Day 1 travel experiences and Rome

It was so exciting to depart for my first trip abroad!! Although I have travelled extensively in the United States, I have never felt so excited and unsure of what to expect at my destination, as in this trip. The airport, and flying internationally are unique experiences which are quite different than traveling domestically. The airport security was about what I expected – unfriendly! However the process did not take quite as long as I had anticipated, and we then went to our gate to wait for our departure. While waiting, I was so excited to see our plane taxi in – it was an Airbus A-380, which I believe is currently the largest plane in the world. It is larger than a Boeing 747 in that it has two decks of seats. I have watched many television specials about the 380, so I was very excited to board! Most people are familiar with the complaints related to air travel – unfriendly service, cramped seats, delays, etc. My experience was totally different. In fact, traveling abroad had that certain romanticism which I had always associated with going to Europe. When boarding the plane, each seat was equipped with a pillow and blanket for the six-hour flight. If my plane ticket did not indicate to the contrary, I would have been certain that I was seated in first class! Each seat back was equipped with a monitor which allowed you to watch various movies and television shows, however my favorite feature was the live cameras mounted outside the plane which allowed to watch the takeoff and view the ground while in-flight. The monitor also allowed you to watch a GPS map which gave constant updates as to our progress. Periodically we were offered beverages which included complimentary beer and wine if we so desired. In addition, we were periodically given steaming hot towels to refresh ourselves. A full dinner was served, and we were provided metal utensils (very surprising to see) which were engraved with the Lufthansa insignia. After dinner drinks were offered, and we then took a few hour nap. Upon waking, we were once again given a towel and also a continental breakfast. At that point we were almost to Frankfurt, so I switched my monitor and watched in real time as I for the first time landed in Europe! After a brief layover we then embarked for Rome. Flying over Italy, I was surprised to see that it has alot of farm land and is not largely developed.

Upon landing, we were greeted by a guide who led us to a luxury bus which took us on the one-hour commute to our downtown Rome hotel. At this point, I can honestly say that I am not sure if I was or was not seeing what I had expected. For the most part, with the exception of some variations of mountains and farmland, as well as the absence of strip malls, it felt very similar to traveling through Brooklyn, NY. There was alot of traffic and old buildings which generally gave you that big-city feel, however it also had a certain charm and character which helped me to look past all of that. At this point, we had been awake nearly 24-hours (less a short nap on the plane), and I felt as though I had lost all sense of time. I remember my sister, who is a psychologist, mentioning that a cognitive test which is performed to test a patient’s mental state is to ask what day and time it is. At this point they would have taken me away, because I honestly could not answer! But our professors’ plan was for us to tough it out and continue to tour Rome, which would require staying awake for about another 9 hours and walking many miles. Although the thought of this was a bit hard to fathom, we all trusted their guidance and began our journey.

As we walked toward the Coliseum, thoughts of being tired soon vanished. My initial opinion of the city began to change as in the horizon appeared the famous Colosseo which I had learned about in my Western Civilization course this past fall. It was hard to describe the feeling of being in a structure which was built over 2,000 years ago. I had so many thoughts going through my mind, but probably the most prevalent was how much I would have liked to been a spectator at a Roman show there. Perhaps this is a bit barbarian to say, given that the gladiators were sometimes forced to fight lions barehanded, ending in the fighter’s demise. But the great amount of detail that went into staging these performances really made me wonder what it would be like. As I walked around the second level of the Colosseo, I was amazed how something more fascinating appeared around every bend, such as Constantine’s arch. We then walked further into Rome, and the cityscape changed again as we went from the lost city to the newer, medieval section. The beauty of the old buildings and narrow streets almost did not seem real, and I sometimes had the feeling like I was in a theme park. We went to an open-air dome chapel which it would be extremely difficult to describe with words and pictures, as the beauty and overall feel would be far undersold.

We then had dinner at an authentic outdoor cafe, and took the bus and subway back to our hotel for a well-needed rest (I have never slept so well!!)

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