Finally in Italy

We ended up boarding the ship in Italy instead of France and between those two, a lot happened ;)

The next morning, we had a mini orientation at the hotel itself and Yahoooo, we flew to Rome in the afternoon, then took a bus to Civitavecchia, where our ship was supposed to dock. We finally made it to Italy! How cool is it to sleep one night in France and the other in Italy?

We stayed at Sunbay hotel which is located at a mini port itself. Super wonderful view. We had a mouthwatering Italian dinner – pasta and veal with cheese. Italian pasta is so good. Lol. So good to try the original one I mean. We had another mini orientation the other morning and then had a yummy lunch, spaghetti ;)

The Int'l crew killing it at Sunbay

We walked around Civitavecchia, and some of us went to the hot springs. Civitavecchia is a small city like PortSaid in Egypt. The buildings have that old port style. It is super cheap, and there are lots of Chinese stores. Of course, we had gelato, you get a huge one for just 2 euros! How awesome! We came back and tried the Italian tiramisu this time, it's amazing.

                 

The following day, we took the train to Rome for 5 euros. You can book at the station, but some didn't find seats and had to stand in the train. Rome is super crowded, I didn't expect it to be like that actually! We went to the Colosseum, and I could not enjoy being there because of the many tourists (I am probably one of them – cough cough) and the long walk we had to take from the station to get there. Haimeng, a Chinese friend, and I decided to go and explore the side streets of Rome where people live.

It was the best decision we made. We got to see how Italian people interact and see the Roman architecture. You would find a modern building beside an ancient one! We had Margareta pizza in one of the local restaurants and again gelato. We wanted to go to the Vatican, but it was impossible to get on the bus. Not even one spot for a foot! We took the train back to Civitavecchia and enjoyed the quiet city again. Also, when booking the tickets, the machines would aware you from pickpocketing. It's real in Rome.

P.S. I need to start reading for classes, it's hard to focus when you are by the sea and just want to enjoy the sun.