When in Rome....

This past month has certainly flown by. I think that that was helped by the recent travels I took with the Spanish crew (my name for these people always changes. What good is a couple of spanish people to me if I can't find a reasonable pet name to call them? Oh well.) Yaiza, Ilde and myself planned to disembark to Italia, for a two-week whirlwind of cultural adventure. The day we were going to leave, Miami Vice also decided it would be a good opportunity to get in some reminiscent beach time. We left that night for Florence.
We spent 3 or 4 days in Florence. A beautiful city, and unbeknownst to its inhabitants, part of the 51st state of America. Seriously, I don't think I've seen that many Americans since being IN America. It was crazy! I assume, though, that I was being a little too judgemental towards them, as I supposed that most of them were complete morons, who didn't know a thing about traveling, etc. I think I was too harsh on my fellow expatriates, as if I thought that I was the only mentally elevated one who saw the light on the other end of the Atlantic tunnel, and that they had just stumbled upon it with blind luck. Whatever. I still enjoyed Florence, and the vast amounts of cultur, food, and rejuvinating warmththat it supplied. Plus there were alot of weirdos....
The next stop was Salerno. This is a town just south of Naples, with Pompei marking a good halfway point between the two. We met a friend of Spain's, or should I say they rendezvoused, and I was introduced. Ana is her name, and she played quite a good host. While there, we devoted one day to Naples, and another to Pompei. First, Naples. It was a dirty city. Narrow streets and heaps upon heaps of garbage. Even in the most touristy of it's plazas and byways, trash bags and debris danced in the wind. It was ugly. I had thought, in my mind, that it would be somewhat more inviting, and less overwhelming, seeing as it is talked about in books with so high a regard. The way that the streets are set up, it feels as if the buildings are swallowing its inhabitants alive. The traffic there was incredible as well. So many cars, so much traffic. Plus, I think I'm going deaf from all the car horns I heard, not just in Naples, but everywhere I wentin Italy. The next day was spent in Pompei, on the opposite side of Vesuvius (physically and, in a way, symbolically). One full day was necessary to take in all of Pompei, because there was just so much to see. This once was a thriving Roman city, afterall. It was incredible to walk among the ruins of the infamous city, as well as to gaze upon the bouldered roads, and see the indents left by years and years of ancient cart traffic. It was a glorious place.
The last stop was Rome. The birthplace of western civilization, and so on. We came with Ana in tow, and said good-bye to Miami Vice. Rome was a 4 day extravaganza, that was a delight to all of my senses. There was just so much art, so much history, just SO MUCH to see. Places and people I had studied in Latin were before me in tangible marble, brick, bronze, and every other element. Ther were statues of the great men, and women, who impacted Rome, buildings older than my country, still standing tall, carrying the burden of excellence atop there rubble. I walked the paths where plebians and patricians alike had traversed, as well as a millenia of of tourism. Rome was a dream come true, the perfect example of what civilization should be. It still has a thriving culture, filled with precious art, and delicious food, and a past that has never died. Plus, alot of weirdos. And spanish people.
I will leave my musings on these people and places for a later post, because I think it could take me forever to put to electronic paper the thoughts and experiences I had while in Italy.