Eurotrip 2011 (Rome)

Martha and I were exhausted after Dublin...we really were. We'd spent both day and night exploring the city and sleeping less than desired. She was very strong and stayed awake reading 'The Hobbit' all during the flight to Rome. I, on the other hand, who can sleep anytime, anywhere, in any position, slept the entire 3 hours (except for the brief 5 minutes I was awoken in order to see the huge snowy mountains below). That first night in Rome we needed sleep, lots of sleep, and so that's exactly what we did.

It greatly interested me that we stayed in a mixed hostel room. I wasn't worried or embarrassed to be in the same room with guys. I just didn't know how clean they would be or if they would snore. When you are in close quarters and need sleep, those two worries become quite important. Thankfully, the boys were quite clean and organized and they did not snore. The guys, from Egypt for the first two nights, then from Argentina the next two, were quite well behaved indeed!

The hostel for Rome, the Alessandro Downtown was less friendly than Abigail's in Dublin, but it boasted more amenities and a really nice hall bathroom in which every WC included a sink. The morning and nighttime sharing of the bathroom that Martha and I endured in Dublin was solved in Rome. We were also able to wash our clothes (conveniently at the midpoint of our trip).

I suppose our assault on the city of Rome was more premeditated than Dublin. We only had three short days, one of which would be devoted to the Vatican, another devoted to the Colosseum and Forum, and the last day we knew we'd visit Trevi fountain. In Dublin there were lots of little things to visit. In Rome we wanted to hit the biggest things first.
The mornings were earlier in Rome, but the nights, sans Irish pubs, were shorter and allowed for enough sleep.  It was a good thing that we rested more, because the walking was more strenuous in Rome. When it had taken us ten minutes to walk somewhere in Dublin from our hostel, it was suddenly taking that long to get to the metro stop. I actually ended up hobbling for the last day in Rome and the day in Paris. I don't know how it happened but I upset something behind my right knee. Despite the hobbling, and only having three days in such an amazing city, we were able to explore Rome and have a ton of fun!!!