Leaving Rome

Rome has been amazing. I have been traveling with a Canadian girl that I met in Cinque Terre and today she and I will be parting ways. Karen will be off to Florence and I will be headed to Bologna for the night, then off to Venice for the weekend. I have been overwhelmed by the culture of Italy. It has made me think so much about all of my time as a anthropology student. Traveling and feeling like a forgiener is such an essential expereince for understanding this world. Meeting fellow travelers has also been an eye opening expereince. I have found that there are more Austrailinas in the hostels in Italy than other English speakers, and most of them are traveling for at at least a year. I do come across Americans but at this time of year they are more likely to be students studying abroad.
A little about Rome... I visited the Roman ruins, colosum ... baths and temples converted into churches, every street corner there is either a church or a ruin and most times it is both. the Vatican was intense, St. Peters Basilica as over powering, I found myself feeling speechless and angry at the same time. Or maybe it was the belly ache I had from eating way too much gelleto for lunch. There were so much wealth in the Vatican it made me wonder I feel like I have become a bit desensitived to all of the history. But there is now doubt in my mind that Roma is a special place that I will always remember. I would love to come back some day with a lot of money so I could spend all my time in the fancy family restaurants eating my way through Italy. But it means that I will be back... Bella Roma...