My First Day Experience in Italy

After waiting for years, months, days, hours, minutes, and seconds, I was finally going to step on Italian soil. As the plane began to descend to Rome Leonardo da Vinci International Airport, my heart started to beat faster. I realized that the eternal city of history, culture, and attractions was waiting for me. My name is Tuza, and today I am going to share my first day in Italy experience with you.

Leonardo da Vinci International Airport

When I got off the plane at Leonardo da Vinci International Airport and was heading home, it felt like the warm Mediterranean air of Rome was welcoming me. Hearing the wonderful air of Rome, I became emotional. My friends and I quickly collected our luggage and set off for our destination. Our target was to find a taxi. We went to the taxi stand and I looked around at the ancient and modern blend of Rome. It was a city where the past and present coexisted beautifully.

Taxi Driver

We found our taxi driver, and he seemed like a cheerful person. He greeted us warmly. His behavior was very important and friendly. Our driver, Marco, skillfully navigated the stone streets of Rome and drove us slowly. He started talking to us in broken English and told us about Roman history. I listened to our driver and looked outside. I started recognizing the ancient ruins, majestic churches, and enchanting piazzas I had learned about from books, websites, and YouTube.

Room

Finally, we reached our destination. We had booked an Airbnb in one of the most picturesque neighborhoods of Rome. I loved the place; it was very comfortable, especially the balcony, which was wonderful. It was even better than I had hoped for and made our trip to Italy sweeter.

Evening

After putting our things in our room, my friends and I started walking around. Usually, after traveling, we get tired, but we were so excited to see Rome that we didn’t feel tired. We were eager to see the beauty. The golden glow of the evening sun spread everywhere, making Italy even more beautiful. We wandered aimlessly around our neighborhood. We saw local and foreign people walking around, some sitting in shops eating pizza, and a group of young people playing guitar and singing on the street, although we didn’t join them.

As evening came, we started to feel hungry and decided to find a place to eat. We chose a quaint trattoria on a quiet street. We ordered from the menu and had a simple but incredibly delicious pasta dish called Cacio e Pepe. We noticed our neighbors at the other tables and tried to talk to them. They gave us various tips and advice about traveling.

After dinner (in My First Day in Italy)

After dinner, we walked by the river. The night was warm, the sky was clear, and the full moon cast a silver glow on the water. Street vendors were selling handmade crafts. Couples walked hand in hand, enjoying the romantic mood. My friends and I, all unmarried and without girlfriends, felt a bit sad. We stood on a beautiful pedestrian bridge, looking at the glowing dome of St. Peter’s Basilica in the distance. It was a magical sight.

Something wrong!

This is my first-day experience in Italy. Finally, we returned to our room and got ready for bed. I couldn’t sleep because I have a habit of listening to music before sleeping. I tried to open my luggage to get my headphones but was shocked to find that I couldn’t open it. After many tries, I finally opened it and was surprised to see what was inside. I realized there had been an accident with my luggage. I will write about my luggage in my next post. I invite you to read it.

(A Day in Italy: The Tale of the Switched Bag)