Off the Map

Rome take 2

[Ed. I am back home now, and will be catching up on my backlogged adventures - look for updates daily]

It is sometimes said that cities lose their luster the second time around, after the initial wonder and amazement has faded. Such was not the case with Rome. Our second visit, although markedly different in approach, was no less thrilling than the first time around.

I can attribute much of that to the people. We rolled into town with the 2 aforementioned Army men out of Iraq (see earlier blog), who had never been, making us experts on the city by comparison - and we all know that its fun to be the "Expert". After parting ways, my original group and I met up with a longtime friend of mine, Luc Peterson.

Its crazy to meet up with figures from your past in a brand new and international setting! The world suddenly feels a lot smaller than it used to... I feel like I could hang out in Mongolia for 2 weeks and still have some sort of run-in. In anycase, Luc's choir from Vassar University were singing in cathedrals in Rome and Florence for their spring break. After I surprised him in a pizzeria, we did a 'schnell' tour of Rome (which I had a good feel for by then - its awesome to feel like you know (kind of) your way around such a bustling and international city!), people watched on the Spanish Steps, had the best cappuccino of our lives, parted ways for 2 hours, and then met back up for his first concert later that night in Basilica San Lorenzo. Despite jetlag, they sounded amazing - enhanced further by the acoustics and setting of a huge & elaborate Roman cathedral.

When not running around with other travelers we had a blast just chillin' in Rome, catching up on the smaller sights we missed in our blitz the first time around. My favorite of which was climbing to the top of the newer (1870) Vittorio Emanuele 2 building where one has a breathtaking view of the city: rooftops full of life, cathedral domes poking out in every direction, madman traffic below, and monuments rising out of plazas like tall weeds in a field. Afterwards we were able to spend more time wandering around and absorbing the feel of the city and its people whilst eating the best Gelato in the world (found in a small shop near the Trevi Fountain).

Our last morning saw us up at 3:20 AM to catch our 15Euro Ryanair flight to Paris. We learned that nothing wakes you up quiet like the sound of 2 spring break teens having sex in a youth hostel shower at 3:30 in the morning...

Paris, here we come!

posted by Jason @ 11:04 am