Here's a random guy kayaking on the Tiber. I found it picture-worthy because it's the first time I've seen anyone actually doing anything with the river. The Romans for the most part seem to have no use for the Tiber; they built their bridges across it and apparently have no interest in it. I read somewhere that they "turned their backs on their naughty river" after it flooded really badly several years ago. It seems unlikely to me that the people would still be holding a grudge, lol, but it's true that you never see any boats or anything.
I took this picture on Friday evening in Piazza del Popolo. I like piazzas, since they're very pedestrian-friendly, and often quite lovely as well. Good people-watching places, for sure.
Saturday's beach visit: a little cloudy and choppy. I never got a really good picture of the waves breaking, so this is the best I've got. It was perhaps not ideal conditions, but I assure you these people were having a ball, jumping into the waves and, of course, ignoring the lifeguards.
So that was this weekend. Today I just went to church for my last Sunday *sigh of regret* at Rome Baptist with my roommate Claudia. Then Renato, who couldn't eat lunch with us, took us out for cappuccino freddo (cold sweetened cappuccino) instead. It was very sweet of him. I asked him, "Isn't cappuccino a breakfast drink? I mean, don't people laugh at you if you drink it past noon?" (I had read that, in Italy, cappuccino is a travesty past 11 am.) He just grinned and said, "Oh yeah, I'm sure the guy who made it is laughing at us right now, but I love these things, so I don't care. I'll have it any time of day! With pizza, even! And you're Americans, so you have an excuse!" I loved it, too. It's like frappuccino, basically, only better. That's one thing I'll really miss about Italy: the espresso drinks. Here, it's the only kind of coffee you can get, and it's so much cheaper than in the US. My cappuccino at the cafè every morning is 0.70 €, or maybe $0.85 US. It's a sight better than a $3.50 one at Starbucks (tastes better, too, because they make it stronger)! Yeah, I'm kind of grossed out about the thought of going back to brewed coffee (uh-oh). And the cheap amazing pastries for breakfast...I'm feeling a bit nauseated at the thought of going back to dry cereal and Pop-Tarts for breakfast (uh-oh again). Ah well.
After our quick coffee with Renato, we said goodbye and went down for lunch to a place called Spizzico on Via del Corso. This place intrigues me, because it seems to be a strange mishmash of Italian and American cultures. It's the only place I've seen here (besides McDonald's) that even remotely resembles the American idea of fast food. The workers have their matching embroidered polo shirts, caps, and white plastic nametags (fortunately for me, Mauro spoke English), and the place has that industrial look to it. They even serve you your food on a plastic tray. I was also quite impressed with the fact that you could get french fries (although it was weird eating french fries with pizza), and the drinks weren't microscopic. My "grande" Coke was only slightly smaller than what would be a medium on the Tech campus. That's huge by European standards. But the place is still very, um, Italian. This means that the workers don't actually hurry (I'm not sure Romans know how to hurry), so you have to wait in line for quite a while. And, actually, you're not waiting in line because Italians don't do lines. They just kind of form a mob around cash registers and ticket booths and that sort of thing. You just have to hang in there, push, maybe throw a few elbows, and be patient yet assertive. Being polite just means you will wait forever, more than you're waiting already. And of course, you don't get refills on your fountain drink. (I'm sure if you asked, the Italians would be wondering why on earth such a gigantic drink wasn't enough to satisfy you.) So yeah...Italian fast food is a really weird experience, and not necessarily pleasant. What's the point of fast food if it isn't fast, right? (Although I admit, it tasted pretty good, especially the much-missed french fries.) It's just as fast, and less of a mob scene, if you just duck into the corner snack bar and get a pannini or a piece of pizza. Considering the circumstances, I don't see why any Italian would choose to go to McDonald's or Spizzico or anything like that, but who knows. :) Haha, I'm really not complaining though...it's certainly an interesting experience.
After lunch, Claudia and I waited an hour at the bus stop for our bus to come and take us to school. Ah, the joy of Roman public transportation. Let's see, what was that they said about the "joy of doing nothing"? Haha. Fortunately, I had no particular plans and therefore no reason to be stressed out about it. No place is perfect, right?
Well, that's about all the social commentary I've got for now. I do think I ought to mention that Rome is good for my health. I haven't had a single allergy issue or stomach bug, my freaky feet rarely bother me despite the fact that I'm on them quite a lot, I sleep like a rock, and I haven't had to use my asthma inhaler since the very first day I was here. In short, I've never felt better. I don't know what it is...must be something magical about the Mediterranean breeze...I seriously ought to live here. We should all pack up and move to Italy.
Maybe I'd even learn to speak Italian...
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