Wherever I May Rome

This has been a tough weekend to be in Rome with the national observances, people on Spring Break, and the Roma Marathon. The fact that I was here over the weekend also made for a very busy stay. Oh, and I forgot to mention that these past two days in Rome have been very clear and hot. This has been great, but also makes for more people who want to be out and about. I want to mention something first before I talk about the day because I don't want to end on a bad note. To put it simply, the more sights I see in Rome the more I love the city. The more people I meet (with some exceptions) the more I won't miss it once I leave. I really hate to say this because my experiences to date with people have been so good and I've always had the impression that Italians were friendly and welcoming. Well, it's not only the locals, but the tourists, gypsies, and panhandlers that drive me nuts. I won't go into too much details about my experiences, but across the board I can't seem to get a handle on communicating with anybody while I've been here.....even in the hostel. Here are some thoughts:

1. I never really had an easy time ordering food in shops and cafes'. While there are exceptions it has always been a hassle.
2. At the hostel the people have been very unfriendly and unapproachable. The people who work there and the backpackers as well.
3. For the life of me I could never quite navigate the trains. Mainly, they have signs pointed in the completely wrong directions when you try to exit or change lines. Also, most every time I arrived at the platform I was in seconds of missing the train. It got to be silly.
4. There is no such thing as personal space here. People shove and squeeze right next to you on the train.
5. There has been a mass amount of people while I have been here. So very busy! So much, that it really takes away from the city.
6. There are these guys dressed up in Roman clothes that will find people with cameras and then grab them by the arm and pull them to have your picture taken with them just so they can try to solicit money from you. A girl in a hostel once told me that they tried to charge her 30 Euros per person in the photograph.
7. There are these guys with roses that go up and hand roses to the girls and then turn to their guy to get some money from them.
8. There are guys who walk around with lanyards and will stop you and try to put a lanyard around your finger and explain some bull-shit story about it being a friendship thing and then try to get money from you.....and you can't get the damn thing off.
9. I saw guys follow tourists around begging for money and they wouldn't leave the people alone.
10. There are gypsies who carry babies on their chest in a harness. They will see someone holding a bag and then toss the baby into tourist's arms and their instinct is to drop the bag and catch the baby. The gypsies will grab your bag and run. The "baby" in the carrier is usually a doll.
11. I saw a gypsy on a train who was standing next to me and she'd go up people and sit right next to them trying to make room and then she'd get up and repeatedly spit on the window of the train.
12. There are some gypsies on the train to will play music and then go around with a cup to collect money. Then they will get off and board a new train.
13. I saw a gypsy with a basket with a single Euro on it. Someone came by and put a couple cents in the basket. When the person walked away the gypsy took the cents and put then in a compartment under the basket where there was a bunch of other money. A single Euro was left on top of the basket and she continued begging.
14. A friend told me to try a fried mozzarella ball with zucchini. Andrea gave me the name of a place to find one called, "La Casa Del Suppli". When I go in they were out. The man said, "I have mushroom or peas". I said, "Mushroom please". He laughed and said, "No I have mushrooms or peas". I said, "yes, mushrooms". He got frustrated and just put the fried ball on the counter. I paid and left. When I bite into this thing it was peas and rice. I had to toss it....I really hate peas and it tasted pretty gross.
15. I was in a gelato shop. I asked for a small cafe' flavored gelato. The lady says, "3 Euro" and exclaim, "It's 3 Euro for the small gelato?" and she says, "Yes". So, I really wanted a gelato so I just figure that I'd pay it, and then she asks, "What flavor?" and I said, "Cafe'" and she waits and says, "What else?" and say, "Just cafe". She says, "You get 3 flavors." I said, "Just cafe is fine" and then she prepares my gelato and says, "One Euro fifty". It was so odd.
16. I was in a pizza restaurant and I'm waiting in line. I make my way to the front and then they start getting the orders of the people behind me completely refusing to acknowledge me. I standing there in the "I'm next" position with my hand up over the counter and still they kept taking the orders of the people behind me. I ended up leaving and going to another pizzeria down the street.
17. I'm at the train station where I was standing in line a while to make a reservation for a ticket out of Rome. When it's my turn to go up to the ticket guy he puts the "Terminal Closed" sign down right in front of me. He doesn't even look at me or say anything, he just walks off. I get to another guy and he can't help me because he needed to see my EuRail Pass. It was across town at the hostel. I've never had to present my EuRail pass when making a reservation before.
18. I got a pizza and beer for dinner one night and took it back to the hostel. The beer they gave me was HUGE. I turned to the only girl sitting there and offered to pour some in a glass for her because I didn't wanted to drink it all. She scoffs and says arrogantly, "No, I'm running a marathon tomorrow". I jokingly said, "Oh, then I'll out the bottle in the fridge and you can have it for breakfast tomorrow". She was not amused.
19. When you walk in the hostel people will be chatting and you walk by and greet them and they completely stop talking to each other stare at you and then go back to their conversations.

So, there is more weird oddities, but I've already shared more than I wanted too. The important thing to remember that is while I had all of these experience that did make me extremely frustrated....I didn't let it take away from me enjoying Rome. I really enjoyed Rome don't get me wrong. I suppose there is some sort of cultural barrier or maybe I just came at a bad time. Also, I do know that I don't like large crowds because I get very claustrophobic.

Anyway, my day started with going to the Vatican early. I wasn't planning on going back, but Andrea recommended that I see the Cupola. It was 5 Euro to walk the 551 steps to the top. A pretty tough climb. The view was beautiful! I also walked around the Basilica and tombs of the past popes. The Basilica in particular is by far the largest and most beautiful Basilica I've seen on the trip. HUGE! I actually spent the better part of the morning there looking around and enjoying the views from the Cupola.

Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano

Saint Peter's Square

I made my way to Gianicolo Hill for a nice walk along the park and for some more good views of Rome. I walked into an area of the city where there were all these little side streets and alleys. It felt like a small town. It was still pretty touristy, but not nearly as bad some of the other areas. I had a nice stroll and found a pizza shop that Andrea recommended called, "La Boccacea". Andrea said that he loves pizza and eats it everyday. Oh, I which I could do that and look as fit as him. Crazy! Well, I got a pizza and beer and enjoyed them walking around this small area. Andrea said that you can drink openly in public so I fun walking around with my beer in hand just because I could. I felt like a rebel! Ha! I made my way down Trastevere and found Andrea's Restaurant where the cooking classes are held. It was mid-afternoon and the restaurant was closed it looked like the were in the middle of a class. I didn't want to bother them so I make the long walk to find the Fontana Di Trevi. I stopped at the Pantheon once more since it was on the way. Such an amazing structure! When I got the fountain it was swarmed with people. SWARMED!!! I didn't stay long because it was too much for me. Now, there is this thing you do where you sit next to the fountain and toss a coin over your shoulder and into the water. If you toss one coin you will return to Rome. Tossing two coins means you will find your love in Rome. Tossing three coins means that you will find your love and get married in Rome. At that point in my trip I decided not to toss any. Again, I've enjoyed Rome, but if I never return it wouldn't be a travesty. I'm not saying that cynically either. Rome is fantastic! Just at that point in the day I was pretty sick of the mass amount of people.

Fontana Di Trevi

Fontana Di Tourists

At the hostel I ended up meeting this couple (Steven & Liz) from Canada. They really made the last part of my trip enjoyable. They were so much fun to talk with and their experiences with people in the city and especially people in the hostel were almost exact to mine own. They both had an incredible sense of humor and it really made me feel like I wasn't crazy or being overly observant or judgmental of Rome. Steven was hooked on the latest news on Charlie Sheen and showed me some funny interviews and songs that were assembled on YouTube. So funny! I really wish I met Steven and Liz earlier when I arrived in Rome. I think they would have made my overall experience much better.

You know, I've found that it is easier to meet people in the smaller towns than it is the larger ones. I was also thinking about the people you meet along the way and how they mold your experience. I talked with my sister Heather on Skype today and she made the same observation before I mentioned it. The main thing is that you can't let anyone dictate how you feel about a place. It's hard among the gypsies, tourists, and odd encounters with locals that might hinder you judgment, but it's the encounters with the good locals, friendly tourists, and awesome backpackers that make your experience more enjoyable. Focusing on the small positive parts of your experiences will make the negative ones less important in the grand scheme of things. I'll try to remember that from here on out.

This morning I woke-up early. Took the metro to Barberini, walked down Va Del Tritone, approached Fontana Di Trevi, and tossed a single coin over my shoulder and into the fountain.

Rome, I will be back!

Arrivederci!