As the tears were welling up in my family members eyes, they watched me go through the security check in and wave back to them with a smile on my face from ear to ear, I knew they would miss me but more importantly I knew they were tears of joy and excitement for me, making the "goodbye" comforting instead of upsetting, and I love them with all of my heart for that. Walking through the airport with Eleni and Erin was so exciting, getting closer to our long awaited destination with every step. We got to our terminal and it ended up that Eleni and I were sitting next to each other in the emergency seats.... lots of legroom, what a great surprise!!! The flight was long but we got through it...thanks mom : ). Erin told us she had everything taken care of and there was a driver waiting for us with her name as soon as we walked out of the gate and that we would arrive at Campo de Fiori like "pimps"....well....there was no one to greet us, no driver, and not much pimpness. After standing in the same spot looking around in circles for 30 minutes, my paternal instincts arose and found us a safe way home. The cab ride was great, all of our heads were on swivels looking at everything around us, asking the driver what it all was and where we were...by the end of the ride "are we there yet" was an understatement. The cab driver seemed to like us though and even helped us with our luggage to the apparent. The apparent was great, right on Campo de Fiori, the room I am in is with Marco, Joey, and Owen and so far so good, we all mesh great!! Every night we hear the violin players and the people laughing and drinking, in the morning light floods our room and so does the smell of the sweet aroma in the air from the fresh produce of the market that is set up every morning at 7am and cleaned up by 3pm.
Settling was a fun, claiming beds and drawers, it took a while but as mature adults got it done no problem. Soon nightfall claimed the Campo and people started dropping like flies, claiming the were tired...but as an architect, that word should not even be in our vocabulary. So Joey and I decided to head out for the night. Going from bar to bar meeting all sorts of different people, making a name for ourselves the first night we were there. The nickname Spiro Rosso was also established that night...but that is a completely different story that will probably not be published along with the other adventure Joey put is through that night...needless to say we had a great first night. The second night was also a blast with us all going out to dinner and then a couple bars. The nightlife here is amazing, everyone is always out, always having a great time, always smiling. The atmosphere is so pleasant and vibrant at night; you can feel the energy as soon as you step out of your door. The Campo is filled with people from everywhere...Italians, Americans, English people (your favorite Rosette), and many more. Going to Italian bars is also so much fun, getting a taste of the culture along with dirty looks from grumpy Italian men, but there aren’t that many of them so it easy to ignore...I just wish the girls would look as much as the guys.
Every night is a different adventure, meeting new people, trying new things, and learning a little bit more about Italy and the people. I know we will get the hang of things very soon, we already are speaking Italian to everyone we can. Classes have also started, learning Italian and walking everywhere to sketch. The buildings are so incredible, instilling awe in all of us. You can see it our eyes, walking up to each site with cameras and sketchbooks in hande so anxious to take as many pictues as possible and sketch this amazing structure. So far we have been to the Pantheon and Campadoglio, both equally aweome but there is something about the Pantheon that just captivates me...the abilty these people had with the recouses they had just blows my mind, I have such an appriciation and fasinaction for the architecure and engineering, that all I can do is shake my head and admire the site with my hand over my mouth.
It is getting late and John and Duffy should be getting back from the store with groceries for dinner. We all cook, clean, and laugh together like the families we have back home. This truly will be a great experience that will never be forgotten and always retold and exaggerated to our family and friends that patiently wait for us back home. Until next time, buona nota e arriverderci!
