9/30/10: Rome, Day 1

Tired.

I'm quite exhausted. Arrived at noon today in Rome after leaving LA at 3:25pm the previous day. The flight was pretty uneventful and I only watched one movie, the remake of "The Karate Kid". It was easy going through customs and I got my luggage without any problems at all. I took the train from the airport to the main train terminal and from there I took the Metro to a stop close to where my hotel is.
My room at the Hotel Raffaelo is smaller than a sardine can, but that was to be expected. I am happy to see they have available wireless Internet and a fairly friendly staff. I crashed for a few hours then woke up around 6pm to see what places to eat were in my neck of the woods. It's always somewhat difficult picking the first restaurant to eat at, since I have no idea if there is a better place just around the corner. I ended up picking "Gallo Matto" as my first meal in Rome. It was a good choice. I had roasted pigeon in a white wine sauce with baked potato and a beer. I know what you are going to say: "Baked Potato"????? Yes, I ate the baked potato. I was hungry. They even gave me a free desert, some lemon gelato, so I pat myself on the back for picking that place to start my Roman vacation. On a side note, after observing some fellow American customers in this restaurant, I do have one small piece of advise: When traveling to a foreign country where you don't speak the language, if you are allergic to something and want to make sure it is not in your meal, you might want to actually learn that particular word. Saying "Nuts!... I'm allergic to nuts" over and over does nothing to help. Learn the word. Just a suggestion.
I don't really have a plan for tomorrow, but I am pretty sure I will at some point be seeing the Roman Coliseum. Time to get some shut-eye.