The Rome Metro System= The Philadelphia Subway System

I have come to the decision that Rome's metro system is the equivalent to Philadelphia's subway system. Both the metro in Rome and the subway in Philly each have two lines: Rome has Line A and Line B, while Philadelphia has the Orange/Broad Street Line and the Blue/Market Street Line.

The A Line is relatively similar to the Market Line in Philadelphia. It is cleaner, there is less graffiti and it is more modern. The B Line is covered in graffiti and dirtier just like the Broad Street Line.

In general, the Rome metro system is much more efficient and modern than the Philadelphia subway system. The metro is not broken up into cars as it is in Philadelphia and it is much more crowded. Personal space on the metro does not exist.

Although we have been told that Italians stare, I am still attempting to get used to being stared at on the metro. I am not sure if it is the English or that we look like Americans that causes the Italians to stare. Either way, I have never been comfortable with people staring directly at me!

I started taking the metro on a regular basis when my classes began the on-site visits during the week. I was not originally going to buy the monthly metro pass. After I realized that I needed to take the metro multiple times a day for on-site classes, I decided that I would buy the monthly metro pass for February. That is number one on my "To Do" list for tomorrow.

Fingers crossed for not getting pick-pocketed!