Well they say that nothing is easy, and traveling to Barcelona most definitely proved just that. Our flight left early Friday morning, and we were ecstatic. Leaving so early from Rome, we knew that we had to take a late train Thursday evening and sleep in the Rome Fiumicino Airport in order to make our flight in the morning. So we departed from the Perugia train station around 7:30 p.m., but our train had a change in a nearby town called Foligno before getting back on and heading towards Rome. Unfortunately, the train that we had to catch in Foligno was delayed nearly an hour because the windy conditions had knocked down some trees on the train tracks. Now, if you’ve ever tried to get to the Rome airport, which is 40 minutes outside the city center, then you know that getting from the main train station to the actual airport is a struggle. You have to take either another train or a bus. Since our train was delayed, we missed the last train and bus to the airport and were stranded at the Rome Termini train station.

Now, you’re probably wondering why didn’t they take a taxi? Well the answer to that extremely intelligent question is that we are broke college students traveling abroad. So we decided to say YOLO (we didn’t actually say this…we are cooler than that) and agreed to just spend the night at the train station. While we were searching for a bathroom, a security guard told us that is was closed for cleaning and to go across the street to the 24 hour McDonalds. So we headed over to stay there the rest of the night knowing we would not get an ounce of sleep, but who cares? We were about to embark to Barcelona. Our spirits were high. While sitting in what happened to be one of the sketchiest McDonalds I have ever been in, a group of girls came up to us and asked if we had missed our train. Apparently, we looked “just as lost as they did,” and asked if they could join us. The 3 of them were studying abroad in Florence and missed their train to the airport as well. To make the time pass, my friend Ayanna pulled out a card game called Skip-Bo. Okay…so far so good. We made some new friends and found a 24 hour McDonalds with free Wi-Fi. What could go wrong? (A question asked right before something does indeed go wrong).

After about 15 minutes of playing, a security guard approached us and told us to leave. We asked why and his response was…“no gambling allowed.” Yes, the people in McDonalds thought we were gambling and kicked us out even though I’m pretty sure there were some actual illegal activities that he should’ve cared more about occurring in the same vicinity, but we didn’t argue. We packed up our Skip-Bo and headed back to the train station. Luckily for us, the train station actually closes at 2 a.m. (it was not actually lucky). Exhausted, us girls decided to give in and start searching for a hotel or hostel for the night. We went into many hotels that refused to put 7 girls in one room (multiple rooms would’ve been to expensive) and the hostels that were being offered by guys on the street seemed too sketchy.

Finally, one of our new friends remembered a 24 hour pub in Rome that a friend had recommended. We found that pub and a booth to rest in. Here is where the interesting part of the night really began. At 2 a.m. in a pub, you are bound to run into some people who have had maybe one too many drinks. That is how we met our good friend from London. I can’t remember his name, but he decided to sit down and tell us his whole life story…or at least his experience in the U.S. He came to the U.S. for school in Illinois. He seemed to be very intrigued by American films and assumed that all American high schools had teenagers dancing on tables during lunchtime. He was disappointed by the reality. He talked to us about all of his travel experiences in the U.S. Everything from being accidently dropped off in Compton (which he referred to as The Comptons) when traveling to California to being arrested in South Carolina after doing a Forrest Gump impression to an officer. I thought this guy was insane, but he did mention that Bad Boys I and II, Forrest Gump, Boyz n the Hood, Back to the Future, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off were some of the greatest films to come out of America. So with that, he gained some respect from me. At least the man has taste…

Anyways, the night went on and by this time it was almost 4 a.m. My eyes could barely stay open, and there was no one left in the pub but us 7 girls. We then decided to head back over to the train station to see if there were any buses leaving any earlier than the first train out. By the time we walked back, there was a huge line for bus tickets. The next bus to the airport was at 4:40 a.m., and we were determined to get on. We said our goodbyes to our new friends, who were headed to the Rome Ciampino Airport, and departed on the bus. The Roman streets were empty, so it took only about 30 minutes to arrive at the airport. No words can describe how exhausted we all felt as we boarded the plane to Barcelona, but it was worth it…oh it was well worth it.

Location: Rome, Italy