When in Rome

I have been waiting since the release of Anchorman in 2004 to make my way to Italy and do something ridiculous only to justify it by saying “When in Rome”.  (Mom and Dad: here is the link to the movie clip to help you understand this reference http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOA_-3nzgno)

The more countries I visit the more I learn about other cultures. Actually that’s a lie. The more countries I visit the more I learn about Australia. It’s amazing how a country of 20 million people can be everywhere. I am now in my 7^th country and 10^th city and have yet to stay in a place that doesn’t have any Aussies. Rome was no exception. I stayed at the Yellow hostel not far from the main train station and spent my days there with an amazing group of Canadians, Australians and a Brazilian and a Jordanian for a little diversity. The group included Ali, Bizzy, Will and Bethany from Canada, Andrew, Tom and Jack from Oz, Husam from Jordan, Tiago from Brazil and last but not least the foul mouthed and highly entertaining Brook from Perth (yes, I realize Perth is also in Australia). I made reference to temporary best friends in a previous post and this was no exception. It took a matter of minutes before we were making fun of each other and having a blast as if we’d all been friends for years. I took some time off from the crew during the day to take a walking tour of what remains of ancient Rome. I’m really glad I took the tour as our guide gave us the dirty and entertaining history of the Empire. Most of the ruins are exactly that, ruined! It’s tough to imagine their glory from the height of the Empire’s power. The stories she provided helped my imagination get to a place where the broken marble and stone transformed into the glorious buildings they once were. The tour also peaked my interest in the history of the Roman Emperors. These guys were absolutely nuts and it’s amazing how successful the Romans were in spite of the clowns running the show. The Coliseum was impressive, the Pantheon is an amazing structure and the Sistine Chapel lived up to the hype. I really enjoyed the majority of my Roman sight-seeing, although I will say that getting into the Sistine Chapel was not my favorite part. It felt like I was in Ikea as the Vatican museum forces you through dozens of exhibits and multiple line-ups before you get anywhere near the reason you showed up in the first place. After spending my days getting cultured it was back to the hostel to meet up with the gang for several nights of tasty food, gelato, drinking games and an around the world tour of shots. The nights were filled with stories, laughs and great people. On Monday AM I said goodbye to the Yellow, the city of Rome and the amazing group of people I had just shared several days with. It’s sad to think I may never see any of them again, but at the same time it was lucky that we all arrived at the same location at the same point in time. When in Rome…party with Aussies and Canadians!