Rome

The day of my adventure finally came, and on the 11th May I was off. I'd had three hours sleep and no breakfast, so by the time I arrived in Rome at 1pm I was feeling pretty weak, and as a consequence found the whole thing a bit overwhelming. Nevertheless, I found my hostel without too much difficulty.

I stayed at the Orsa Maggiore, which is a women-only hostel. It was nice and quiet, and the staff very helpful. The rooms are a bit basic - the shower cubicle doors were almost falling off - but clean, and the hostel is in a lovely area. Trastevere is on the west side of the river; it's a little distance from the main sights (thought still easily accessible), but that are plenty of pretty little piazzas, along with lots of nice bars and restaurants.

During my first 24 hours in Rome, I was mistaken for an Italian on three separate occasions. I was a bit confused, but according to the hostel receptionist (who started chattering in Italian to me when I checked in), I "have an Italian face".. Whatever that means.

I've spent most of my time just walking around the city. Partly because I find I get my bearings better and appreciate the sights more, but also because I just don't like buses - they're bad enough at home, without having to factor in unknown ticketing systems and foreign languages as well. But my feet are now more or less broken as a consequence.

I also seem to have developed an appreciation for bridges. Or maybe the ones in Rome are especially beautiful. Either way, I have quite happily spent time just walking up and down the Tiber, and this morning I spent a good couple of hours just sat by the riverside near one of the bridges (Ponte Cestio if you really care), people watching and sketching.

I can't make up my mind about Rome as a whole. On occasions, I found myself feeling a bit annoyed with it; the smelliness, noisiness, and the terrifying ordeal that is attempting to cross the road or basically go anywhere near Italian drivers. But I'm not sure whether my annoyance was just me feeling a tad homesick, because, really, everyone knows there is no better place than Yorkshire. But the next minute, I would be marvelling at how unreal it all seemed, so many old buildings and ruins just lying around in the city.

Anyway. Now would be an appropriate time for photos, wouldn't it? Unfortunately, you're going to have to wait. The internet connection here is so poor it's just not possible - it's taken me nearly two hours just to check my emails and onward routes. I just tried to upload one photo and I swear my netbook let out a cry of pain. The next opportunity, there will be photos. But for now, onto Naples!