Welcome to Rome!

Welcome back to the blog folks. After a brief hiatus to pile up some monies, I’m back to my full time job of exploring bitchin rocks around the globe! ;) Just kidding… as it turns out, my girlfriend Kathleen has accepted an offer to attend the University of Texas (in Austin) for Business School!! With that, we are moving on from the bay area for the time being and have a few months free to travel. So here we go!

I have dreamed of coming to Europe for a long time, but somehow managed to put it off until just now. In some ways, the delayed gratification has made this trip that much more worthwhile. The sights, the languages, the cultures and especially the foods have blown me away in terms of their diversity and novelty.

Kathleen and I arrived in Rome late in the evening about a week ago, dog-tired from 14+ hours of travel. We found our way from the airport to the city center by train and made our way to the hostel by taxi from the nearest station. Our energetic and eminently talkative host, Humberto, was waiting for us on the corner. Humberto was an intriguing and genial character with Brazilian and Japanese heritage. He has lived in Rome for ~8 years, and is studying business while working to become an entrepreneur in the hospitality industry.

From what I could tell, he is on the right track. As soon as he had helped us up the stairs to our apartment he showed us over to the TV where he had a Google Map of Rome staged. Rapid fire, he gave us the lay of the land: colossal landmarks and sights, restaurants, bars etc.  After 15 minute of a verbal fire hose of information, he realized that we were quite tired and not really tracking anymore… with that he left us to our own devices.

We made our way down to the street where we did not have to wander far before finding a lively restaurant with yummy pizza and a delicious house wine (a Chianti). Then we retired to our beds immediately in an attempt to shake off the jet lag as we prepared for three full days of sightseeing.

The next morning we wandered narrow the narrow cobblestone streets on either side of the Tiber River seeking massive and crumbling Roman ruins, elaborate Renaissance era Cathedrals and spectacular fountains. I wished I had spent some more time brushing up on my world history to provide more context for what we were seeing, but the epic scale and intricate detail of the statues, artwork and architecture was absolutely breathtaking.

What impressed me the most, however, was the character of the town in between all of the glorious monuments. Each shop and restaurant was boutique with a unique charm, with very few chains daring to make an appearance (though we did come across a McDonalds right next to an ancient cathedral which was a distinctively depressing sight).

While hundreds of international tourists clustered around the popular fountains and plazas (piazzas to the Italians), the locals happily mingled at the outside pubs and restaurants late into the evening. One night, Kathleen headed to bed early, and I ventured out on my own with ambitions of seeing some of the famous nightlife firsthand. I made my way across the river to a popular club, getting there ~10pm. When I arrived I was met with a quizzical expression - “the music doesn’t start until 12 you know?” the bartender told me. The place was empty and I didn’t have the energy to stay up – several more hours. Defeated, I guzzled a 7 Euro Heineken in the empty club as the staff set up for the evening and then made my way back across town.

As I wandered through empty narrow alleys and lanes, I soaked in the quiet, unique experience that is Rome in the evening. Then I stumbled on a busy piazza where I enjoyed ridiculously good hamburger with bacon from a little greasy spoon. There I chatted up some local teenage boys who were quite impressed I was from America. One of them had an American flag as their iPhone cover believe it or not. At first, I questioned whether it was an ironic statement, but he assured me “He likes Americans and American things”. Not sure if I feel the same way but right on kid. By the way, what are you doing out at midnight – don’t you have school tomorrow?

After two more days of sightseeing and eating, our legs and stomachs were thoroughly exhausted. We splurged for one final dinner out, we each had a different seafood pasta. Pretty sure the main ingredient in the sauce was butter with a bit of olive oil to loosen it up. We enjoyed another amazing Chianti and with that… we both felt ill and were ready to get the heck out of Rome.. Next stop Greece!