So before I settle down into the land of the Irish I first have to get there and of course the logical way is to go via Rome and Eastern Europe. Duh!

After saying goodbye to my friends and family and leaving my parents on the other side of customs I trekked to the terminal by myself. A plane to Rome had me freaking out a little, what if they don't speak English well there and what if I get lost? But turns out I had other things to worry about, like how to jump over the person next to me on my 14hr flight without waking her up too much so I could stretch my legs. Or what to do when my flight said I wasn't booked in to be gluten free. But the most unexpected was what to do when Romes metro pulls a Melbourne and stops running due of a fire on the track.

Honestly I will not complain about Melbourne trains when they fail again, and I know they will, because a failed train in Melbs isn't 3-4 plane loads of people trying to get to where they are going in 36 degree heat with no extra buses running to make up for it. So here I am tired, alone and boiling trying to find how to get a bus to Termini when loan behold I see a group, now when I say group I mean swarming mass of 100+ people, lined up around these windows. Logically I went to investigate and saw that this was the airport transfer buses, success! After waiting in line for what felt like an hour, it actually could have been I wasn't watching the time, I found myself in the most unorganised mass near the window. Like I had hit the exchange centre, it was a free for all of people/luggage and small children. Why? To see who of who could push their way to the one, very overworked, lady handing out bus tickets. I finally had mine and looked at the time and my bus time wasn't for another hour 45.

By the time my bus got there I was glad that I had packed summer clothes in my carry on. It was a great warm (or very hot) welcome to Rome and good-bye Melbourne winter, hello European summer. I can't wait for a similar transition when I go back home in Feb, not!

#dublinmykoalafications