Rome And Florence Trip Log Day 1: Traveling Abroad For The First Time
Years ago, I planned an entire seven-day itinerary to Paris, France; I had everything organized, from which days we would visit the Louve and Musée d'Orsay to picking a hotel that was within walking distance from the Metro but also close to a RER station to be able to travel to Palace of Versailles and Disneyland Paris, and when I would go to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
All tickets were purchased and the flights and hotel were booked. But six days before the trip, my friend and I made the decision to cancel the trip and change all of our plans to Italy.
Why The change happened
from: travel.state.gov
Americans traveling abroad are encouraged to sign up for the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to alert the US that they are traveling internationally, to whom to contact in case of emergency, and to receive updates on the country they are traveling to.
When I was due to travel to Paris, the city was experiencing unrest, and many protests were happening. I had seen some information about the protests on social media but did not clearly understand what was happening. Six days before my departure to Paris, ironically, while I was scrolling through social media trying to understand the situation, I received an email from STEP warning me about the mass protests and airport-related strikes and advising me to avoid these areas while also warning me that navigating the city would be difficult due to transit strikes.
I respect the right to protest, but traveling is expensive. Traveling to a destination while the city or country is experiencing some unrest is not ideal. This may jeopardize your safety and limit your opportunities to do much of anything, especially if you do not speak the native language.
Interestingly enough, while in Rome, my friend and I frequently watched the news and saw that the Lourve and other attractions we planned to do were closed.
So after spending two anxiety-inducing hours on the phone with Delta, spending $300, and booking the last seats on our flight from JFK to AMS (I ended up breaking even with my Disneyland Paris ticket refund), I was able to change our flights from Paris to Rome.
Getting Last Minute Tickets To Museums and Sites
Prices as of May 2025 from: tiqets.com
We used Tiqets for most of our ticketing needs, and I go more in-depth about this in my Is Tiqets Worth It? - My Experience With The Rome Tourist Card post. In short, we used the Tiqets Rome Tourist Card for our tickets to the Colosseum, Roman Forum & Palatine Hill, Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel. We used Get Your Guide to book tickets to the Accademia Gallery and booked directly through the website to get tickets to the Uffizi Gallery.
Getting last-minute tickets to these places was not hard. Still, the Accademia Gallery has a scalper issue, and we were forced to purchase tickets from a third party because it stated that they were sold out on most days of our trip. Still, third-party sites had plenty of tickets available for purchase.
The First Flight: JFK - AMS
When I changed the flights from Paris to Rome, all direct flights to Rome were sold out, and we had to do a connecting flight. I have always told myself to avoid these flights like the plague, but I had no choice, and we flew across the Atlantic Ocean from New York City to Amsterdam in Delta Main Cabin for the first leg of our flight.
We booked roundtrip Comfort+ non-stop flights from JFK to CDG for $920. After changing flights, our new itinerary was JFK to AMS (Amsterdam) Main Cabin and then AMS to FCO (Rome) in Economy on KLM. Then, our return flight to the US was a non-stop flight from FCO to JFK in Main Cabin. And this downgrade in flights still cost me $300 more. This doesn't seem very good, but it was a deal compared to the extra $3K it would have cost to change our flights to London.
Side Note: I had no idea I would visit London later that year; that story is for a different post. If you are interested in reading about my experience in London, subscribe to my email list at the end of this post to be notified when that post goes live!
As this was my first international flight, I was amazed by how large the Airbus A330-900neo was. I have only been on planes with a 3-3 seat configuration, so being on a wide-body aircraft with a 2-4-2 seat configuration was mind-boggling at the time. I will never understand how these things fly.
Our seats were in the last row of the middle section with little to no recline, and we were seated next to the bathroom, which I didn’t think would be a problem, but it was. The seat didn’t bother my back, and they left a pillow, blanket, and flight kit on every seat. But the legroom for the window seat was not ideal, and I am short.
As the seats were next to the bathroom, I found it incredibly difficult to sleep due to the light pollution from the bathroom and the constant flow of people going in and out. Combining that with my anxiety of wondering how I would make my connecting flight to Rome and traveling abroad for the first time meant I only slept for about 20 minutes.
We were served dinner and breakfast, and the food was horrible. Don’t fly with a domestic airline across the Atlantic if you can avoid it. Or at least check out JetBlue because they have good food. I wish I had brought something from the massive food selection offered in JFK Terminal 4.
I had a chicken and rice dish with a salad and a dessert for dinner. It was fine.
They only gave out an English muffin with an egg and an absurd amount of cheese for breakfast. If you follow me on any platform, you know that I am lactose intolerant. So imagine how my stomach was feeling about only TWO BITES of this. It was bad.
I watched The Menu (2023) and didn’t finish it, but I finished it on the flight back from Rome.
The Second Flight: AMS - FCO
Once we landed in Amsterdam, I was excited to use the bathroom in a foreign country. And I was shocked by how they used actual doors with knobs for their stalls. It is much better than the American bathroom stalls where people can look through the cracks on the sides of the door.
I tried to get a drink from the vending machine, but it didn’t work.
Passport Control was a mess until they asked people when their flight was leaving and prioritized those whose flights were leaving in the next hour. We got through Passport Control and on to our flight as it was boarding, and this flight was an experience.
International Lays Potato Chips!
The people were deafening and obnoxious, and I felt terrible for the woman I was sitting next to. She seemed to fear flying and had her head down the entire flight.
The captain announced that he had found a shortcut and that we would land 30 minutes earlier than expected. Five minutes later, he announced that we would be landing in the next ten minutes, and when we landed, it felt like we had bounced off the tarmac. I swear if you had your head tilted forward, you would have gotten a concussion from smacking your head against the seat in front of you.
I saw the Swiss Alps, so I guess this experience was worth it.
The Hotel
Room Tour Video On My YouTube Channel
If you want to learn more about my experience at Courtyard by Marriott Rome Central Park, check out my detailed post: Looking To Save Some Money? Stay At This Hotel In Italy - My Experience Staying At Courtyard By Marriott Rome Central Park, and watch the room tour I posted on my YouTube channel.
When we arrived, our room was not ready, so to pass the time (and fill our bellies), we ate at the restaurant on-site. The food was delicious. I had the Cacio e Pepe and couldn’t finish it because it was so rich and filling. The prices at the restaurant were expensive, but we ate many dinners here with no regrets.
After we took a quick nap, I got on a Zoom call for an interview, and they said they would contact me within a week (it's been 2 years); then we walked to Speedy Pinsa to get some dinner, then came back to the hotel to have a proper sleep because the next day, we would be walking 20K+ steps around Rome.
Fun fact: I got laid off the day after I came home from this trip.
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Trip Log Index
Day 1: Traveling Abroad For The First Time
Day 2: Exploring Rome via Big Bus Tour and Visiting The Colosseum
Day 3: Florence Day Trip Part One - Visiting the Uffizi Gallery
Day 4: Visiting The Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel
Day 5: Exploring Rome via Gray Bus Tour - Visiting the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps
Day 6: Florence Day Trip Part Two - Visiting the Accademia Gallery
Day 7: Last Day In Rome - Almost Visiting St. Peter’s Basilica
Hi! I’m Andrea, the creator of Cinematic Excursions.
I am a video editor, photographer, travel and events vlogger, and blogger who likes to write movie analyses and yap about fandom. I also have a useless film degree.
I have been creating videos since 2018. In 2023, I started Cinematic Excursions to share my unfiltered experiences traveling, cruising, going on excursions, and using city cards that are supposed to save money.
I also use my platform to document my experience attending events like New York Comic-Con, MCM Comic-Con London, and the Food Network New York City Wine and Food Festival, advising others and covering news from these events.