Saving money

Everybody knows being in Italy isn't free, however there are ways
to save money here and there, and eventually it adds up.  When I was in
Rome, we tried to walk everywhere we needed to go but unfortunately
our hostel was 8 miles away from the center so at night we had to taxi
because the busses stopped running at midnight.  One night Corbin and
I had eaten dinner in the center and needed to get back to the hostel,
but we weren't familiar as to how the busses function in Rome.  They
don't just go around in circles like at KU, or if they do, it takes a
REALLY long time; we learned the hard way.  It was around 11:15 and we
caught the bus going the opposite direction. When his final stop was at
11:40 at the bus station we knew we were in trouble.  Fortunately,
after being booted off the bus, a taxi was waiting for us, as if the
taxi driver and the bus driver planned the entire thing.  He told us
it would cost us 60 Euro to go home... yeah right.  We politely told
him he was crazy and we would wait for the next one.  A few minutes
went by and we were walking towards a more busy area to find a cab and
the same taxi rolls by again and this time shouted "45 euro".  We once
again declined.  Still searching for a cab, a couple minutes passed
and the same cab driver circled around again, this time shouting "35
Euro". I caved in.  He then asked if I smoked and iIreplied "No, but I
don't mind if you do, if you knock the price down to 30 Euro." He
obliged, and we saved 30 Euro on the ride home.  Just be aware of
scams, and if the price sounds too high, it probably is. --Ben Balson