I had planned to sleep in a bit the next day to stick to my schedule, but woke up around 11am and decided that I’d visit the Colossuem since I was awake. I bought a ticket online for €16 and walked over from the hostel since it was only a mile away and the sun was out. I was excited to see the place where Lizzie McGuire exposed Paolo for being a fraud and sang “What Dreams Are Made Of” with Italian pop star Isabella. If you’ve seen The Lizzie McGuire Movie, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t seen it yet, go watch the movie right now.

After walking around and inside the Colosseum + viewing the Roman Forum, I had lunch at Origano Campo De Fiori and got the Cacio e Pepe with crunchy artichokes. I also needed to get an EU charger for my laptop so I made a stop at the Apple Store before heading home to take a nap.

I slept for about four hours and went on a late night adventure before I had to start my shift. I visited the Spanish Steps and went to two spots that had a view of the city at night. I then rushed back to the hostel to start work and made it in perfect time.

Luckily, the Wi-Fi at the hostel has been quick and stable. Working my California hours here in Rome means that I work from 11pm to 7am, something that I knew would be difficult but actually ended up being easier than I anticipated. The first night went smoothly, I ate my dinner at 3am which was 6pm in California, and I managed to stay up easily. I think it helped that I tried to stick to this schedule as best I could right when I got here so my body was partially still on California time. I worked from the common area which was also helpful because there were other people around.

I went to sleep right at 7am at the end of my shift, feeling confident that this schedule would be manageable and thought, “Should I delay my return flight home by another month?”