My own "When in Rome" story included flying there from London for a quick overnight jaunt, making friends with a couple of British girls at the Trevi Fountain, then meeting some off-duty Italian policeman on the Spanish Steps who invited us to a party a couple of hours outside of Rome where we danced until dawn barefooted on the beach. All in all, a pretty fun night! But that was in my younger, crazier days. This week, I'm just living vicariously through John. I think he's on his way from Croatia to Turkey now but here's a quick recap of his Rome trip.
When in Rome
by John Lusk on October 29, 2009 (read more at http://www.johnlusk.net/)
22 days ago I left my job. Today, I just about killed myself weaving in and of rush hour traffic on a scooter…in Rome! My, how quickly environments can change.
by John Lusk on October 29, 2009 (read more at http://www.johnlusk.net/)
22 days ago I left my job. Today, I just about killed myself weaving in and of rush hour traffic on a scooter…in Rome! My, how quickly environments can change.
Here’s the situation. I’m bound and determined to make the most of the next 2-3 months. I have a mini-bucket list of sorts, and a some of that list involves travel.
14 days ago I was cycling with my friend Russ and we decided that doing an Italy, Croatia, Turkey adventure would be a great way to spend a few weeks. Told my friend Jason about it that following evening and he’d never been to Croatia or Turkey before, so why not? 14 days ago we purchased tickets to Rome and are now holed up in an apartment near the Vatican that we found through some dude on ‘A Small World‘ (yet another social networking site).If actually booking the trip and making it happen within 14 days wasn’t spontaneous enough, Russ convinced Jason and me to rent scooters during our time here. Says it's the best way to see the city and not deal with all of the traffic issues. I have to say he’s right…, but damn, driving in this stuff is ridiculous. It seems like most of the ‘rules’ are merely suggestions and that the more aggressive you drive, the easier it is to actually survive. Our dinner hosts last night, Roberto and Paula, just about freaked when we told them of our intention to rent scooters. (Note: Roberto is an Italian friend of Jason’s whom he went to school with at U. of Washington). After spending a day on those things, I think we are absolutely nuts for making the call…but they're fun and it makes us look somewhat local.
14 days ago I was cycling with my friend Russ and we decided that doing an Italy, Croatia, Turkey adventure would be a great way to spend a few weeks. Told my friend Jason about it that following evening and he’d never been to Croatia or Turkey before, so why not? 14 days ago we purchased tickets to Rome and are now holed up in an apartment near the Vatican that we found through some dude on ‘A Small World‘ (yet another social networking site).If actually booking the trip and making it happen within 14 days wasn’t spontaneous enough, Russ convinced Jason and me to rent scooters during our time here. Says it's the best way to see the city and not deal with all of the traffic issues. I have to say he’s right…, but damn, driving in this stuff is ridiculous. It seems like most of the ‘rules’ are merely suggestions and that the more aggressive you drive, the easier it is to actually survive. Our dinner hosts last night, Roberto and Paula, just about freaked when we told them of our intention to rent scooters. (Note: Roberto is an Italian friend of Jason’s whom he went to school with at U. of Washington). After spending a day on those things, I think we are absolutely nuts for making the call…but they're fun and it makes us look somewhat local.
We’ll see if we survive the day tomorrow. In addition to renting the scooters, we’re trying to score tickets to a Lazio game. Again, Roberto and Paula think we’re freackin’ crazy for going to a soccer game in which the fans are known for beating each other up when their team isn’t doing so well. Lazio is currently one of the worst teams in the Itialian Serie A. Hang on…
Rome in Three Days
by John Lusk on October 30, 2009
We landed in Croatia last night and there’s no way I can summarize our entire Rome trip in one post. So in the spirit of brevity I’ll try to touch on the highlights…of which there are certainly a few:
Highlight #1: Scooter drag racing. Ok, we didn’t really drag-race, but given that we couldn’t sleep due to jetlag, Jason’s an amateur photographer and I was in dire need of scooter practice, we went on a 3-hour cruise of Rome from 1-4 in the morning. What an absolutely amazing experience. First, there’s literally nobody on the street. You can seriously haul (about as fast as 125cc’s can take you) through the streets and not worry about getting jacked by a crazy Smart Car driver. Second, you can cruise around to all of the big-time tourists attractions and visit when absolutely nobody is there. Seriously! We hit the Vatican at 2am, the Spanish steps at 1:30am, the Trevi Fountain at 3am, and the Coliseum at 4am. And not a soul was there but us. If you’ve been to any of these places you know that standing room only crowds are the norm, all the time. Other than a couple of polizei guarding the areas it was just the three of us. Jason brought his tripod so we’ve got very cool shots of these places….with no people. And last, there’s something cool about cruising around Rome, on a bike/scooter, when nobody else is on the streets. An awesome feeling of freedom and excitement, especially when you’re cruising amongst some way old stuff. I highly recommend trying to pull it off if you ever get a chance to visit the city. (You have to check out Jason’s picture of Rome at night!)
Highlight #2: A guided tour of the city. As an ex-Expedia exec, my friend Russ knows how to travel right. He’s been to a ton of places and when it came to Rome, he was absolutely insistent that we rent scooters. He was also insistent that we hire a guide to take us around on the scooters during one of our days here. Great call. Maria, our cute Italian guide, took us to a number of different places and gave an insiders perspective of the different historical places. We found ourselves back at the the Vatican and the Coliseum, but this time, we were able to add some historical perspective. We were also following her on the scooters, were able to truly experience what it’s like to weave in an out of traffic, go the wrong way on one way streets, turn left from the right lane and pretty much do everything like the Roman Scooter riders do. I am proud to say that I’m no longer a scooter novice.
Highlight #3: An Italian Serie A match. There’s no hiding the fact that I’m a huge soccer fan (futbol). Our stay in Rome was primarily based around going to either a Lazio or AS Roma match during our visit. Not only did we have an opportunity to go to a Lazio game (and btw, most Romans either love AS Roma or they love Lazio…and there is no love lost between the two sets of fans), but our friend Roberto set us up with corporate seats from his company. I’m pretty sure he made this happen for our own safety, as we entered through some VIP entrance and then took ourselves to a hospitality suite of sorts where we were fed and given unlimited alcohol. And thankfully, our seat section were protected by plexiglass and guards on both sides, so no fear on our part. The actual match wasn’t particularly impressive, but the crowd was incredible. Lazio lost the match to Cagliariand their fans boo’d, hissed and whistled the entire game…I actually thought the fans might attack their own players at one point. Have to give the Italians kudos for their passion…it truly is unique.
I could have used another week in Rome. We did as much as we possibly could over a 3 day period, but there’s still so much to do and see. Took the flight to Croatia last night and the last 18 hours have already provided enough fodder for the next post!
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