The flight to Italy went by pretty fast. After I got situated in my seat, I took two pills to put me to sleep however, I'm sure one would have been enough to do the trick. I felt dizzy and quickly fell asleep on the tray table. I was woken up for dinner which was a delicious plate of ravioli and came with Milano cookies.

When we started to descend there was a unreal view of the country side. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I started to cry because it was unlike anything I had ever seen. The mountains the rooftops, San Diego has proven to me to be the most beautiful city, but this was on a whole new sight to see. My homework assignment on the flight was to practice my greetings in Italian. Since I quickly fell asleep, I was a little behind.

Walking through the airport, I didn't even know how to say "Thank you." I walked into the bathroom and couldn't figure out how to lock the door. Even their bathroom stalls are different. I got walked in on by some old woman. That, I will need to figure out immediately.

Next, I had to decide how I was going to get to my hotel. This was honestly my most favorite part of traveling abroad. Some people get anxiety or frustrated but I feel like I'm on The Amazing Race. It feels like a mission to figure it out with no guidance. I walked up to a shuttle company and bought a ticket for seven Euros. I asked how they would know that my stop was the Doubletree Hotel but they seemed annoyed with my poor Italian and shooed me onto the bus.

Driving away from the airport was a sight to see. It's funny the little things you notice, the landscaping, the different license plates, the conversations around you and how eloquently they speak. I wondered if they felt the same about our language, but then laughed at the idea.
It's crazy how one minute you can be in San Diego , then New York City and then you wake up and your on a bus in Italy. The most bizarre part of it is the time change. I left my apartment Friday at five in the morning, and now it's nearly noon here on Saturday. It feels like I just left California.

Once I got dropped at the train station from the shuttle, I was completely lost. No one spoke English, there were gypsies praying on the ground and After I pulled up the Google map, I was four kilometers from my hotel. This was entirely way too far to walk so I had to take a taxi. I used Laurens iPod Touch App to guide me through a conversation. I touched each icon to say the word and I just pretended I knew Italian. I almost had him fooled until he asked what the number of the street was. That I had not converted so blurted out "Seventy-seven." He turned around and looked at me like I was crazy. I realized I blew my cover.