They Call Me Baby Driver

(Mommy, that title was for you! :)



I am now back from Rome, and I had a truly terrific time. I think it was just what I needed. It is great being in Barcelona, but sometimes it is nice to see a familiar face. In this case, I saw two, Simone and Kathleen. :) (shout out to my romans!)

While I didn't get to see everything I wanted, i.e. the La Capella Sistina, La Fontana di Trevi e mia familia , I did get to see a side of Rome that I wouldn't have had I not had some contacts there. Most of the time we just walked around, and I feel like I got to know the real Rome, not just what I had pictured in my head, which I realize now is nothing like the real Rome. Some of my favorite moments include speaking with my cousin's friends, or other people I met, about the differences between American and European culture and politics.



I think what was most surprising was the juxtaposition of ancient buildings and that which is modern. For example,in my mind, the coloseo should have chariots and lions, not cheesy/sketchy "gladiators" pretending to be stabbed by tall german tourists. But alas, the world changes and expands and hear I am writing on a blog about ancient Rome.



Quintessential Roman Experience:

I was driving in the car with my cousin (and repeating "Our Father"s and "Hail Mary"s like none other) when he decided to take a u-turn in the middle of the road. Well, although this was clearly a brilliant idea, the policeman seemed to have a problem and shouted something like "eh! What do you think you're doing?!". My cousin simply explained that he didn't feel like going all the way to the end of the road to turn, and the police said, "eh, ok" and off we went. Afterwards I started to crack up, and my cousin didn't really understand how this was unusual, but after some explanation, we understood eachother.

I will be going back to Rome very soon and I think that I will be able to see more. If not, I might have to borrow the car. I don't know how to drive a standard car, but I am pretty sure the Romans don't either.

More posts to come :)