Rome via Brooklyn

Word count: 460 words

Time to read: 3-4 minutes

Yesterday night, Ramon and I came back from Cinque Terre, and despite being very tired, I knew I wanted to do something outside of Rome the next day. See, we had Monday off, and I know myself; if I don’t plan to do something, I know I’ll end up doing nothing all day. I also know that months later, I’d percolate on the trip and have major regrets that I didn’t make the most of every day. As such, my brain immediately went to Florence. I called Shamiqua and Danielle since I knew they’d been wanting to go, but we couldn’t logistically figure it out. Buses were cheap but incredibly long; high speed trains were what felt like a million dollars! We ended our call kind of unsure if we were going to go, and so I decided I’d set my alarm early and let the morning me make the decision.

I awoke from my slumber, feeling certain Florence wasn’t meant to happen. I went back to sleep and woke up later than I’d like to admit. Groggy and desperately in need of ice for my eyes (secret hack to instantly make you look more awake!), I went out for breakfast. This actually made the first time I’d eaten breakfast on this trip, and the first time I’d gone out alone to eat.

I came home and randomly decided to go to Tivoli after some research. I got up, grabbed what I thought I’d need, and headed to the train station. After the ticket was already bought, I saw I’d need to take 2 trains and a bus. Ugh!

Nonetheless, I figured it out and made it to the mountainside in one piece. I knew that I needed to see Villa Gregoriana and Villa D’Este. With only a few hours to spare before both closed, I made my way to Villa D’Este in good time. It was seriously the most amazing museum ever. Many of its water fixtures still utilize gravity!

Afterward, I didn’t think I’d have enough to make it to Villa Gregoriana to do a hike, but the ticket lady informed me that they allow hikers another hour after closing time. Perfect!

I started the hike alone and finished it the same way. Through it all, I survived! I really liked the feeling of solitude and the silence of the entire experience. There was a very light drizzle that only added to the atmosphere and my positive feelings. I left Tivoli with no charge in my phone but with the fullest heart in the world. If you’re scared of traveling alone, challenge yourself and do it. You might hate it, or you might be like me and find it’s the most freeing thing in the word!