When in Rome... [8/03-8/05]

When you go to Rome, part of what you do is walk around and take photos just like every other tourist.

And there is no shortage of tourists this time of year. They seem to outnumber the locals by a wide margin:

Of course very famous for its art & sculpture, this was one of the more absurd pieces I encountered. It appears to be a naked man wrestling with an octopus.... go figure.

Although I certainly appreciate the historical aspects of world famous art and architecture, I perhaps was a little more drawn to the seedier and contemporary installations. This entire block near the university neighborhood displayed some amazing graffiti art.

I put myself up in a fun youth hostel for 2 nights to be conveniently in the city center and had a lot of fun hanging out with fellow American travelers there. I was obsessed with getting some good pizza as well, and although I was told you have to go to Naples to get the best pizza, I took a stroll into the university district and found a busy blue collar pizza joint to get my pie on. It was the traditional Italian crispy crust style and quite satisfactory. The sidewalk setting was bustling with wandering troubadours and a drunk Bangladeshi yelling threats and insults at the waiters and patrons. I was half expecting a Godfather style ending to this disruption, but luckily for the drunk guy he was escorted away in a polite but stern fashion after he'd made enough of a scene.

Maybe Rome is losing its edge. After all, my old man waiter typed my order into an iPhone....