My time is Europe is always nonstop. Its a challenge to stop as much as it is in the States. Don’t get me wrong I have had uninterrupted chats with friends over coffee, lunch, glasses of wine the last couple of weeks. Its nice not being completely attached to my iPhone or other electronic devices.
I left my computer back in Paris and my cell phone didn’t have an Italian SIM card so I was catching email when I could walking through the streets of Rome or back at my airbnb apartment.
Paris has been a comfort for me the last few years. I know how to zip around the city by foot or metro and my french is improving. The city feels like a second home more than anything. Italy was my first love and will always be. Its where I first studied abroad and was bit by the travel bug 11 years ago but being back in Italy felt foreign. My first couple of trips to Rome I did not like the city at all. It was filled with graffiti, pick pockets, and lets be honest it wasn’t Florence. Although in the last couple of years it has been calling me back. It took a while but I am glad I decided to go back and give it another go.
To be perfectly honest I arrived on a sunny 80 degree October day in Rome. Palm trees lined the streets with packed cafes serving pasta and cappuccinos on every corner. What’s not to love? I grabbed a chair at the closest busy cafe pulled out a map and a menu and was set to explore.
To be continued…
