ROMA

We woke up Thursday morning in Rome, the Eternal city, my long professed favorite city in Europe. Of course, I gave it that distinction when I was 8, so I had little recollection of why that actually was. I would figure out part of this at the Roman Forum, where we started our day.

I'm not a classics or anthropology major, nor do I have any overwhelming interest in the Roman period, but, simply put, the Roman Forum is the COOLEST. It has an undeniably awe-striking quality. Walking amidst the beautiful ruins and gardens and hills was probably the highlight of the entire trip. Every corner was breathtaking. Additionally, the forum was hosting a special exhibition on Nero, which was very interesting. All of this goes as well for the Palatine Hill, they are essentially the same place.

After that walk and some solid doner kebab and gelato, we checked out the colosseum, more hyped but no more impressive than the forum. We got in a few good "Are you not entertained?!?"s and "Titus of Gaul!!!!!"s before heading to see the central sights of Rome: the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and the Piazza Navona. These were by and large beautiful but spoiled by mobs of tourists (like ourselves, I suppose).

This would be a theme in Rome, as it was the weekend of John Paul II's beatification, as well as the week following Easter. It wasn't terrible, though, as we just had to stay out of the center during peak hours. That night, it was fine as we got some drinks and some italian meats and cheeses and sat out on the Spanish Steps for dinner. (This was, by the way, probably the time me and Max were most confused for a gay couple and not two travelling tourist friends. This was with just cause, as it was objectively romantic. And AWESOME.)

We decided to hit up the Vatican the next day, before the beatification celebration got too rowdy for us. We cruised through San Pietro and the Vatican Museums, somehow avoiding all the 2-3 hour lines that the guys hawking tours said there would be.

Even so, all the museum-walking kicked the crap out of us, and we returned to the hostel for massive rally naps.

Afterwords, we decided to check out the nearby and allegedly "studenty" neighborhood of San Lorenzo in what would go down as aone of our better decisions in Rome. San Lorenzo was very reminiscent of Kreuzberg in Berlin: young, fun, cheap, edgy, and unpretentious. We got pizza at a restaurant called Formula 1, which was the best pizza I got in Italy. For 6.50, I got a pie stacked high with mushrooms, ham, artichokes, olives, and a hard-boiled egg. The house wine was also cheap and good.

Following dinner came one of the strangest, and one of my favorite, experiences on the trip. After grabbing a couple of beers, we were wandering San Lorenzo when we came across a bar that had live folk covers drifting out from inside. Since we had to finish our beers, we took a seat on a bench on the sidewalk and listened to a couple solid folk songs.

When we heard the opening to Bruce Springsteen's "Adam Raised a Cain", though, we had to go in, spurred by our mutual, undying love for the Boss. Unfinished bottles in hand, we began to sing along.

This display of affection for the music, as well as our familiarity with the lyrics, astounded and delighted the two guitarists in this tiny bar. We were instant favorites with both the musicians and the crowd (numbering about 8), such that they played about 6 more Bruce sings in a row. After about the third, the lead singer asked us where we were from, and was ecstatic about the answer ("New Yersey!!" he yelled) and went right into "Jersey Girl."

The whole affair got everyone really riled up and into the music, and at certain points, one of the guys would come to our table mid-song to sing along with us. People in the bar were looking at us excitedly and asking about us. It was all very strange and exciting.

Eventually, we had to call it a night, though I was hardly ever prouder to be a Bruce fan.

(Note: I wrote most of this blog post right after Rome, and I'm now finishing it a couple weeks later. This will not be quite so detailed.)

The next day was kind of crappy weather, and we got some more doner and then walked around the Villa Borghese. We decided that night to go to dinner again in San Lorenzo, as we had had a great time there. While walking around the neighborhood, we came across something I initially thought was a mirage.

There was a small wine bar on one of the side streets. Well, not really a wine bar, more of a wine miracle. It had several large stills, and plastic bottles for filling up wine. I saw the price 1.60 on the sign outside, and I assumed it was for a glass, which would be a reasonable price. Upon closer inspection, though, the sign definitely said 1.60/liter. This was simply astounding. Me and Max, obviously not about to pass this up, filled up a bottle for before dinner. They were helpful and happy, and gave us cups and free cashews. PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THIS PLACE.

Anyways, we were feeling the wine by the time we got to dinner, which was at an osteria apparently famous for its meat dishes. I got some tasty skewers, but the portions were not huge, and we hit up a pizza place on the way home. All in all, a great night.

The next morning, after working out yet another misbooking, me and Max had most of the morning to do some exploring. We checked out Trastevere, and some other places near the colosseum. We got doner one last time, and fought through crowds of nuns and Poles in searing heat to get back to the hostel. It was a good way to leave Rome, because I honestly couldn't have taken much more of it. But I will never forget the strange, amazing times I had in Rome, especially San Lorenzo.

It was a great trip. A trip that will be written about for generations to come, and I made it back to Paris safe and sound. I then realized how little time I had left in Paris, and set to planning three blog-worthy weeks. COMING SOON!!