ROMA, the finale -
We arrived back in Rome with bells on. Following a suggestion from Ricky Tetrault and David Barrett, we headed over Harry's American(?) Bar at the top of Via Veneto, the rather chic area of the city. Dave highly recommended the Bellini's, so €16 later, we found ourselves lounging in the swanky spot, slowwwwly sipping our delicious drinks. Perhaps more enjoyable than the beverages was the ambiance. We had front-row seats to a couple of "performers," who basically sang karaoke with a terrible electric keyboard back up and laptop teleprompter - mind you, all set atop the beautiful grand piano! Picture the couple from Waiting for Guffman who think they are the best singers and actors, and add Italian accents and awful gaudy outfits, and there you have it... I was lucky enough to be serenaded by the man to the "Unchained Melody," but the worst was when the woman put on sunglasses and swayed her head back and forth like Stevie Wonder, singing "I Just Called to Say I Love You." Ohhh we had some good laughs! We considered accepting the invitation of three older Italian men to join them for drinks, in the hopes of getting another Bellini, but we couldn't bring ourselves to stoop that low... Always an adventure!
To cap off our time in the ancient city of Rome, what better to do than visit the Colosseum, perhaps the most widely recognizable landmark of all? Today we walked over to check out the ruins and had a wonderful afternoon taking it all in. How wild to think that this place is still standing after thousands of years, and in a few days, we will be in one of the newest cities in the world (Dubai)! We have thoroughly enjoyed our time in Italy, and really celebrated it with a delicious lunch of olive paste & tomato bruschetta, pasta with vodka sauce, caprese salad and cappuccinos.
OH, and talk about a small world after all -- we just ran into two girls traveling together, one who went to Hobart with me, and the other went to Middlesex with Cam! How nuts is that?! Ciao for now!