Rome, Italy

I am here. In Italy. In all of Italy. In the Italy that is thrown in your face and you don't know what to do with because you had no idea it was like THIS. And it greets you with its greatness as soon as you get off the plane. It smothers you with awesome HEAT.

Rome ( some time around 9:30am)

I faced my first fear (language barrier) early on and instantly decided to speak only Spanish while building up the base vocabulary and overcoming shyness.

Sergio, the hotel driver, greeted me with a big smile as soon as I passed customs and recognized my name on his sign. He was even happier when I said I spoke Spanish. I think he was relieved. I would be too.

About ten minutes into the ride, Sergio decided he would be the one to introduce me to Rome before anyone else. And he did just that. One minute we were by the Colloseum and then the Pantheon. A right turn and BLAM, there was Vatican City and before I could ask anything he was whizzing me somewhere else with another ruin. And, because I mentioned going to Napoli today, he even drove me by the bus to take and the station to take it to. He offered to take me to Napoli but he had to work. I believe that also means he had a wife and for that I am VERY thankful.

Napoli Bound...Termini Stazione (still in Roma)
I have to say, I am thankful for the Rick Stevens travel books and community boards. Their guidance helped me spot slick gypsies, be aware of the approach used by pickpockets, and helped me walk with purpose. However, my biggest train / Metro challenge has to be finding the yellow ticket validation machines that a must do whenever you board a linea, metro, or bus. And yet, with the exception of the bus, these little things are placed in the most obscure places. Perhaps it's with the belief that because they are yellow they will be spotted.

And so, I head to Napoli on the fast (223mph) Eurostar train and an hour later, I find myself walking on Via Toledo and discovering what the city offers.