Day 35, June 25th

This morning I woke up early at the naked farm so I could finish packing and Alexandra could sneak me some Olive Oil. Paolo came out with a jar of jam for me to take. I thanked him and Alexandra winked at me because she had already given me three. Then we said goodbye.

Paolo actually drove me all the way to the station at the Rome airport, but we stopped for a couple of errands along the way, the first one being a drive thru his vineyard - Brunello di Montelcino, which I guess is one of the most famous. There are rose bushes planted at the beginning of each row of grapes because people used to believe that if there was an infection - it would show on the rose petals first and then they could save the grapes. Interesting.

We stopped for cappuccinos and sandwiches and then visited the house with the view of the sea in Talamone so Paolo could water the plants. I took some pictures of the beautiful view. Then we headed to the airport in Rome. He dropped me at the train station at the airport because he was already picking someone up there who was flying in to visit him. We said goodbye and he said it was a pleasure having me and he wouldn't forget me and to please keep in touch.

Now starts the real fun times. I had been in contact with this guy, Bruno, a friend I had made on Couchsurfing. We had arranged for me to come stay with him in Rome, but suddenly he got called out of town to work for the weekend. He felt terrible and didn’t want to leave me stranded, so he offered for me to stay at his friend, Eliphas', place. He said Eliphas was like a brother to him and would be happy to host me and then I can move to Bruno's place once he is back in town.

So, I got off the train in the center of Rome and called Eliphas to let him know I had arrived. I said I had a bright orange suitcase that was hard to miss. I sat outside the station, waiting, and it was very busy and of course every single person I thought was Eliphas. Then I saw this guy driving towards the station on this cute little scooter, super hot, dressed nice, just like the perfect Roman GQ model. I thought no way is this Eliphas, but it fucking was. Somehow he wedged my bag onto the back of his scooter. Then he fastened a helmet on my head, we both got on the scooter and took off. We rounded the corner and were driving right towards St. Peter's Square. It felt like a movie montage passing all of these Roman sights.

We dropped my bag at his house and then he thought I might like to ride to work with him because where does he work? Oh, just a lil old place - maybe you know it - The Pantheon? For fucks sake.

He went to work and pointed me in the direction of the Trevi Fountain, and tells me to meet him back here in a few hours when he's done with work.

I sat at the fountain for a while and then continued wandering around. I had been to Rome before so some things felt a little familiar. I stopped at the Spanish Steps and then walked through Camp Dei Fiori to buy a map and a sandwich.

I started heading back to the Pantheon to meet Eliphas and I was a tiny bit late. I was walking up a long narrow street in the final stretch and I actually spotted his parked scooter from far away. But then he fucking got on his scooter and left without me. I was a little bit shocked and wasn’t quite sure what to do. I remembered where his house was though, so I just started walking there.

I don’t remember if I just genuinely wasn’t that mad about it or if it was just sort of like - what were my options? I got back to this house and his giant bed took up the whole room. At least I got there and he told me to relax and take a shower while he cooked for me. He poured some wine and told me some wanker story abotu the grapes and I really didn’t care if he does this every Friday night with a different girl. Then, like every cliché imaginable, he gets down to his boxers because, "It's hot in here." We didn’t actually have sex though, but we dry humped and macked. And at a certain point he just decided he needed tot ake me out to “see the most beautiful view in Rome.” We got on the scooter and he weaved thru all these tiny back roads and and we end up on top of a hill with a panoramic view of Rome. It was pretty fucking chill.

Day 36, June 26th

Today Eliphas had a sports game so I went out on my own to explore. I was in St. Peter’s Square walking across the middle and it started to rain so I started running towards the arcade covering when this old man ran up next to me with an umbrella. We started chatting and I ended up going back home with him (?) I’m not exactly sure why - my old man fantasy? I was bored? It was better than being in the rain? Either way - it was funny. He had a nice apartment and we had some snacks and drinks before doing “it”. Afterwards I ran myself a bath and fully took advantage of having a large bathroom to myself - I hadn’t had this the whole entire tripe so far. This whole time I’ve been sharing bathrooms with people, staying in a tent going into the main house to shower quickly, even at Eliphas’ house - there is only a teeny tiny shower stall in his teeny tiny bathroom. But in this dudes bathroom I was able to shave my entire body, do my nails, wash and condition my hair properly, etc. At one point he even knocked on the door to make sure I was alright. Ha. And then when I left, he sent me home with cans of tuna, boxes of cookies….like, why? Hahahahaha.

Then I went back home and spent the night at Eliphas’. I don’t remember if he didn’t have condoms or what the deal was, but we still never had all the way sex - just kissing and dry humping.

Day 37, June 27th

Today Eliphas went to work and I went to a giant flea market Alexandra recommended - Porta Portese. I loved it! So many beautiful things and it just stretched on forever. Then I had some yummy fried rice balls at the cutest little hole in the wall in Campo Dei Fiori. Afterwards I headed to Piazza Navona for a bit and then made my way back to Eliphas' to get my stuff because Bruno is back and I can go to his place now. That ended up being really fantastic!! He was one of the nicest guys I have ever met and was super funny and we hit it off instantly.

He took my bag upstairs to his apartment and asked if I have a dead body cut up inside because it's so fucking heavy. His apartment was like this massive palace. We walked in and it was so big I assumed at first we were in the lobby, but it was his entry way. Like, what. The first thing he did was sit me down at the kitchen table, pour me some water, and get me a bowl of ice cream. Ha! Then it got even better as he showed me the beautiful bed where I'll be sleeping and the giant bathroom with the pedestal tub. We were off to a great start.

Day 38 June 28th

Today I slept until noon, Bruno until 2, and as soon as he woke up he ran across the street to get us breakfast from the bar. We ate and talked at the kitchen table forever and then eventually got out of our pajamas and went out to do some food shopping since he had nothing because he has been out of town for the last week. We ventured out to a mall not too far from his apartment. It was a beautiful place, and I got a new purple bikini for super cheap. We came back home and Bruno made dinner - rice with pumpkin and this awesome zucchini/mozzarella/tomato dish. We talked tons more over dinner and he likes to hug too, and is very affectionate in general, but it wasn’t sexual at all.

We started watching a movie and part way through, he paused it and asked if maybe we should take a break and eat again. He opened a package and salt cured sword fish and we finished the rest of the bread. Yum! We finished the movie and by the time it was over it was after 1 in the morning. I like this schedule.

Day 39, June 29th

Bruno now officially refers to my suitcase as The Corpse every time he walks by it, “because it's so fucking heavy I might as well have a goddamn dead body in it.” We refer to it often like it's a third person in the room with us. After breakfast he got a call and was going to have to go out of town again for work so I started looking for somewhere else to stay that night. But first we took a walk around the neighborhood and sat down in a park for a bit. He kept swatting mosquitos away from me and every time I would squeal, afraid he was going to hit me in the face and he'd say, "Stop squealing! I am saving your life!"

Later in the day I looked up some hostels online and contacted some people on Couch Surfing, but I ended up booking a hotel nearby right behind Piazza della Repubblica. I figured one night in a hotel after almost 40 days away was a pretty good streak!

Day 40, June 30th

This morning I woke up early and went down to the breakfast room at the hotel to get my money’s worth by shoving as much food into my purse as I could so I wouldn't have to buy food the rest of the day. Then I lounged in my sweet ass room and took advantage of the free wifi until it was time to check out.

I walked through Piazza della Repubblica and then made my way back to Villa Borghese so I could actually see it and explore. It reminds me of Central Park. Then I fell down the goddamn stairs. Like extremely publicly, holy shit it was so embarassing. And on top of that - I bruised the top of my ass like right in the exact spot where my goddamn back pack rests when I'm walking.

I had found a host for that night, Daniel, and I met up with him later on at the hotel where he worked. We went back to his house and he made some dinner and then we went out for a walk around his neighborhood - he lives in Trastevere right along the river. It was so beautiful!

Day 41, July 1st

This morning Daniel and I hung out a bit before saying our goodbyes

I feel weird today. I wrote this in my diary "I wonder if there will ever be a time when it doesn't hurt to think about everything that happened last year. Maybe I just need to accept that it was traumatic, and it will probably always feel that way to some degree. And that is ok."

I thought that it was silly because I'm in Rome. How many people in the world would kill to be here? For the summer. In Europe. Doing whatever their little heart desires. But I can't help but think that last time I was here was on my honeymoon. And then the feeling passed.

Later that afternoon I met up with Bruno again after he got back from his work gig. His full name is Francesco Bruno Papa and I have taken to calling him Papa. We drove out to the beach and it was gorgeous! I wore my new purple bikini and I actually got tan! I'm sure it's from all the walking too, but I love that I actually get tan here. Haven't used a drop of sunscreen. I never tan in Phoenix. I just burn. The water was absolutely perfect - cool enough to be supremely refreshing, but not so cold that it made your nipples cut glass. It is so effortless to float in salt water. I floated on my back forever, right where the waves were breaking so I was being pulled up and down and it was so relaxing.

Papa got in the water and exclaimed, "Oh! Oh! My bon bons are in my stomach!" Bon bons is an interchangeable word for balls, boobs and butt cheeks it seems. Because later there was this girl running around topless on the beach, but her boobs looked a little funny and Papa said, "You better be careful or your bon bons are gonna end up looking like that."

We stayed and watched the magical sunset and then left to grab dinner.

He took me to the most fantastic restaurant where I had some of the best food I've ever had in my life. While we were waiting for our food, he started asking me a bunch of questions to “distract himself from dying of starvation before the food comes”. When the food came, I was in the middle of a story and he interrupted me and said, "Ok, you can be quiet now. The food is here and I don't need you to talk anymore." I love his sense of humor.

We started with this amazing silver platter spread with crispy spicy arugula. That was dotted with the most beautiful juicy sweet cherry tomatoes. And in the middle was the most beautiful ball of mozzarella. The cheese is made in Naples and it had the most intense flavor - I'm used to mozzarella being so mild, even here. And it was so incredibly fresh and juicy and milky. Then we shared platters of gnocchi in this cheesy red sauce and eggplant pasta. For dessert we had a beautiful round lemon cake with fluffy lemon frosting and also these little chocolate balls that tasted like the bread of an éclair and they were filled with whipped cream and dipped in + drizzled with dark chocolate. And then finally - limoncello served in these little shot glasses made of chocolate. Orgasmic

On the way home he says to just take a nap because it's probably going to take him forever to find parking. I actually did lean my head back and close my eyes. It was super quiet in the car until all of the sudden he started singing loudly, "You're a super hot female! Got a million dollar contract....." It was so funny and so random. Apparently he loves Gwen Stefani and was properly belting this song in a super high girl voice. It cracks me up.

Day 42, July 2

This morning Papa had to off and work again so he dropped me and the corpse at the train station so I could stash my bag until it was time to go to my new hosts house. On the way over he taught me some bad words in Italian - words that I had heard him yelling all week at other drivers, and was curious about. Merda = Shit. Che cazzo? = What the fuck? Va Fanculo = Fuck off.

We got to the station and said goodbye at the curb - this would be the last time. A big hug and then he kissed me on each cheek, but kept going back for more. "Wait, one more round, one more kiss on those sweet cheeks!" I start walking towards the station and turned back to hear him yelling, "Ciao Bella!"

I dropped my bags inside Termini and then spent the afternoon hanging out by the river.

Later in the evening I met Enzo, my couchsurfing host for the night. He was a cuter version of Simon Pegg. He also lived near Trastevere, so that’s where we headed for dinner and I got some pasta carbonara from one of the pop up tents.

It was another interesting night in that we didn’t have sex and had more of a brother/sister vibe, but fully slept in the same bed and stayed up late watching music videos on Italy's version of MTV like two girls having a sleep over.

Day 43, July 3rd

This morning I hung out with Enzo until it was time for him to go to work. Then I wandered around St. Peter’s Square and went back to this restaurant with free internet so I could check my e-mail.

There was a group of gay guys sitting a few tables down and they invited me to join them. They were so funny and started telling me about this gay village just outside of Rome that is basically this big sex club where you just go in pre-lubed and ready to go. I met up with Enzo after he was done working and we went back to Trastevere - I really love that area!

Day 44, July 4th

Today was my last day in Rome and I was going to Arezzo tonight. I had lined up a nice host and felt excited to explore Arezzo properly. I said goodbye to Enzo, got some pizza for lunch and then hopped on a late afternoon train.

The train to Arezzo was complicated and I got in town super late, but it all worked out in the end. It started out nice on the first train because when the train dude came around to check and clip my ticket - he left and closed the curtains in my car. I didn't even realize there were curtains. So I was in this pretty large train car all by myself with the curtains closed and I got this urge to dance. I put on my headphones, turned on my IPOD and started dancing around and singing loudly. That was so so so much fun. It felt like a big release.

I changed trains and on that second train, as we were rolling into the Arezzo station, I was standing at the door with my bags, ready to get off. The train stopped, but my door never opened. There were some janky looking paper signs on my door, but I couldn’t tell what they said. I just figured the doors would open eventually. But then they didn’t. And the train started moving again and I was just standing there frozen, unsure what to do.

Finally I got my wits about me and was able to find a train attendant who spoke enough English to explain what had happened - the door I was standing in front of was out of order and that’s why it hadn’t opened. I was on the last train of the night and there was no easy “next stop”. The next stop was far away and literally my only option was to wait at that station until about 5am for the first train of the next morning.

Well, fuck. I felt so bad for my host who had stayed up late to pick me up and now had to get up early and pick me up. There was just nothing I could do. I got to the next station and it was near midnight. The station itself was closed, so I lugged my suitcase out front and literally just set it down on the sidewalk, sat on top of it, and put my headphones in until the morning.

A week in Rome {solo summer travels 2010}