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Published: October 4th 2009
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It's 21:29 in Rome right now and I'm laying on my bed in the hostel. Today was my first full day away and I must say, it rocked! I got up at 9am and said goodbye to the 4 British girls that were staying in my room, they were moving onto Barcelona. I was laughing at the girls as they packed up because their bags were huge; 90 liters, which is twice the size of my pack. My other roommate is returning from 2 years in the Peace Corps and has 34 days to spend exploring Europe. We headed towards the shuttle this morning and a nice Italian man gave us 2 train passes because he didn't use them. It saved us 2 euro. While of the shuttle we noticed that traffic was backed up. Looking closer we realized it was because there was a camel on a trailer in the middle of the street blocking traffic. I was too slow to get my camera out but it was quite a sight.
Jill, the girl from Peace Corps, and I explored the city for the first part of the day together then split our ways. I found a prepaid phone
One of Rome's claims to fame
I had no idea until I was here that Pinocchio is Italian! so that I can stay in touch back home. So far, Rome has been intriguing it's a very busy city and the people are passionate both in a good and bad way. There are scooters buzzing everywhere and you have to be careful not to step off the curb or else! I stopped in a supermarket for lunch today and ate a salami and cheese sandwich that only cost me 1.19 euro (roughly $1.75 USD). It was delicious and I ate it while sitting on the steps gazing at the Fontana di Trevi (a fountain). I also had a Diet Coke with lunch but the cans are tall and skinny, not like in America. It tasted the same though, which is all that matters, right?
After lunch I wandered the streets of Rome talking in all the sights and sounds. Everywhere you look there are scooters, like I mentioned before. There is a structured chaos of the streets and alleys. It seems as though everything is out of place but the Romans know exactly what is going on. There are shops and cafes everywhere you turn. On my walk through the streets of Rome I saw some interesting things:
a police escort, everyone smokes cigarettes, men & women holding hands with the same sex as a sign of affection, and my favorite...the outfits. I was feeling a bit tired, probably from the jet lag, so I headed back to the hostel. On the Metro ride I sat next to a bunch of students heading home from a day at school. I enjoyed listening to them speak in Italian even though I could only pick up about every tenth word said! I took a short nap back at the hostel then went to the bar to use the internet.
I met up with a girl from Vancouver, B.C. who is traveling to Naples the same time as me. We decided to eat dinner together and split a liter of Sangria. Authentic Italian penne! We finished dinner and decided to book our hostel in Naples. We will be leaving Rome on Saturday and buying tickets at the train station to venture down the coast. I'm off to watch a football (soccer) match in the bar. Until next time, CIAO!
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Greg
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AWESOME!
WOW!! the land of Half of my ancesters! I WOULD SOOOOO stay there to live haha! looks great!