21 Thoughts on Rome

After spending a night in Venice and spending a lot of time on the train, we made it to the Eternal City. We are spending the most time in Rome than any other city on this trip, with 10 days here.

Rome invokes strong emotions in people. Anyone I know who has visited the city says it is one of their favourite places on the planet, and I have a few thoughts (and questions) on this place.

  1. Why is there a tiny shower and a bidet? Couldn’t there be no bidet and a bigger shower? I don’t understand bidets!
  2. Also, people shower for more than 5 minutes. Couldn’t there be a bigger hot water tank?
  3. How do Romans walk on cobblestone every day and not seriously injure themselves?
  4. Rome is disorganized chaos.
  5. Everyone is way more fashionable than me.
  6. A policeman is directing traffic? Huh.
  7. Yes, I want to consume all my favourite foods: coffee, pasta, pizza, cheese, gelato, and the cheapest and most delicious wine of life.
  8. Germany wins for cheap beer and Italy wins for cheap wine. I can’t get over how a bottle of wine is 1.69 euros (equivalent to $2.50 Canadian).
  9. Italian is a lovely language and much more easy to understand than Dutch or German.
  10. I could listen to someone saying, “Ciao! Prego! Ciao!” over and over.
  11. It smells like Florida and Mexico and spring in Canada and it’s bringing back wonderful memories. Although there is a lot of poop everywhere…
  12. …Like bird poop, dog poop, possibly human poop. It’s gross.
  13. It’s 15 degrees. In December. Mind blown.
  14. My Torontonian way of walking is definitely a lot faster than the very slow pace of the Romans.
  15. I know there is at least one person out there who wants my purse or what’s in it for whatever reason. But I won’t let that get in the way of enjoying myself.
  16. As much as I stick out as a tourist, so do the pickpockets and scammers.
  17. Selfie sticks are the new scam, but everyone who uses selfie sticks already has one.
  18. Being told “Silence!” over a loudspeaker in the Sistine Chapel was kind of hilarious.
  19. St. Peter’s Basilica is the mother of all churches. Literally.
  20. Italians arguing at each other in person or on the phone is the best thing I’ve ever witnessed.
  21. So many old things! Yay for history!

– Lauren

3 thoughts on “21 Thoughts on Rome”

  1. Bec says:
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    I loved Rome, one of my favourite European cities. The whole ‘be quiet in the Sistine chapel’ thing is such a laugh! There were guides loudly whispering information into their microphones while we were there. Also your comment about bidets made me laugh, I just checked into a hotel in Córdoba (Argentina) and there is a bidet in the bathroom here too, whhyyyyy?!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Lauren Hummel says:
      Reply

      Thanks for the comment, Bec! Yeah, still can’t wrap my head around bidets, but I’ve read online that some travellers have used bidets to shave their legs in. So maybe they are useful for people who come from places without them. Who knows.

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