Last Day: killing time

Me after my shower.
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Hey all, today is my last day on this trip! I woke up at around 0900 and did some internet stuff.  I had to register for classes at HMC for the Fall 2007 semester last night and I wanted to see if I got the classes that I was interested in...not sure if I have.

I set out at 1000 and didn't really have anything in mind to do.  I almost decided to go to the airport SUPER early and just chill for the entire day but I decided against it and just live it up in Rome for one more day.  I went from the hostel to Check out the Plazza del Santa Maria Maggiore.  The church was open to the public so I walked through it.  It wasn't nearly as amazing as St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City but compared to anything I have seen in the United States it was incredible!  I think all cathedrals/churches in Europe are.  From there I went north wandering around for a bit.

Good to be home.

Me this morning (20th) after a shave.
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Last night Audrey talked about going to the Villa Bourghese so I wanted to check that out too.  It was a green spot on the map and generally I like green.  I eventually made it there after about an hour of getting lost.  I really wish I had a compass on this trip.  I was trying to tell directions based on the position of the sun and the shadows but I was incorrect and headed west for a while when I was trying to head north.  I'm not sure how that happened.

The villa was really nice and they had paved walkways lined by overhanging trees which made for nice walks.  I wandered around through there for about two hours.

I found pizza at a pizzeria outside of the Villa.  I was watching some sort of Italian talk show on the television they had.  Of course I had no clue what they were talking about.  I couldn't even tell whether they were arguing, discussing, comparing, sharing stories, etc.  To me, Italians always sound like they are complaining when they talk!  Their intonations sound so.  Germans sound angry.  The French sound like they are giving an over-elaborate description of everything.  No judgements on the Czechs or the Polish.  I liked the Greek language for no reason.

Anyway, it was then 1600 and I still had tons of time to kill.  My flight left Rome Ciampino at 2205 and so I didn't have to be at the airport until 2000.  The bus takes 45 minutes to get there from Rome city.  I went to a tourist information office at the Rome Termini train station and asked for a place to get good gelato...this would by my going away gift to myself.  She pointed me towards a street on the map so I started walking.  It turns out it was in Chinatown!  I walked around and felt very skeptical about finding a gelato place in Chinatown.  But hey, I did find one!  And it was the best one I have been to in all of Italy!  Let's Go has not found this or does not advertise for this one.

I walked in and the first thing that I noticed was that nobody spoke English and everybody was local...good sign.  I ordered a piccolo cono, small cone.  1.50 euro, same as all other places pretty much.  What was the difference?  Well, you could order as many flavors as you liked and as the cone would support.  I just got two flavors but three and four were available.  On top of the two heaping scoops of heaven (caffe and crem caramel) I got a scoop of whipped cream.  It was sooooo tasty and soooo filling.  I don't know why anybody would get a larger size!  I had to sit in the place for another 30 minutes to let it settle in.  I loved it and it was a great way to say goodbye to Rome.

I slowly made my way back to the Rome Termini where the bus left for Rome Ciampino.  The bus ride took a bit longer than 1 hour since there was stop and go traffic in the city.  It's okay, I had tons of time to spare.

At the airport I told the officials and the Ryanair people to watch out for somebody who might try to impersonate me.  The guy that stole my bag also then had my passport and my flight information.  I was kind of hoping he would show up and try to get a free trip to London but no deals.

I saw a couple of people at the airport that I either knew or ran into while traveling.  Again, Europe is short.

The flight to London was 2 hrs 20 mins.  The guy behind me kept shaking my chair and he didn't catch any hints that I threw...he was Italian.

I had to stand in a 1 hr customs line.  There were two people stamping passports for "Rest of the World" while they had 9 stamping for "EU citizens".  I had to fend off an old-style Jewish couple who felt that since the airport didn't provide a stroller for their baby they could cut in front of the entire customs line.  I was in no sympathetic mood and told them to wait behind me.  Everybody else said nothing.

I finally got through the line and then caught the Terravision bus into Central London, 1 hr away.  I got dropped off at Liverpool Street station.  It was a ways to Great Dover Street apartments and it was too late (0230) to catch a tube.  I didn't know the night bus system and didn't have any GBP anyway so I decided to run home.  It was chilly and I didn't want to walk.  I ran the wrong direction for a bit (I really needed a compass on this trip) and then ran back and found my way home eventually.  The guard keyed me into my room where I took a nice hot shower and unwound.  I did a bunch of necessary internet stuff to tell everyone that I was okay and talked to donna to shower her my facial hair that I grew in the past month.

The trees in the courtyard now have leaves and it makes the place look much more pleasant and less creepy.  I had a good sleep, left my clothes in the hallway since they were so smelly.  Nobody was awake in the flat so I just slept.  Good to be home.