Good morning…well, it could have been a very BAD morning, but it is a good morning. Let me explain…
The flight from LHR to FCO was delayed. And then I took the wrong train into Rome, overshooting my stop by about 3 stations, arriving at Rome Termini instead of Rome Trastevere. To make matters worse, I speak almost NO Italian, though I am learning some key phrases quickly. My French came in handy on the train when I was able to ask the French-speaking African folks sitting across from me whether the train stopped at Trastevere - they were so kind and helpful. I bought another train ticket at Termini, got it validated (or else would have faced a 100-euro fine, supposedly), and then climbed aboard this random train, hoping it was going in the right direction. I pulled out my Italian phrase book and began asking these women to my left when the train departed. They looked absolutely perplexed, and as I continued trying to speak (very bad) Italian with them, they finally said "Ungar" or something like that, which I took to mean Hungarian. Immediately I said "Sprechen Sie Deutsch?" and it more or less saved the day - their daughter was a tour guide in Rome for German-speaking tour groups. Perfecto.
When I finally arrived at Trastevere station a few minutes later, I immediately called my B&B patron…he ended the phone call by saying "See you later" and I wasn't sure whether that meant he would see me when I arrived or he wasn't coming at all. He was there when I arrived by taxi, but there was a problem immediately upon arrival. I had double-booked, he told me, and I would need to be moved to another (pre-arranged) hotel unless I want to pay Euro20 more per night. ABSURD! So here I am, completely angry, and then I go to the ATM to withdraw money, and my card is declined. At this point I'm in panic mode, so I go and buy a little carte telefoniche to use in a phone booth, I call my friend flavia, and it runs out extremely quickly. So now I can either buy another carte telefoniche or…buy a SIM card for my cell phone. Obviously, I did the latter.
By then I was running very late to meet my friend Molly for dinner. But I was able to call my credit union, call my friend Flavia, and leave my mom a message that I had arrived in Rome safely, all for less than the total amount I had loaded on the card. It was really good to see Molly, though I feel bad because I was still in panic mode. We grabbed Gelato and walked her neighborhood. After returning to my B&B, Flavia came over and we chatted for about 15 minutes. She is so wonderful and still speaks English extremely well - in stark contrast to my nonexistent Italian! And this morning I was able to access my bank account, Gott sei Dank!
Now I await my sentencing to the Hotel Brunella…if I like it, I'll stay there, but if it's seedy, I think I may go stay with the nuns in a convent (cheaper and more interesting, for sure)…
Bis später!
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