Determination

It's Monday already. I've been here one week and today is the day that I wanted to crawl back into bed, pull the covers up over my head, and give up. I was frustrated after last night's wet, cold walk home, but I decided to try again. I took the train from Trastevere to the main terminal (Termini Roma). Now, mind you, I've been to the terminal many times via bus, but never by train and when I got there I found that I had absolutely no idea where I was. Evidently the train goes to a different side of the terminal and I could not find anything familiar. After literally 3o minutes of walking, I found the terminal I recognized. I took a crowded bus to a stop near my neighborhood, walked the rest of the way home and decided to forget it. I could just spend the next 3 weeks on my block, so I read for a bit and took a nap. Woke up and
decided to try again (again!). I put on my big girl panties (as Amy would say), got dressed for battle, sucked up some determination, and off I went back into the thick of things. I included a picture of me getting ready to head off to battle. Do I look determined? As I was leaving the block

near my place, I stopped and enjoyed the fountain near the Chiesa S. Maria in Trastevere just around the corner from my apartment. I made a concious decision to enjoy the ride- no matter where I ended up! I walked through my neighborhood, took the tram across the river and caught a bus into the main center and the

terminal. I even found an express bus which got me there in record time. It only took about 40 minutes from leaving my apartment to reach the terminal - including the walk through my neighborhood to reach the tram. I took a picture of two of the trains for Jeri because she said she likes train and she's been so faithful to read my blog and comment on it almost everyday, thus making me feel less alone. There are about 4 different types of trains here - regional, express, Eurostar Italia, Eurostar City...... they look like they sound...... these, obviously are the fast ones. The station is always bustling, bright, and loud. I

decided to walk home rather than squeeze into a 5:00 bus. Does it look like more people could fit into this bus? Well, about 10 or 15 more got on after I snapped this photo. I find it funny on some of the busses that there's a sign that says it fits 34 people seated and 250 standing. Good gracious! The final picture of the Teatro Dell' Opera where my brother Michael and I saw the ballet last year when we were here. All in all, I believe it was a successful day! I'm looking forward to tomorrow's challenges.