La Notte Bianca

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Last night was La Notte Bianca. It's a huge festival for Rome, the third annual and it was awesome. I was the first to leave the apartment b/c I was the first ready, and as I reached the corner to catch the tram, my hopes were quickly shot down b/c the tram looked like a tuna can! Everbody was smushed in so tightly, I was like, Nuh Uh! I was supposed to meet Zach at the Argentina Theater (the last stop on my tram) at 10, and it was 9:45 and there was no way I was going to be able to catch a tram. So I power walked like nobody's business to the end of the river, where I called him, and he met me b/c there was no way I was making it on time. We met up, and then met Matteo del Bravo, an exchange student last semester at Arkansas, and the other architecture students at the Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere. We had some drinks, walked around, and watched some goths juggle fire. We were walking to the Pantheon, stopped so Katie and Erin could catch up, and kept on. La Notte Bianca was absolutely crazy though! There were allegedly 2.5 million people in the streets that night. The streets were filled with people and sadly, trash. 😞
We walked around and it was so surreal because we were partying outside the Pantheon--In ROME! There was a band playing salsa music, so I danced with Erin, Matteo, Clint, Katie, and it was so much fun! It was just unbelievable! All of our pictures look super imposed because it's just so funny that we were outside the Pantheon, dancing with a million other people! Crazy

We walked around forever, then we decided we wanted to party more, so me, Katie, Erin, Zach, Clint, and Jimmy split off from the group and went to the "Scholars Lounge Bar". It was mayhem, we got a table and some drinks, then danced until 4 AM! It was so much fun! There was this Ricky Riccardo-type guy who kept trying to dance with us, and although he was good, it was a little weird and out of place--tango/salsa doesn't belong in the club!

We all took the tram over to our neighborhood and ate at our beloved pub on our block. By this time it was 5 AM, and I was beat, so I went home. And what a good Notte Bianca it was!

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Photos

La Bianca Notte
A picture of the streets

Surprise!
A sneak attack from the Papitas

Posing at the Pantheon
I like to mimic statues

Cleopatra
I wanted to tickle her bottom... hehehe!

Notte Bianca Hair
They did these hair styles outside of the Pantheon

Notte Bianca
My typical face--just kidding, I just thought this was funny

the Tram
On the tram home