Yes. 600,000 scooters in the city of Rome. Scooter population control anyone?
Anyways.
13 hours of flying, an hour and a half of Italian traffic...and I’m finally in Rome. ROME.
I will first say, that was probably the most amazing flight overseas I have had in a long time. I watched two GREAT movies...500 Days of Summer and Away We Go, I re-read The Laramie Project, AND Delta was so amazing that their in-flight CD selection included Next to Normal...so I may have indulged myself in that a few times through. Did I sleep on this overnight flight? Nope.
Many people who have been here before have told me it is the most beautiful place I will ever see. So far, I beg to differ, although I have not escaped the urban chaos that is Rome. The architecture here, however, is incredible. Every single building has so much character...so much history. To only know what they have seen...the people they have housed...the historical events they have been a part of. I have to keep pinching myself to remind me I’m not in Busch Gardens Williamsburg about to ride Apollo’s Chariot. Everyone, at some point in their life, needs to stand in front of the Colosseum and just tune the world out. Look at those arches and imagine who walked through those same arches hundreds of years ago. Realize the history that happened at that spot...the people that died. Incredible.
On a different note...almost everyone here speaks English. I have not yet encountered any language barrier. I make a valiant effort to use my bare knowledge of Italian, but they never fail respond in English. This is either a courtesy in realizing that I am American, or an epic fail on my part in that my Italian must suck so much that they don’t even give me a chance in their native tongue. The prevalence of English, however, saddens me. The culture here is SO rich, it seems to detract from it when I see English everywhere...and McDonald’s on every corner...but it does make my vacation much easier.
So today? I saw the Fontana di Trevi and the Colosseo. I ate pizza, gnocchi, and gelato. I had espresso and fantastically dry white wine. Let’s do it again tomorrow.
ps - the fashion over here? Wowzers. It is going to take some serious diligence to keep from blowing my entire budget on clothes.
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