Last Day Pt 1

It’s 7:40 am on Tuesday 21 October 2008. I’m up writing one of my last blogs from one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Let me put this out there: I don’t want to leave. I’m sitting here drinking my cuppa, a habit I picked up in the UK, listening to Barenaked Ladies, “If I Had $1,000,000” and writing my blog.
I’ve been in Roma for 2 weeks now and have completely fallen in love with this City. This city is very small, but completely beautiful and just so full of history that America just doesn’t have. Cliff and I have gone to almost all the ‘famous’ sites in this city. The day we went to Florence, we were so close to seeing Michelangelo’s David but didn’t get to see it due to time constraints. That is one of my major disappointments. My other disappointment is that I completely forgot to look to see where di Vinci’s Last Supper was. I wanted to see that so bad, especially with the history surrounding that masterpiece. This city or country rather, is beautiful. I mean, this is Roma Italia for crying out loud. So far, Cliff and I have visited the following places:
• Vatican
• St. Peter’s Basilica and Square
• Forum
• Colosseum
• Palatine Hill
• Santa Maria degil Angeil (beautiful church and site of some of the old ruins)
• Fontana di Trevi
• Spanish Steps
• Largo di Torre Argentina: Roman ruins and a pound
• Pantheon

Please keep in mind that these are just a few of the places that we visited. Like I keep saying, this place full of history. I could stay here for a zillion years and still not get to see everything here.
Like I said, Cliff and I have been here for the full 2 weeks. This has been 2 of the best weeks of my life. Cliff says he’s had a great time but he’s ready to get back to his couch, bed and connivances that he’s grown to love & expect. I, on the other hand, only really miss my water pressure and dryer.
This trip has been a trip of a lifetime. I realize that not many people get to make this trip before they’re older. Hell, Cliff’s parents are with us and this is her first time out of the country and she’s well into her 50’s. I’m 28 and I’ve already been to 2 countries which sucks. I’d like to have gone to at least 10 by the time I’m 30. I may have to hit Canada and some of the Caribbean Islands to get my 10. But I know this is a trip of a lifetime.
Someone at work told me that if I go to Italia, I’m going to come back a changed person. I believe that he’s right. I may not be a changed person in the sense that he’s talking about, but I think I’ve changed. After I get home, the first thing I’m going to do is buy cloth bags so I can use my own bags when I buy groceries, I’m going to cut down the portion sizes at the house, sodas are going to become non-existent in my house, and we’re going to do better at exercise. Since we’ve been here, Cliff and I have both lost weight. In one week, I’ve lost over 10 kilograms and Cliff has lost 2.5 belt notches. This was after we’d been here for a week. We’ve been eating lunch and supper and really healthy at that. This country makes me realize exactly how wasteful Americans really are. Like I told my friend Mel, the American motto is: “The Bigger The Better” and I truly believe that. I can’t go back to the American lifestyle. When I go to another country, I generally take something back with me. When we went to the UK, I picked up the language and a couple of habits: hot tea in the afternoon and with my meals. Here, I’ve picked up that we’re wasteful and I’m going to my best to rectify that in my own household. Enough for 8:15 in the morning. Must go shower and brush teeth.

Ciao