Final thoughts on Rome

Alright, so at this point it's no secret that Rome is probably not going to be my favorite city on this trip. I feel like it was a destructive relationship; I just wanted to love it and belong, but it never thought I was good enough.

I really did try. Big cities intimidate me, but I learned to navigate. I can now confidently use public transportation, and I have my big city attitude to get through all the street vendors and creepy men. I even went shopping, found sales, bought groceries. I people watched, to try and fit in.

I toured! I saw all sorts of things. I appreciated. I went to a mass, I went out to eat, I talked with the concierge. So there were lots of nice things about Rome. I can't say a bad thing about our hotel.

But being treated so rudely all the time is hard. In Venice, I was irrelevant; here, I'm dirt. People talk sbout you and laugh on the subway, and all you can do is ignore it; they yell at you on the streets, so you just keep walking. They serve you cold pizza, and you smile. You dodge all sorts of garbage, and litter, and dirt, but then you step in vomit. And even then you just try to ignore it and wash it off.

So I tried. I did. But I left Venice wanting to come back, after being challenged and rewarded. I'm leaving Rome just feeling exhausted and ready to get to Florence. But I still learned a lot, and I'm glad for the experience- I'm just not ready to vacation back here any time soon.