Wrapping Up Rome

This post took four days to complete (the date is a little funky) but here are few more stories from our last night in Rome that should not be left untold:

Driving in Rome
Driving in Rome is like something out of the videogame Crazy Taxi or SF Rush-- it makes driving in the States look boring and dull by comparison. For our last night in town, Giulia took us out with her friends to Trestevere for dinner and then to the University and around San Lorenzo for a stroll. This meant driving across town-- definitely an experience not for the faint of heart. There are no lane lines, nor any clear rules. And in Trestevere cars shared the cobblestone allyways with pedestrians, bicycles and restaurant tables. The Romans make up for this lack of order with animated hand gestures, passionate epithets, and the occasional emphatic use of the horn. Fortunately, our host Giulia was well versed in all of these maneuvers. She also has an uncanny ability to squeeze her small car into even smaller parking spots.


American Music is Universal (Almost)
Giulia and her friends listen to lots of American music abd we share many of the same favorite bands, Green Day and Matchbox 20 being just two examples. What I find interesting, though, is that, for a given band, we listen to very different songs. Giulia skips over the popular songs that get a lot of radio play here in the States in favor for songs that I had never heard of. Its actually kindof cool. I, like most other Americans, probably learn about these bands from the radio and then we work from there and buy albums and explore the music. Giulia and her friends have it more "pure" they probably find their favorite songs on their own, not by having them hammered into their heads from constant radio play.


A Night on the Town
Possibly the coolest part of the trip was hanging out with Giulia's friends and wandering around San Marcos square. Giulia brought along her friends Guilio (perhaps spelled differently) and her high school classmate Silvia. Silvia was celebrating finishing her psych exams and Guilio was still studying for his in engineering. Guilio is a big film buff and we had fun comparing films. As soon as he is done with exams, he has big plans for a trip to Tunisia. Giulia and Silvia are also planning their own vacation. All three spoke excellent English and Silvia warmed up to us after she found out that we too don't like Bush.

The area around the university was alive and packed with people, even late at night. There were a number of bands out playing and there was some kindof festival with outdoor cinema and street vendors. San Marco's square was full of college students just chilling on the steps. Giulia bumped into friends everywhere she went and all the Roman's we met were friendly and talkative! It was good times. If only Boulder had this much happening on a Wednesday night!

Patience Makes Perfect
We even got to learn some Italian. Silvia was a patient teacher. The whole group had to put up with us painstakingly practicing such banal phrases as "Mi kee ya mo Andrea," over and over again. But I think I'm improving and hopefully I'll be in good shape next time I'm in Rome.


Off to Belgrade
Rome was good food and good times. I hope our new Roman friends will come visit us in the states so we can return the hospitality. (Silvia: Bush will be gone in January 2009!) Read Tina and Ethan's post to find out about all of our Serbian adventures...


peace!