Getting To Greece (and crying the whole way there)

3/4/15

Day 48

I got my computer to actually turn on and connect to wifi again! It was a beautiful thing. But the rest of today wasn't as much fun. I had to be packed for Greece before I left for class. In between Italian and Renaissance Art History I needed to find my train, bus, and plane tickets buried in the abyss that is my email and then print them out. (Easier said than done) 

At least Art History was cool today because we casually took a field trip to the Uffizi, which as far as class goes, is pretty hard to beat. I got a second chance at this view of the Ponte Vecchio, which is one of the best Florence has to offer.

I also got to see the Doni Tondo by Michelangelo, marred only by the backs of heads of Asian tourists.

And then, me and my friend escaped from class a few minutes early and rushed through Florence's dark, moody alleys to make our train to Rome. 

The train was a little delayed but peaceful and otherwise, everything was going according to plan. Dinner was Frollini but- no regrets. I settled in for a long ride until close to Rome, our train unexpectedly stopped and we found out it was having mechanical problems. By the time we reached Roma Termini, we were an hour late and missed our bus to the airport... The last bus. 

Stranded at the train station (which is known for being sketchy), I curled up in the waiting room and tried to sleep. Unfortunately, I got yelled at for having my feet up- on the metal chair- and then we found out that it closed at midnight. Extremely unwillingly, I checked into a hotel for 4 hours of potentially bed-bug infested sleep. At least it was relatively cheap and right next to the train station. But the delayed train wasn't done causing problems yet, we'd have to take a taxi the next morning (*cough cough* 3 am) to make it to the airport on time. Basically, the fact that Terravision buses stop running at 9 pm got very expensive very fast. 

I can't remember the last time I was so displeased with my life choices. Greece was turning out to be a huge, expensive mistake. The plane ticket from Athens to Santorini alone was $150 and I cringed to think of the dent it made in my budget. I really really really wanted to see Greece but maybe it wasn't worth it...