July 12, 1995 (Wednesday)
Took off on British Airlines flight from Detroit at 7:10 PM. Arrived in Montreal at 8:40 PM. Took off again at 9:56 PM. Arrived in London at 4:22 AM my time, (9:22 London time). Took off at 1 PM from London and landed in Rome at 3:30 PM. No one from my group is here. This is my first trip overseas and I am plenty nervous. I look around and see soldiers with machine guns. That is a big difference from traveling in the US! I have the address of my hotel, hopefully I can meet my group there, but I have no idea what I am doing. I take out some money at the bank in the airport at a poor rate of exchange. Eventually I make it outside the airport around 4 PM with my hiking pack. A very friendly cab driver who speaks English offers to drive me to my location. I am so thankful for someone who speaks English. I thank him profusely and get in his Mercedes. He is a nice guy, very friendly who talks a great deal about Rome. He takes me on a grand tour of Rome, which I assure him is unnecessary. I am very tired after over a day being awake with few naps, since British Airways wakes you ever two hours to offer you tea! (Nicest airlines I've ever flown on, but sheesh, let a guy sleep)! Finally after repeated requests to just go to my hotel he drops me off at a very dumpy place. He can't believe this dump is where I am staying at. He gets my bag out and then demands a $150 --$50 is for his tip! First I am incredulous, then I am very angry. He tells me the tour of Rome was worth the extra money. I didn't ask for a tour! I tell him I hope he feels good about himself ripping off inexperienced travelers and storm away. That was 1/3 of my entire traveling money for this forty day journey. How am I ever going to make it to the end? It is very hot. I look around the lobby of this hotel which looks like a run down apartment and see no one from my group. It is 5:37 PM. After much confusion talking to the front desk people, where no one seems to speak any English at all, I discover that my group will not arrive until tomorrow and that I can't use their reservation. If I want to stay here, there is one room left for $50 a night. I take the room and shuffle off to my room. It is hot, I am exhausted and I want to cry. I miss Zoe and am wondering what I have gotten myself into on this trip. There is no bed in my room so I lie on the floor, using my backpack as a pillow. Staring at the old plaster ceiling, eventually I fall asleep.
July 13, 1995 (Thursday)
There is a knocking at my door. It is Jay, one of the professors from Eastern Michigan University. He tells me the group is gathering downstairs and after I explain what happened he sort of shrugs and says they shouldn't have charged me for the room and that I should have taken the train to the hotel. I never saw a penny returned to me from the hotel.
I discover that our hotel is very close to the Diocletian Baths and not far from the Roman Forum. We visit Trajan's column, the Colosseum, Victor Emmanuel Monument (known as the wedding cake), Diocletian Baths, Borghese Museum and Trajan's Forum. Eventually I got to eat. I am moved to the group's rooms in the hotel and life is much better.