Rome, Italy
We found Home Michele near the station, a nice pensione in a guy's fourth floor apartment. It cost 20,000 lire per person, which isn't bad. Becca took a shower while Lars and I found breakfast: some bread. Then we got cheese and turkey for lunch sandwiches, which we later ate in front of St. Peter's cathedral. We walked passed the Spanish steps on the way. It was a beautiful day.
The cathedral was painfully massive. We climbed the dome. On the way up a girl named Angela from Calabria, the southern tip of Italy, was going down. She stopped me to ask where I was from. I thought she said she studied in London. Later, I saw her at the top of the dome and I mentioned London, and she corrected me, and I thought she said she studied in Columbia. I was so lost. Later, I saw a map of Southern Italy that listed Calabria, which is where she studies really. She asked if Becca was my "girl," to which I said no. She asked "Just friends?" We both said yes. She was nice, and told me to have a nice day as I walked down, even following me down the winding cathedral stairs more. I ran into her again when I went up to get Lars. It is really embarrassing to have someone interested in me when Becca is around. I just hoped nobody was hurt by the incident. It was fun having an Italian person be a little interested in me. That is such a weird thing. I feel a little more as if I fit in and am not just a site-seer.
We went to the Vatican museum, which holds the Cappella Sistina. That was so amazing. The paintings were on every wall through the longest hallway to get there. The Cappella was crowded and loud, but the paintings by Michaelangello were brilliant and recently cleaned.
Then we walked to the coliseum. On the way we saw the Piazza Narbona and the Roman Forum. We entered the oldest cellar, over two-thousand-years-old. On our way to the Coliseum, an Italian woman and her daughter came up to me close, the daughter pulling on my camera, and the woman with a newspaper in her hand that she held in front of me. I felt the pulling hard on my camera, and then felt the woman's hand in my pocket. I said "No, no" in a very mothering voice, like they were both small children who had to be scolded gently. I don't know why I did not react more violently to someone trying to violate my physical space by robbing me. I guess it was well done, and I appreciated that they did not hurt me in their attempt.
I took a few pictures in the coliseum, as it was raining outside. We did not get to go all the way in because it was closed for the day. We took the metro to Termini for a pizza to bring back to our room with coke. Yum-yum. Later we went to the Spanish steps. We sang Rocky Horror Show songs for a long time. I put a hex on someone who tried to sell me flowers for Becca. Becca was looking for places to get her hair wrapped, but I don't think she'll do it after seeing all those teenagers on the square with wraps.
We went back to our pensione, where the bed was so perfect and comfortable. The room was the size of my Larsen dorm room, but had pictures of the owner of Home Michele all over, with his beautiful family. We had a few nice meals in that room, especially the pizza from today.
1994
I'm at T-Bocks at the end of the work day. I had dinner with Rachel at Subway, since she has a class where she has to sing and play piano for another singer. Today I feel like nothing happened. Lunch was at Magpie, where I had tortilla soup and a great cup of coffee. I talked to my mother, and she sounded so much better. She'll leave the hospital tomorrow.
I went to the Fitness Center when I got home and ran mostly, but worked out for an entire 2 hour period so I could watch LOST and V. What a great night. Rachel is tracing drawings for Theatre design class. I had a wonderful night. I wish I had more of a desire to work out all the time. I'm excited that tennis season is upon us. I can't wait to start playing tennis with Andrew.
2010