Amanda and Megan Do Europe Day 8: Last Day in Paris, Travel Day to Rome

My Cherie amour... is pretty much what I said to Megan everyday in Paris. Actually I think I'd say "my petite bounjour" to which Megan would respond 'My Cherie Amanda". Needless to say we did not speak a lot of French. Thankfully every French person we met was very accommodating. On August 2nd, 2017 Megan and I woke up for our last day in Paris and got ready for our trip to Rome! We were sad to say goodbye to Paris but so excited to see Rome! We got up, ate the usually delicious breakfast in our hotel, and checked out of the beautiful Hotel Dauphine Saint Germain. (Quick hotel review nice/small rooms, simple/nice breakfast, great location) We had a little bit of time before we had to the airport for our flight so we went to the Notre-Dame Cathedral so we could look around the inside. I'm not a particularly religious person but it was nice being inside the cathedral and fealing at peace. I prayed for my family, and continued safety for Megan and I on our trip.

We then had time for one last baguette in Paris. The streets in Paris are just like they look in movies, I can't wait to go back there with my children. Maddie and I have a trip planned for the summer she graduates high school. So Paris 2024 I'm coming for you! Megan and I took a bus and a train to the airport. My phone worked everywhere we went in Europe (sometimes a little slower) but it made navigating our way around really easy. We got to the airport with plenty of time to spare. We gave ourselves plenty of extra travel time and we also had done everything we wanted to in do Paris. The only drama we had in the airport was finding an ATM because we knew we had to get Euros to pay our driver when we landed in Rome but after we went through security we found out the only ATM was out of security. Thankfully the lines were short enough so I could go out to the ATM and go through security again. The only casualty of our trip was a corkscrew I had bought in London without really thinking in through. RIP corkscrew. I had a 1664 beer (which I guess was an important year and I should know or I could google to pretend I know but I don't, sorry) that tasted like a bud light. We waited for over 2 hours to get on our Easy Jet flight and then boarded and found our seats with no issues.

We enjoyed our two hour flight. I had a pinot grigio and some madeleines, and Megan tried a Italian drink called an Aperol Spritz that we both thought tasted disgusting but we drank it anyway (When almost in Rome!). When we deplaned at about 8pm Roman time and felt like we were walking into an oven. It. was. hot. In the selfies I took of myself on the ramp off the plane I'm already sweating. We took some pictures inside the terminal and marveled at their clean bathrooms. London and Paris both had easy metro transportation from the airport and train station but the Leonardo da Vinci airport was pretty far from our hotel so we had arranged a driver to take us straight there. Rome doesn't have a very extensive metro system, we never used it for transportation. Our driver was waiting for us with a sign with my name. We hopped in his car. (I love how when traveling we can sometimes defy every rule we were taught when we were younger... get in stranger's cars in a foreign country, sure why not?) We couldn't see much from the car but marveled at the few domed buildings we saw and pretended we were Lizzie McGuire in The Lizzie McGuire movie. Our driver pointed out some points of interest and one street he affectionately called "the party street". At about 9pm our driver stopped across the street from a large old building that didn't look like a hotel. "This is it ladies, enjoy your trip" He helped us with our bags and was about to drive off when he looked at us awkwardly standing at the busy street. We were looking both ways and patiently waiting for a lull in traffic so we could cross the street safely. "In Rome the cars won't stop for you unless you make them stop" he said with his classic Italian accent. He walked right into traffic and put his hand up to stop the cars and ushered for us to cross. We ran across with our backpacks and waved thanks to our driver and entered the large building. It was a large office building and our small 6 room hotel called "Best Pantheon B&B" (It wasn't really a B&B, more on that later) was on the second floor. There wasn't a front desk but a man was waiting for us and showed us to our room. It was definitely the nicest actual room of any of the hotels we stayed in on our trip. It was spacious, had a nice bathroom (with a fancy toilet with a bidet), our own private deck, and interesting, sensual art on the walls. There were even complimentary snacks and drinks in our room (we love snacks). I believe it cost about the same as our hotels in London and Paris but you can get a little more for your money in Rome. It was a little after 9 and we were hungry, tired, and to be honest a little scared. We were so excited to explore Rome but the sun had just set and we didn't feel safe venturing out at night. Buuuut we were hungry again. I looked at my phone for nearby restaurants. The nearest restaurant was only a couple blocks away but we didn't even want to walk that far. There was a convenience store on the first floor of our building so we went there instead. They were closing but they graciously waited for us as we picked out a ham sandwich, some Pringles, and hers and hers boxes of wine (wine was literally cheaper than juice, when in Rome!) It was one of the best meals we ate in Rome! JK, but it was nice relaxing in our nice hotel room eating pringles, drinking wine and watching Italian television. Eventually we got some sleep for our big day of exploring that lay ahead.