BES Journal Five

The beginning of this week was filled with preparation for my fall break, so there is not much to tell about that. All the preparation finally paid off Friday morning when I was headed for Genoa for the beginning of a cruise. Two others and I had an early morning Friday in order to catch our flight. We wanted something cheap so we decided to fly Ryanair, and I must say that was an experience! The takeoff was great, and besides the annoying selling of items the whole flight, it went well. The fun part came during the landing.

I have flown a lot, but this was the first time I had ever been scared during a landing.

 We started coming down really shaky, and when we hit the landing strip, I am pretty sure we were only on one wheel. We were at a tilt for a while and began to swerve. To my relief, we finally came to a stop. The kicker, when we finally stopped, trumpets were played over the intercom! Wow that was a ride. I have to admit I was nervous about going to Italy. This was my first time in a non-English speaking country, and I was not sure how difficult it would be to interact with the people. My worries were put to rest shortly after arriving in Italy.

Although English is not the official Language, many people knew enough English to understand what it was I was asking them or wanted. I felt a little bad, though, because I know if the situation was reversed, I would not be able to understand them. It made me realize how catered to the English language is. Anyways, back to the trip. I was pretty tired by the time I boarded the ship, but I could not sleep. I was about to embark on my first real adventure! We left port Friday night, and headed towards Civitavecchia, Italy.

The first night on the cruise was great. There was a show in the theater, which impressed me for being a cruise show. I could definitely tell this was an Italian cruise by the risqué costumes the performers were wearing. After the show, we sat down for our first of many five course meals. I enjoy food, and one of my favorite things to do is try new foods. This cruise gave me that opportunity. Not only did I get to eat a high class five course meal every night, but the menu also allowed me to try things I have never tried before. I would say my absolute favorite was the mussels in red sauce; they were fantastic! We reached Civitavecchia the next day, and the three of us decided to get train tickets to Rome.

Being in Rome was surreal. I never would have thought I would be standing next to the Coliseum at the age of twenty. Rome as a whole was beautiful, and we saw the touristy parts and the everyday parts due to us getting off the train a stop too early. We spent two hours lost in Rome before we figured out a Metro (similar to the Overground) could take us to the Coliseum. It was all worth it though! It was an exhausting day, but I was excited to see what the start of a new week had in store for me!