Small Town Girl

Rome looks so unlike any American city that sometimes I forget that it is in fact a city. However, today was the Festa della Repubblica, and much of the major roadways have been closed this week and particularly today for the events and people came from all over Italy to celebrate in the city. Life in Italy explains: "June 2nd marks the day in 1946 when Italy voted in a referendum to abolish the monarchy and become a republic. Support for the monarchy had plunged because the king of Italy had supported Mussolini. So hostile was the public, that the royal family was exiled from Italy forever as punishment." Events included a bike race that ended in Rome on Sunday and a military parade today. Both these events made traversing back to me home, which is just past the Coliseum and thus major road ways, extremely difficult. Many stores, places to eat, and even the metro were also closed, making everyday details a little more difficult. Traveling tip: pay attention to the major holidays!

Baygon!

Traveling tip: Should you decide to come live in Rome (which I recommend), consider bringing ant traps. Sugar ants, as it turns out, are not merely a North American species. Both times I have been here (which I know is a rather small 'n') we have shared our apartments with ant friends. Rome, of course, also sells ant poison. It's called "baygon" but either it is not very effective or I can't figure out how to use it correctly.