After Venice, I went to Rome. Just because "why not?". I didn't have to be home in Amsterdam yet and could stay away for another month. So I packed my stuff and boarded the train to Rome.
Now, a few weeks in... I can honestly say that I am not really enjoying myself here. At first I used the ongoing rain as an excuse. But when the weather cleared after a week, I couldn't get myself to go explore the city much. I feel stupid for not going outside much and not take that many photos. Instead Netflix is my best friend, it seems...
The apartment is comfortable enough, it is located close to one of the most popular squares of Rome: Piazza Navona. Every evening there are continued light shows with projections of the main fountain of the square. I have seen it a few times... But am not too impressed I guess.
There are a few reasons (excuses) that could cause my "meh" feeling.
- Homesickness: I learned that my max travel threshold is roughly around 2 months. While I was able to live in Dublin for a year without getting homesick, whenever I am travelling I get the feeling that I am done after 2 months. I had that during my trip in Australia. And now I have that again. At some point I just feel "full", I guess. I need my comfortable and predictable life back for a bit. No clue why, but now I know.
- Covid: It is just a small thing, but every time you go outside your apartment, you are supposed to wear a face mask 24/7. This isn't a massive problem and I am not anti-face-mask, but it does have a bit of an effect on the fun you are having. Maybe it sounds weird, but having to think about the mask, putting it on and bringing spares makes it harder for me to motivate myself to even leave the home.
- I am tired. Maybe winter-depression? I sleep a lot and if I don't force myself to get out of bed I can sleep all day. I am familiar with depression, but when travelling I manage to push myself a little more than my current state. The sun goes down at 4:30 pm... while I only become a little active at 3pm. That doesn't leave much time to explore. So why bother!?
- The "plenty of time"-effect: I am in Rome for a full month. There is plenty of time to explore. I don't have to go do all of that today. Tomorrow I'll just walk a little bit more to see everything, right? And so I become a travel procrastinator.
- My not so fun experience when I finally got myself to go explore...[Trigger warning for harassment]
A week ago, I walked around the area a bit and a guy started talking to me. Charming, cute, friendly, funny...and way too young for me. Red flags were everywhere when he offered to show me the way to the Forum Romanum. While we all do our social distancing, he grabbed my arm and as a serious charmer he showed me the way. The closer we got to the forum, the more he started touching me. He was aware that he was making me uncomfortable, but he continued anyway while telling me to relax. When he started hugging me out of nowhere I knew it was time to get rid of this guy asap. While he still tried to convince me to have a drink with him, he managed to grab one of my boobs a few times... I told him to leave me alone and stop touching my boobs and that I wasn't interested. And eventually, he left.
Normally I don't get easily upset when I get harassed. But this time I needed a minute or two. I sat myself down and hated all Italian men for a bit (sorry other Italian men that don't act this way). This bloody predator isn't one of a kind... This behavior isn't a big exception. To be honest, this isn't even the first time this happened to me with an Italian man. For them, it is a sophisticated and worked out act that they repeat with every "vulnerable" woman they get their hands on. They know exactly how slow/fast to go. They know what to say to you, so you question your own sanity. Before you know it, you are in a situation you don't know how to get out of as quickly as possible without the risk of getting into more trouble if he turns out to be an even bigger nutcase.
So there you have it... The photo I shared with this post is Italian people looking at the sunset from a viewpoint near Piazza del Popolo. I normally try my hardest to not get any people on my photos, but this time the people made the shot. Maybe people aren't that bad to photograph anyway.
What a shit experience! Sometimes I think the world will never evolve.
I understand that travel experience where you are just done. Home seems good when everything else is a little tricky. And just because you are travelling doesn't mean you are up all the time. I agree the masks make things hard. A constant reminder the world isn't as free as we thought it was a year ago.
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