Day 2: Roma in the rain

Jetlag: 1, me: 0. I woke up at about 5am (Rome time) and was up for a bit. My Chinese eye mask would have helped but it was down on the main floor and I didn't feel like climbing down my ladder (one of these says I will write about the loft I am styaing in). Luckily, Liz and her mom were exhausted too and I got to sleep until 10:30. The first stop was the farmacia for headache meds and decongestants for Liz’s mom and Liz, respectfully. Then off to the little café where we get free breakfast. I had a café macchiato, yogurt, and a chocolate cornetto (croissant) just because they were all free. The plan for the day was to walk by St. Peter’s on the way to Villa Borghese (the big park) and then hang in the park, but as we crossed back over the river, it began to rain. So we did what you are supposed to do in Italy; eat. There was a great salad bar place and it had wifi! In BA they had wifi everywhere, but here things are a bit more antiquated. For a developed country, things feel more traditional than they did in the developing countries I just spent time in. We learned about how hard it is to start a business in Argentina. Is it just as hard in Italy or are they just not interested in opening modern businesses (read: lazy)?

The rain eventually subsided and we continued on to Via del Corso to do some shopping. We stopped at my favorite accessory shop and of course Liz and I found some ridiculous jewelry. We didn’t do too much damage but we did take notes of where we want to go back. We picked up a bottle of Prosecco on the way home to celebrate Liz’s mom’s last night in Roma, and then played Pheonix's Rome as we drank it.

As you can see, I'm trying to become a more sophisticated blogger by using hyperlinks and pictures. As a marketer extraordinaire(cough, cough), the lack of pictures and logos was really getting to me. Unfortunately, Paula Ecklund's info management class did not prepare me for the nuances of blogging, or for anything else, so I will be teaching myself as I go.

For dinner we set out to find a seafood place that was mentioned in my Time Out Rome book; however the book is two years old and the resto was closed. We wandered for a bit and almost fell for a tourist trap until we took a fortuitous left turn and found a great little place called ai Fienaroli. Our waiter was cute in that "I'm eurotrashy and I have no idea what you are saying to me but I have a cool fauxhawk and diesel jeans on" kind of way. He was very nice and helped us pick out a bottle of A Mano Primitivo from Puglia (that was for you Scotty) that Liz and I had no problem finishing off. Dinner was tagliolini with sausage, mushrooms, and peas, Liz had spaghetti with saffron and shrimp, and her mom has sea bass with truffled potatoes. Her mom came to the sad realization that she doesn't like truffles. How can that be? How do we like in a world where one doesn't like truffles? I just don't understand. I could get deep and philosophical about the world we live in right now, but I will refrain. I know that the world is imperfect to say the least, but in Italy it is all about finding the simple pleasures in life: good friends, good food, and good wine.

On another note, my parents are moving to the Bahamas tomorrow. I'm proud of my mom for giving up the luxuries for suburban life for the island life. No manis, no pedis, and no Whole Foods. Hopefully soon there will be a Fuqua reunion on Deep Water Cay.