My connecting flight between Los Angeles and Rome was through Atlanta. I had a short layover and then we boarded the plane to Rome. Since I’d booked my flight fully with points, I felt that it was justified to spend $110 to upgrade to a closer seat and a row to myself. It was completely worth it because I was able to lay down and ended up sleeping for the majority of the 8-hour trip.

We landed at FCO at around 11am CET/2am PT. Going through customs was a breeze and I was able to easily navigate my way towards the train that would take me into the city. The train ride was around 23 minutes and the station was about 0.8 miles from the hostel where I’m staying.

If you know me, you know I’m a fan of walking everywhere that I can. With my luggage, purse, and extra jacket in tow, I headed towards the hostel. The sidewalks were pretty bumpy which made this walk exhausting and I ended up walking in the roads for the most part. But I eventually made it and they let me check in early.

After checking in, I quickly changed and decided to explore the city. The sun was out and the weather was perfect. I didn’t have any particular destination in mind and I didn’t use Google Maps. I just turned down roads that were calling to me. I ended up at Piazza del Quirinale and then the Trevi Fountain.

After wandering around for a bit, I was getting tired and headed back to the hostel for a nap. I ended up sleeping for around 5-6 hours and woke up at 9:30pm CET. Since I’m planning to work overnight and stay within California hours, this was perfect because it meant I’d be able to stay awake through the night.

I went exploring again and got dinner from a restaurant called La Taverna Dei Monti. Afterwards, I walked around more and then headed back to the hostel because it was getting cold.

I was determined to stay awake until at least 3:30 or 4am and I’m happy to say that I succeeded. I wanted to make sure that I was set up for success the next night when I had my first work shift abroad. It was a bit rough, but after forcing myself to stay awake by watching an episode of Selling Tampa and sitting in the common area, I did it.

I went to bed at around 4am after an extremely long travel day and a great first day of my trip.