I've Arrived...Ciao Roma

It's been a long day...I think I've probably slept maybe 3-4 hours in the past 32 hours (since I've been up since 8am the day before...it's currently 10pm in Rome)...but I made it safely :-) I'm ready to pop a Ambien CR (thanks BB!) and hit the bed hard for a full day of activities tomorrow. I flew Iberia (first time flying with them) with a stop in Madrid and the flight was pretty good...I had no one next to me on both flights so was able to stretch as much as economy would allow.

Ready for take-off @JFK ----> Madrid 

When I arrived into FCO (Rome's - Fiumicino International Airport) I was immediately greeted by fragrance ads on large screen TV's on the way to baggage claim (how appropriate as I give kudos to my travel retail buddies for doing a good job in catching my attention). I had to wait about 30 minutes for my luggage to surface. Boy was I getting nervous as more and more people picked up their luggage and there were less of us waiting for our bags to come around the belt...I was already having flashbacks of my trip to Malaga several years ago in which I was without luggage for two days. Luckily my bag showed up and everything was intact. The next step was finding the right trains to take me to my rented apartment that I would be staying in for the next 6 days. 

The 1st train was fine and I found it easily, which took me to Termini Station (it's the main train station hub in the center of town) to my surprise when I tried to transfer to the local train, none of them were running. It appeared that the local trains/trams/buses were all on strike (umm....well I got a taxi and 16 euros later was at my new home in the Il Pigneto section of Rome.  The apartment absolutely adorable, definitely my style in decor, with a cozy, warm feel. The host was really nice though he spoke very little english and I managed what I could speaking to him in spanish (which sorta of worked!) The apartment isn't in the center of town so I knew that for today I would be limited to my surrounding area due to the strike and not seeing a frequent supply of taxi's in the area...which was fine.  See pics below of the apartment....I love it! 

After getting settled and taking a much needed shower, I decided to walk around the town. Pigneto is sort of the lower east side/williamsburg of Rome...it's artsy, young, but has a sense of the deep-rooted culture and history of it's past. There are small shops/markets and cafes/pizzerias in the area which are not heavy frequented by tourist. I went to the local market about 10 minutes away to pick up some stuff primarily for breakfast in the morning. Well the prices were pretty amazing even for euro's...I spent 14 euros for items that would have easily come out to be twice that much back home. I did have a small incident as I got a can of coke and somehow while going down the conveyor belt the side of the coke can got punctured and there was coke squirting every where...oh boy!!! It was a mess, people were of course annoyed...the cashier is talking to me in italian (not sure what he was saying!) it was the perfect way to break in my local market experience. Well at the end it was okay, no one cursed at me...I think??? Well I got home with all my groceries minus the coke. The day was a little tough but it's all part of this life experience and journey...I'm wiped!!! Bed-time! 

Groceries from the local market minus the coke!