Lovers in Rome

The lovers of Rome are vast and plenty. Turn a corner at any time of day, anywhere in the city, and you can find two infatuated lovers staring deeply into one another's eyes. Whether it be on the grass in the park, outside of the Colosseum, waiting for the Metro, or even at the grocery store the romantics of Rome pay no attention to the idea of Public Displays of Affection! This idea not only extends to the locals of Rome, but also to tourists across the city as well. It must be the atmosphere of the city on a warm Spring night that brings out the affections of all the Romeos and Juliets. Maybe it's just a feeling or idea of togetherness and the ability to last forever that the ancient ruins thousands of years old portray to the romantics. Either way, if you are looking for a romantic trip to Europe, Rome may be the place for you.


Finding Romance in Rome!
Romance of Rome Video Game!

Stop & Smell the Roses

Today our walk through the Aventine hill lead us to a beautiful rose garden known as the Roseto Comunale. Mia explained that this rose garden contains hundreds of different kinds of roses and had used to be a Jewish cemetery

The tranquility within the rose garden created a pleasant atmosphere to get lost inside one's mind. One could barely hear the rough rumbling of traffic from inside of the garden. The cool morning breeze drifted through the rose bushes, bringing out the sweet scents from the rose petals. The New Haven rose, in my opinion, smelled the best with its fresh, delicate, but not overwhelmingly perfumed scent. Although some of the roses had already died because of the heat of the season, the picturesque rows of roses remained distinctively lovely.More information on Roses in Rome

Festa della Repubblica

Today marks the annual celebration of Festa della Repubblica in Italy.


In 1946, after years of governmental turmoil and World War II ended fascism, the people of Italy voted to become a Republic and exiled the monarchs that ruled the country who were known as the House of Savoys (Festa della Repubblica, 2009). Since 1948 a parade has been held every year on June 2 to celebrate the creation of the Italian Republic. We caught the parade as it proceeded past the Colosseum on Via del Fori Imperiali. "All Armed Forces, Police Forces, the Fire Brigade and the Italian Red Cross, along with some military delegations of the NATO and of the European Union, take part in the parade and in the deposition of the laurel wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier" (Festa della Repubblica, 2009). It is much like the celebration of Independence Day in the United States. Not being a citizen of Italy, nor have any Italian blood made the parade not a especially meaningful to me in regards to Italy (though I did think about how I will make it home right before the Fourth of July), but it was interesting to see the different factions of the Italian military.

Here is a view of last year's parade:





Information gathered from:

"The “Festa della Repubblica” is the Italian national holiday." Welcome to Italian Week 2009 in Brisbane - THE ITALIAN FESTIVAL. 02 June 2009 .

Street Vendors

Street vendors are all over the tourist areas of Rome. In true touristic fashion, these vendors are extremely over-priced. The vendors do not even attempt to give a sales pitch for their products, because they know just by being located along Via del Fori Imperiali they will sucker hungry and thirsty tourists into buying their paninos, pizza, Pringles, Peroni beers, Ritz crackers, and Coca-Cola products (yes, you can buy beer right off the streets in Rome). If you find yourself along any of the tourist areas or main streets avoid these stands. Try looking down an alley or side-street where the prices are lower and the food is better quality. It is cheaper to look around a bit and prices can be unreasonable if you only go to the first spot you find. Last week we were near the Vatican and went to the first ristorante we found, and ended up paying $10Euro for pizza and $5Euro for a 500mL Coke--both tasted terrible.

Cinema Metropolitan

Tonight I went to the Cinema Metropolitan to see Angels and Demons with a few of my friends. The theater is located at the north end of Via del Corso, right near Piazza del Popolo. The movie was excellent and it was neat to see a movie that was actually filmed in Rome. Everytime a new location popped up on the screen I became excited because I have visited a lot of the sights. There were scenes at Piazza del Popolo, Piazza Navona, the Vatican City, St. Peter's Basilica, Santa Maria della Vittorio-- to name a few.

The movie theater had the most comfortable seats I have ever seen in a movie theater, and was relatively small with only four rows that had 15-20 seats in each row. The theater also offered paninis, beer, mixed alcohol drinks, and gelato at its concession stand. Prices were relative to those that can be found back home. If you are looking for a little piece of America in Rome, I suggest visiting a movie theater that plays American movies in the original version! It was a great time!

Giro d'Italia

Today marked the last leg of the 100th Annual Giro d'Italia cycling race.

The Giro, as it is known, is a three-week long road bicycle race that happens in May every year. The race is part of the Triple Crown of Cycling events, along with the Tour de France and the World Cycling Championship (Giro d' Italia, 2009). There are 21 stages throughout the race, one per day, and this year began on May 9, and finished today.

This year the race began in Venice, and the last leg of the tour ended through the Roman Forum right down the street from where I live! The total distance of the race this year was 3395.5 km, equivlant to 2109.9 miles! It was exciting to see all of the fans and cyclists around the streets today. As you can see a main straightaway of the race was right down the Via del Corso and the streets were packed from the Piazza del Popolo to the Piazza Venezia! The Via del Corso is a busy street as it is, so I'm sure that having the road blocked off for the race created traffic problems across the city, but on the flipside shop-owners received the most benefit from the fan-base that was drawn to watch the race from outside their shops.

This year's winner was Denis Menchov of Russia.


For more info on the race & picture of map taken from: http://www.bikeraceinfo.com/giro/giro2009.html