First day in Rome...

...or should I say "premio dia a Roma"? I'm sure you're telepathically scolding me right now for confusing my languages and my countries, but hang on, I'm about to tell you something! You see, before I came to Rome, I thought the semester of Spanish I took in college and the three years I lived in Florida and resisted bilingual immerision were both worthless. Well, Ms. Conchita Rodriguez would be very proud of me today, because I actually feel like I know a shit ton of Spanish. See, strangely not a lot of people speak English here. It's strange to me because like, say, Dutch, Italian is only spoken in a very (relatively) small part of the world, I think here and Tunisia and maybe parts of Ethiopia. It would make sense that they would learn English, though I don't think they "owe" it to me per se.

Neither do they!

They do, however, speak Spanish, and necessity is the mother of invention, and let's just say that despite the 2398490384 words I've invented over the past twenty-four hours, I've held several conversations almost entirely in real Spanish and I couldn't be prouder of myself. That said, I can't wait until I'm in France and I can actually speak like a human being. Language barriers have a way of making even the most articulate people (yes, I did just give myself props) feel verbally retarded.

In other news, I love Rome. Love it. Love it. Love it, particularly the neighborhood in which my hotel is located. It's a strange confluence of tourism and working-class, clergy and laypeople also know as Ottaviani, which is only a few blocks from the Vatican. There is an energy here evocative of the trendier parts of Berlin though there's not really anything remotely trendy about this area. Or any of Rome thus far, actually, which is strange.

I walked by Teatro Sistina (where Tori is playing) yesterday and I'm pleased to report that it's tiny as hell and located in a very good area, just a short walk from the Spanish steps, or as they refer to them around here, Piazza di Spagna.

See, I am picking up some Italian!

I took a shit-ton of pictures yesterday and I hope to upload them soon, but the computer here at the hotel doesn't have a card reader and there's not any wireless connectivity here so far as I can tell. If anybody knows of any wireless hotspots near Ottiviani station (as I'd prefer not to bring my laptop on the Metro), let me know. Ditto on vegan grub. I'm actually about to head out the door in search of some Pizza senzo formaggio.

Ciao!