Hello there if you’re reading this I just want to say thank you for taking the time out to do so. Also thank you for following me on my journey to this beautiful country.
First Thoughts
Okay so the first thought that came to my head when I was told I had to write about my experience throughout this trip was ” omg really,why? I thought this was just a vacation no work involved” lol but I know that with to get where you want to be you have to work even if it’s just a little thing such as writing about yourself lol.
How did it feel?
So I guess I should start out with how it felt to win that’s the question everyone wants to know. Well here’s my answer it felt really good to win, I felt proud of my own self to actually make a video of myself and basically let the whole world into a part of my life I think that’s a big deal. The day I was told I won by my mother was honestly a regular day for me. I was sleeping on the couch in the living room and I hear my mom say “Isah!” “Isah you won!” and mind you I’m half sleep so my response to her was ” huh? won what?” “your trip you’re going to Italy!” is what she said. After she said that I just laid down and went back to sleep it didn’t really transfer in my head that I had actually won till like five minutes later. Where I had then got up and said to myself “I won”. From that day on I just took each day like a normal day I honestly didn’t do much prep till like the month of July.
The Airport
Okay so just to let everyone know this was the first time I have ever flew on a plane and I did it by myself! The ride to the airport was pretty smooth I made sure I got some snacks and we headed out on our way. We got there and as we headed in my mom decides to start recording me saying things in the camera like ” here she goes, on her way” “are you excited?” then as she is recording I start to tear and she asks “are you about to cry?” and with a couple of tears flowing now I say “yes” and from there I start balling crying and my mom hugs me and we stayed that way for about three minutes, and when we let go I turn around and my little sister is crying too! At this point I just couldn’t take it I just grab her and hug her as tight as I could. Now just imagine the stares we got two grown looking girls crying in the middle of the check in line. So finally we sort of stopped crying but still a little sobs here and there. While waiting to check in the people could not find my ticket for some reason. You can imagine my thoughts and facial expression. At one point I thought to myself maybe this is a sign that I should go home just turn back right now lol. But obviously I didn’t because I’m here in this pretty city with an amazing women!
See Ya Later
So I got my ticket and everything was ready to go. Now my mom, sister, and I headed to the gate there’s no looking back now. So we say our final goodbyes or as my mom says “see you later, no goodbyes!” This had to been the hardest part of my traveling I hugged my mother for like five minutes this time and yes we were crying. And again I turned around and my sister is crying I just hugged her again and we all just had like huddle hug lol. We probably said I love you ten times to each other.
Almost There
The walk towards security seemed like the walk of shame almost. As I’m walking I try not to look back because I know they’re looking at me crying still and I’m trying to stop the crying. But I looked back anyways and like I figured they were crying I just waved them bye and blew a kiss. While chugging back tears I finally get to security as I’m waiting in line to go through the detector the guard asks me ” are you okay?” i couldn’t even get any words out so I just nod and say “ummhm”. After security check I get a call. From who? My mother she says “I love you so much and I’m right here” and I look over my shoulder and her and my sister are standing behind the gate staring at me waving and smiling. We hang up and I grab my things and now this the real deal I’m walking towards the plane I look back one more time but I can’t see them this time that’s when I realized this is really happening I cannot turn back at all.
Boarding/Riding
Walking towards the plane entrance was just as hard as walking towards the security maybe even worse. So I board the plane and I sit down and just watch as all the family’s walk in and wait to see who I will be sitting next to for the nest nine hours! Then finally they show up and it’s a man and his son and his wife and daughter sit in front of us. The plane ride was pretty smooth the take off and landing was nice not too much, also the turbulence wasn’t that bad. So overall I had a good first flight besides the fact that I sat on the outside so I kept getting bumped.
I Made It
After nine long hours I finally made it to Rome,Italy. I finally met miss Fleace Weaver of BlackGirlTravel.com and she is awesome I wouldn’t want anyone else to be with. From the plane we headed on a train to which we actually had to run so we wouldn’t miss it. While on the rain Fleace and I just talked about different things such as family,schooling basically small talk. As we rode past the different neighborhoods I seen some what of difference in this country and the US but some parts reminded so much of the states. I seen a good amount of graffiti on walls and on the back of trains and buildings. I thought that was kind of different because in my mind graffiti was just something people in the states do so that right there was a cultural shock to me, it let me know that there are some similarities in both countries, and it’s not totally different.
At the Airport in Rome
Day 1
After we got off the train my first welcome to Italy moment was the the taste of freshly squeezed orange juice, which tasted amazing! Then after our drink we headed on our way. We took a taxi to Fleace’s house and while in that taxi I learned that Italians are some wild drivers lol. The scooters and motorcycles just zig-zag every where and come out of nowhere too. Also the cars are so little like smart cars and buggies. As I looked out the taxi I seen the walls that were once built all the way around the city and the only way to enter was through gates which guards stood by. But of course no guards or walls fully stand up today. Another thing that was mentioned to me was that I could NOT sleep and when I heard that I was a bit shocked,angry,and a little disturbed! But I realized that the more I stayed up the less jet lagged I would be the following days.
We finally made it to Fleace’s apartment and it is nice. I took a shower and after that we headed out,my trip had really finally begun. My first stop was Piazza del Popolo(People’s Square) which is surrounded by churches, fountains ,and many many people. Then we took a further walk down a main street in Rome which is called Via del Corso. Via del Corso is surrounded by lots of shopping centers such as Miss Sixty to H&M, and Adidas. And of course many places to stop and eat. On my first day we did a lot of walking and I had my first interview plus I got to taste some real authentic Gelato , and Italian buffalo wings!
Piazza del Popolo(People’s Square)
Later Fleace and I had an on-line interview with
me having some fun at the end.
Day 2
Day two started off with a walk of course. We walked to Fleace’s hair salon as the man cut her hair I sat and watched while admiring the salon space. That salon was very nice it had chandeliers everywhere. The people were very nice and just a little something to throw in Italians love them some coffee lol everywhere we went I got asked if I wanted some coffee.
But back to my day after her hair was done we headed out the door and I got my first “Italian kiss” from one touch of one cheek to the next cheek. After that wonderful cheek kiss we headed out on our next adventure lol. We got something to eat at a place called “Gina” I had a panini styled sandwich and some freshly blended fruit juice, and real fresh mozzarella cheese…..lunch was awesome! After lunch I got to sit in on a business meeting with Fleace which I began to feel very tired and out of it….I guess you can say that the jet lag and and bread from lunch was kicking in. At the business meeting I had my first taste of Italian coffee which was a bit strong but I’ll tell you this after that I wasn’t feeling any jet lag lol! The meeting was done now it’s time to roll out again. We went to Piazza di Spagna (square of Spain) which is home to the Spanish steps and once had the Spanish Embassy located in it.
Noi Hair Salon
The Spanish Steps in
Piazza di Spagna (square of Spain)
Piazza Navona
The rest of my night went well I did a little shopping, lost a few things, and went to the Magnum ice cream shop, where you basically create your own bar of ice cream. You choose whether you want vanilla or chocolate ice cream and then choose which kind of coating of chocolate you want choosing from milk,dark,or white chocolate. Then you get three toppings of your choice and finally drizzled off with any chocolate of your choice and a mini Magnum chocolate piece to top it all off. Yeah I now it’s a lot of chocolate but it was soooooo good I could eat those everyday if I had th chance to lol. After our chocolate endeavor we headed home to which we ended our night!
Magnum
So I packed the bags and unfortunately for me, I packed one much heavier than the other, and Fleace realized what I did and told me to carry the heavy bag lol I was a bit upset about that but whatever life goes on lol!
