Day 13: Could you fit more people on this bus???

The alarm went off at 5:30am this morning. Ugh! We took showers, got dressed, packed the rest of our stuff, and headed to the Metro. We then spent the next 5-10 minutes trying to find the right bus stop to get to the airport. We boarded the bus and took a 30 minute ride to the airport. Check in and security went pretty fast, so we were there in plenty of time for our 11am flight. We grabbed a quick breakfast and then went to our gate. The airport had a white baby grand piano right near our gate and we had the privilege of listening to three random travelers play it. It was really nice!

We landed in Rome, waited quite some time for our bags, and then bought train tickets. We found the train, boarded it at the very last minute, and took a relaxing 20 minute ride to the bus station. After finding the right bus terminal, we had the option of riding two different buses. The first one had a ton of people already waiting for it, so we opted for the second one. It turns out that there is a public transportation strike that started the day we landed in Rome. Great! When the bus got to the station, all the people that were on the bus got off, and then there was a mad dash by all the people waiting to get on. Luckily, we were in front. We shoved ourselves and all of our luggage (10 bags!) onto the bus. It was super, super hot and super, super packed. Ugh! That was probably the longest 20 minutes of our trip! When we got to our stop, the people on the bus were very nice and helped us get our luggage off the bus, as it was wall-to-wall people.  Next time, we'll arrange for a van or something. 

Wall to wall people!

I literally sat down with my backpack on and our biggest suitcase in my lap. There's actually a guy sitting in the seat across from me. Crazy!

After the harrowing bus ride, it was an easy walk to our apartment. We absolutely love the place we are staying, it is very charming and there are dozens and dozens of restaurants, coffee shops, bakeries, and stores nearby. We walked to dinner and had a very yummy first meal in Rome at Cantina e Cucina, which is rated #44 out of 10,563 restaurants in Rome. It was amazing! 

No beer left behind

Crazy travel day, but happy that the girls go with the flow on the public transportation (and are also super aware of their surroundings - possible pickpockets and the like), and happy we didn't melt on the bus.