Buon giorno, Roma!

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So I have, at last, arrived in Rome. When I started up this blog it seemed like just a distant thought for the future, but now here I am, half a world away. Excuse me while I act like a small child for a few minutes and jump up and down while squealing. Don't worry, I'm doing it in my hotel room, not in public.

Right. That now out of the way, allow me to recount my journey as it has transpired so far... July 2. Catch flight out of Edmonton to Montréal. Things were going much too smoothly, so it only seemed right that my flight from YUL to Rome was delayed by an hour when I got there. Which, it turned out, was actually a good thing, as it allowed me to get food (I refuse to buy anything on the plane. It's ridiculous!). We ended up leaving YUL about two hous behind schedule, and the most entertaining part of the whole flight was before we even took off - the video system wasn't working at first, and watching the flight attendants try to remember how to do the safety demo manually was an exercise in watching team dynamics at their worst.

We got into FCO two hours behind as well (so at 11 rather than the original 9). Passport control and customs was a bit of a joke as well. The conversation was literally "Where are you coming from?"
"Canada"
"Thank-you" *stamp*.
Done. If only every potentially red-tape-ish situation in life was that easy.

One of the first things you notice here is the heat. It's been hovering in the low 30 degree range all day, without much variation, even when a mild thunderstorm rolled in. I don't mind the heat, but the humidity is... not draining... just... wet. Which is kind of annoying. But my hotel has AC, so it's all good. Cool to sleep, anyway!

Other things I've noticed... Italians don't dress as well as all the tourist advice says. Yes, I kinda stand out in my zip-off pants (y'know... the technical fabric kind that zip the legs off and turn into shorts...) but nowhere near as badly as I was led to believe. I imagine that will change in Florence and Milan.

Popped collars. Lots of them. Everywhere. *shudder*

Huge flowers. Hollyhocks that seem like they must be 10 feet tall. Thistles the size of tennis balls.

Nuns. ("Duh, Kate, your hotel is located less than 1k from the Vatican, what did you expect?!"). Honestly, I think I've seen more nuns today than in my entire life. No priests though..

I managed to overhear the location of the FIFA Fan Fest whilst wandering the streets this afternoon, so caught the Germany-Argentina game in a park just outside the Villa Borghese. As I write this, I have finished munching on four-cheese gnocchi, with a glass of white wine, and waiting for the game this evening to begin. I am currently in an English pub (yeah, I know, huge stretch) watching the said game. Photos will come, but it's actually easier to write these posts from my phone and post them via wireless when I can than to try and find an Internet café. So sadly until Travel Blog smartens up and starts to realize my iphone is a legit source of pics, No pics for you. Will try and remedy via facebook.

Best wishes, and I'll write again soon!

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Photos

Graffiti
Graffiti on an Italian train (and the first photo I took in Italy)

FIFA FanFest
Crowds watching Germany v. Argentina at the International FIFA FanFest in Rome

Comments

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Love the travel updates!