Lost in Rome

So after we had settled in, me and a roommate decided to go to the market to get some food for the apartment. No map, no phone, and an idea based on what Google Maps had told us to do, we set out for the hunt. No clue that our short outing to the market would become a three hour trek running around, with a language barrier, completely lost in the heart of Rome.

Based on Google, I THOUGHT I knew where I was going. So we started walking in a direction. We somehow ended up beside the Tiber River in front of the Castel Sant' Angelo I would post a picture, but I was more worried about the fact we were very lost. In less than 15 minutes, we had no clue where we were. After dealing with a shop owner that spoke no English, we got a map and realized we were waaaaay off of where we wanted to go. We started down one road in hopes of finding the main road and then the road would would splinter into three little roads. Over and over, it seemed as if we were walking in circles.

Our apartment is close to a very famous landmark, the Piazza Navona. If you have read the book, or watched the movie, it's the fourth element and altar to science, Water. We asked someone for directions and they sure made it sound easy, but here's the thing: when someone says "go straight" they mean "follow this street until it breaks into three smaller streets, then you're on your own, kid."
After multiple wrong turns and asking more people, and with some magic, we found the piazza.

So if we follow the dove, we'll end up back at Castel Sant Angelo, the Illuminati lair

It's a pretty incredible plaza. There were painters and musicians set up around the piazza. A lot of people mingling about. I clutched my bag close. 

Someone told us if we follow the piazza down and then keep going, we'll find the market. Guess what. More streets that led us to nowhere. It was horrible. We walked around in circles for a bit, and I don't know how, but we stumbled into the Campo di Fiori. Unfortunately, all the little street vendors had left already :( so we just walked through it when a guy handing out restaurant business cards stopped us. He said his name was Lenny.

Lenny: "Where you from?"
Me: "uh...Canada."
Lenny: "What part?"
Me: "Toronto..."
Lenny: "What part of Toronto?"
Me: "........just west of Toronto......." (what the heck???)

I was a little more open to saying what part because 1. He was wearing a Canadian pin, 2. He could actually name streets in Toronto. Looking back, I shouldn't have said anything. To continue:

Lenny: I'm Canadian, you're Canadian. If you need anything, come ask me! You want to know the good places in Rome, I can help you. You have issues with someone, I deal with them for you. If you need something, I can get it for you. I help you with anything. Anything!

(Then he got a little quiter)

"Do you understand?"

*we nod tentatively...*

"Anything."

Me: Okay...thank you.

*start to walk away*

Lenny: Come again soon! I give you free drinks.

Must say, not sure if I will be going back anytime soon. Maybe if I'm in a large group. Maybe...


So after Creepy Lenny, we FINALLY found the main road and started walking down it. The horrible thing about Rome is that everything looks the same. You think "Hey! I've seen that brown building with the angel on top before. We must be close!" And then you turn the corner and find another brown building with an angel on top and then you realise you are nowhere close to where you want to be.
We finally realised we were screwed, and it was getting dark. So we found an Internet/money exchange point and spent 1.80€ on 10 minutes of internet to look up our apartment. After ten minutes, we still couldn't figure it out, so we asked the guy behind the counter, Phillip, and he helped us go in the right direction. We start heading that way and yup, lost again. I don't know if we're complete idiots or Rome is just a very difficult city to navigate, but it was getting close to 8 o'clock, getting dark, and we were very tired, hungry, and thirsty. we walked around the area. We knew we were very close...not sure how we knew...but we felt we were very close. After walking around side streets for what like an hour but was probably 10-15 minutes, we finally found it! 

The best part? 

The apartment was not on the street we had been given. 

After running around for three hours, the apartment was not on the street we we're supposed to be looking for. How messed up is that. 

Suffice it to say, we ate as close to the apartment as was possible.

Benvenuti a Roma.

They gave us free sparkling wine because we had to wait