Howl’s Moving Control Tower

     The arrival

  Here is the story of a Frenchman, who decided after proudly obtaining an undergrad at the architecture school of Versailles, to go study in Rome. And who says Erasmus in Rome, says holid… says a lot of hard work to understand the town, its issues and its political and social problems. Gosh ! These are the last worries of the Italians ! It is indeed a great deal more important to know what the futures laws will be concerning the formal prohibition of putting pineapple on pizzas !

  Arriving on a lovely afternoon of September at the airport of Fiumicino, first Roman ruin: amagnificent red and white concrete control tower ! Improbable in its architectural design, the stairs, the small windows displayed here and there, it did indeed remind me of this movie of the studios Ghibli, Howl’s Moving Castle.

  Loaded to the hilt, I now needed to get to Rome ! I have 3 options :
- The taxi: to avoid unless you have money to waist.
- The train (for the rich), with the very cliché name: the Leonardo Express. According to my friends, a must do ! A most comfortable experience ! It’s quick, has aircon, you
can’t get stuck in traffic on the motorway… (14€)
- The shuttle (for the poor): Buses going to and through the airport and the central
station. If you are that person that has spent all their savings in a plane ticket to be
able to experience the Dolce Vita and to scuff yourself with cheap pizzas all day long,
then the shuttle was made for you ! (8€)

  Of course, being an “artist”, I have no money, so we will be taking the shuttle and its trafficjams.

  The train station of Termini, situated in the center of Rome is THE gateway to the town, it is the place of all meetings, and most of all in the underground. The town is indeed served by 3 underground lines: A, B and C. Even though the latter has little use (ghost train), the two others are only but extremely useful and intercross at a crucial point, you guessed it: Termini. I don’t want to spoil you the surprise but if you happen to be there at rush-hour; a sporty activity!
  The town is after all we served, and the city center is so packed with magnificent
monuments and streets that you enjoy just strolling on foot! Might as well arrive 1 hour late to class, the low average for Italians… the famous hour of courtesy.

  Immediately take the pass: Annual Metrobus card. If you have the chance of living in the city center, the student pass will cost you a little less than 150€, this will help you avoid any unwanted fines if you decide to fraud.
I won’t mention the bus and trams, that I only very occasionally took.

  We finish the evening around a pizza and a gelato.

PS: Of course, many things are to be taken lightly ! I hope I didn’t hurt anyone with the light banter.

Ciao !

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