The Road to Rome

We spent the next day travelling to Rome pretty much all day. Flights from Paris to Rome were very expensive, so we had a connection in London before flying direct to Rome. From our Paris hotel door to our Roman hotel door, it took us a good 9 hours to make the journey, arriving at around 6:00PM Friday night, just in time for dinner. We didn't do much in Rome the first night other than go out to eat at a restaurant right near our hotel. We got some truly awesome pasta. You can see me reviewing the menu on the right. We didn't take a video of us ordering our dinner, but I'm pretty sure it looked like this:

To make the rest of this post brief, I'll just jot down our first impressions.

1. The stereotype about Italians speaking dramatically with exaggerated hand gestures is actually understated. It's like the Italians think they are going for an Oscar every time they open their mouth. It's hysterical. When we first arrived in Rome, the driver we had arranged to pick us up was arguing with another driver in his company. About what, I don't know since it was in Italian. However, given the tone of their voice and their body language, it appeared that nothing less than the fate of the world was at stake.
2. Rome is covered in graffiti. I bet if you stood still outside for a few minutes you would get spray painted on.
3. The food here is terrific. The pasta in particular is awesome.
4. A Roman would drive his car/scooter around inside your house if you let him. You should see the "streets" they drive on around here. They are no wider than a hallway inside your house, plus they have 3 million tourists on them. It's absurd. Picture Quincy Market on a busy summer afternoon. Now, shrink the street by 300% and throw in a bunch of taxis driving right down the middle. That's every Roman street you walk on.
5. Romans know less English than the French, who in turn know much less than the Dutch. However, everyone in the restaurant industry speaks enough English to take your order. Also, the Romans are better about translating their menu into English than the French.
6. You have never seen a person beg for money until you have witnessed an Italian beggar in action. I promise. You have also never seen a person with more afflictions than an Italian beggar. These people would have you believe that they are cross eyed, thalidomide babies who shake uncontrollably and have two club feet. They kneel on the street all day and literally cry for money.