We are here!

Nina and I are at our hostel, using the free internet. It was an adventure getting here - haha. First of all, we totally overpacked, with two bags each and a personal item. And for some reason, I thought it would be good for me to bring books, which are hella heavy.
Also, I inevitably sat behind Rude Chair Back All The Way The Whole Nine Hour Flight Man.
Anyway, we get to the train station at the airport after the easiest customs process ever - no forms - , and we can't tell which train to get on, so we buy Euro 5.50 tickets for the regional train like the guidebook suggested, and then proceeded to get on the train Leonardo Express that costs 11 Euro. Luckily, they didn't check our tickets, so we were okay. Then we bought Rome passes and tried to get on the Metro, but the train was out of control full, so we had to wait for the next one, and then the next one before we could finally push our way on. Then, on the train, I had the brilliant idea of carry Nina's bags with straps on our backs like backpacks, and life was way easier after that. We switch trains to the aboveground metro one that goes to the hostel, got off, waited for the shuttle, and arrived at the hostel. We checked in and our room wasn't ready, so now I'm here.

The hostel is really nice, and I'm excited to stay in it and have a shower (for real).

Anyway, we're going to go to Ostia Antica and the beach today and get some food and gelato. I'll also have an Italian phone number by the end of today.

Nina and Lauren's Lessons Learned:
1. Always find out if where you're staying has an airport shuttle. Ours did, and we could have saved ourselves a lot of time and suffering. (However, we were troopers, and made it, and saved money. So there.)
2. Pack light. For real. Looking cute is not worth carrying your suitcase.
3. Ask questions. We may have gotten told that we were on the right train twice by people, and still been on the wrong train, but at least we were vindicated in our wrong location.

Ciao, Seattle!

So, I'm sitting in the Newark airport, a little worse for wear, waiting on my flight to Rome, and Nina, who will be here around 4. (YAY) It's still a bit surreal that I'm going to be gone for 3 months. I finished everything up yesterday, with a lot of help from Beth, and then hightailed my tushie to my brother's and then to the airport. Flights so far have been okay, but there was some confusion with my bags, and rechecking them and checking in, but I'm in the middle of a 7 hour layover, so there was plenty of time for confusion. There haven't really been any interesting characters, except for the TSA worker who was really grouchy at the 144 batteries in my carry-on that was packed to the gills. And boy, howdy, do I love free internet. Yay for my gate being right by the president's club and no network keys. :)

I just got Skype, so I can make unlimited calls to people in the US, and if you're at home, you can call me on my computer by dialing 206.973.7405. It should be able to leave a message for me if I'm not online. My Skype username is ardyplardy, just like every other screenname I have. When I arrive in Rome, I'll post my Italian cell number, but the landline to my computer would probably just be a better idea. Also, my dad will have my cell phone this summer, so don't call it, especially drunk. :)

So, I've been thinking a lot about what I'm excited to see or do when in Rome, and I haven't really decided. I've been so busy and frantic that it's been hard for me to get up the energy to be excited. However, the closer I get (despite being more sleep deprived), the more excited I get, so it's probably best that I haven't written this post until now. And as I am craving ice cream right now, I think that I'm most excited about getting gelato. I'm also excited about seeing my friend, Heather, on Friday, and roaming (ROMING - heh) around the city with Nina this weekend, and doing my art history presentation, and going to Venice, and eating pizza, and drinking limoncello, and a couple of other things. Haha - I guess I was more excited than I thought I was.

Anyway, ta ta for now. It's my goal to update regularly, but we'll see how that goes. I will be taking lots of pictures, however. Watch out for those. I think my goal is to post my favorite picture from the day here, with a little story. I'm also going to be writing a daily postcard. If you want a postcard, let me know, but I probably won't mail it to you, because I'm cheap. However, I will get you one, write on it, and then bring it back home with me. I'm all about subsidized American Postal Service.

Hugs and love, and feel free to call or aim or whatever.

Lauren