DAY TEN
I hope that dear girl made it to Rome – I can’t imagine what the beds must have been like in second class, because I was in the best they had, and it was pretty bad.
I was sharing with five other oldies but goodies, and they were so excited to get a whiff of my youth that I was treated like royalty. They fed me sweets from Lebanon and laughed at all my jokes and opened the door for me when I locked myself in.
Ok, so the outside of the train had never been washed, although it got progressively LESS dirty when you got to the first class cabins – like they could only afford to take half of it through the car wash. The inside smelt like wee, also inoffensive, but less so than the orient express. One dorm the size of half our laundry was our sleeping chambers and it was too bad if half of you wanted to sleep and the others to stay awake because the beds folded down in a way that made it impossible for one person to have a bed and vice versa.
Those oldies knew how to party though – I was the first one to call it quits, but being the demi-god I was, they soon followed. I felt bad because their backs must have been killing and they’d obviously had their hopes set on FIRST CLASS.
We woke up a little sorer and a little wiser – fly next time – and I mimed goodbye to my new franco-italian friends, and they mimed back that they loved me and wished me only the best in life, and then I was off into the great unknown.
First on my hit list was the Colosseum – I’ve got a strategy now. I hit up the big sights and be a total bad bad tourist for a day which is, in a way, the worst day, because it’s exhausting, but THEN, the next day whenever I see someone with a big map and sensible shoes, I say, ah, bella, letta me show you my Rrrroma and send them on their way, eyes glistening with appreciation.
The Colosseum is totally overrated – very poorly constructed, crumbling already and the top is missing, but the rest of the architecture in Rrroma looks sturdy. Everything is so old – it’s crazy. The other places I’ve been to have had really old buildings, but this place feels – probably because it is – truly ancient. There was a man outside the Colosseum asking people if they wanted their photo taken with him – he had a sword and was waving it desperately in the air and then looking fiercely into the eyes of an imaginary beast. Nero would have thrown him to the lions immediately.
The hostel is again top class and bottom price. The reviews I’ve read on these places have all been really accurate – if anything, they’ve given them a lower rating than they should. This is clean and central – 5 mins walk to the Colosseum, and the owners are very helpful. You can’t ask for much more.
Except the Pope tucking you in – that’d be pretty cool.
Ciao mia friends e familia – I writa more tomorrow.
xx
megsjessie 
You’ll be sorry now, Megs. I’ve found the place where I can comment!
Love your work, my friend, especially about the car/train wash. I laughed out loud. Mo
yay sez!! I have one loyal reader!! Got through to mo so disaster averted. ciao xx
i’m totally crushing on your blog.
hate to kill your independent vibe but did mum get through to you? she’s trying to send you something…
Hey Megs, totally loving your take on Europe!
I know the things they let builders get away with there is criminal, everything is half finished and crumbling.
Maybe if they spent half as much as Perth has in the last year fixing the place up, they’d get a visit from the Queen too…
Thanks matty – bring back the bell tower, I say!
Love your work. Even if you lied and said you weren’t blogging. A ha! J’accuse!!!
You know, I was driving down Wellington Street the other morning, because, unlike some, I am still going to work and not whoring around Rome, and as I drove past the Entertainment Centre, I thought to myself, “Why can’t they just leave it half-demolished?” and then started pondering, “How did the Colliseum actually get to stay that way? Did their equivalent of the City of Perth (the Citta’ di Roma) just fricking give UP on the place?”
How is it that we rever the Colliseum, which, when you think about it, must have been an EYESORE of biblical proportions (okay, post-biblical) for so long, when it is really clear evidence of Rome’s total slackocity in building maintenance. Did they think, when it was up for a repaint and spackle, “No, let’s leave it because in 2000 years, people are gonna love it.” Or did they ‘shabby-chic’ it at some point and then leave it. Sort of like when they first refurbished the Queens with all that “we’re so cool we are going to just leave bare wires and all this exposed brickwork and hope no one gets hurt.”
Thanks Nads. How good would a half finished Entertainment Centre be as an homage to the greatest empire of all time. It’s a bit like when we did the ‘Perth Eye’ hoping that it would get more exciting the higher up you were.
hey megs me again – wats the place u stayed in rome??
Hey Jas – glad you like!
Ok, so depends what your budget is, but for our $50 a night (and I’d say it’s either cheaper with two, or you possibly get your own room – check it out) you can get accommodation at Le Regent in Montmartre – i’d send the link but I can’t, just google it.
It’s obviously not fancy, but it’s nice clean rooms and Montmartre is a cool area and right next to a train station and there’s a decent breakfast included too.
Rome had a different vibe – it was more like a b&b privately owned place – very homely and the lady who owned it was LOVELY. Breakfast was awful but who really cares. Everything’s central in Rome, but it’s pretty cool cos it’s 2 mins walk from the collosseum. That was about 35 a night.
I always get worried about reccommendations just in case it’s not what someone else is looking for, or the owners have changed etc, but I had a really great experience with both.
Hope that helps!
xx
THANKYOU!
haha – fave bit on colosseum. xxxxxxx