Language isn’t so bad…

So, I’ve now purchased an ice cream in a waffle cone and later a coke. I should say “una coke per favore, normale… grazie” They’re small interactions but they give me a sense of satisfaction. 🙂

I’m sticking with the idea of staying with the locals. After much walking I found a park full of people just sitting around. I think there’s something going on in the park tonight, so I’ll stick around for a while to see if it’s something cool.

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Now, an update on the day’s earlier happenings…

The flights here were quite good. No real issues. It wasn’t too cramped and enjoyed the novelty of the travelling socks. I expected the in-flight movies to be better so disappointed there. It wasn’t a big deal though ‘cos I had my iPod and so I listened to music and watched “The Prestige” and “X-Men”. I also played a couple hands of Poker and some Mahjong. I stand behind my previous statements regarding the new Linkin Park album… I think it’s brilliant, I love the eclectic style. Otherwise I slept, only going for a small wander once during the second leg. The food was quite good too and makes me think that if you sit and enjoy the whole experience then it shouldn’t be so bad.

In my travel diary I affectionately refer to those in the same row as me on the plane as my “row friends”. We had a good relationship. Didn’t engage in too much conversation and even though I was in the aisle seat they’d both just jump over me to save the hassle, how nice is that. It was funny after Singapore when the busy cleaners, affectionately called “oom-pa-loompa’s”, deposited 5 too many blankets on my row friend’s seats. We put them all on this British girl’s seat. Her reaction was most amusing. 🙂

The airline resolved the screw up with my connection in Heathrow by moving me to a 9:10 flight… saving me a 3-hour layover.

When I arrived in Rome, I spotted some people with Insight visitor stickers on their shirts. My travel agent was right, nothing screams louder than canary yellow. Finding them meant my ride to the hotel was taken care of without hassle. It was weird cos the 15 who were on the shuttle bus were going to six different destinations, six different tours starting over the next few days. Spoke to a nice Canadian couple who hadn’t traveled overseas previously. They were nice. I know this is a gross generalisation but it’s funny listening to particular Americans, their accent can be quite loud and piercing… I’m sure it’s not all of them. I don’t think they realise though that when there are groups of people, you are more likely to hear the Americans than you are any other. Maybe it’s how they’ve learnt to resonate the sounds. Odd isn’t it. I was reminded of my Journalist friend from this morning’s breakfast when we were talking about various accents.

After check-in I tested the in-room safe… Shut up Stuart and Jason! 😀 You never know, that’s all I’ll say about that. But thanks for the call this afternoon. Good to hear some friendly voices, well-wishes and some healthy laughing at what will likely be classified as a “Isreal-ism”.

Now this might come across as me having led a sheltered life, but there’s a bidet in my bathroom. I’ve never seen one before in real life, but I guess it must be. The toilet-shaped device faces opposite, is shorter than the toilet and there’s a tap for filling it up. I can’t even fathom how one would go about using such a thing. I’ll give it a miss. 🙂

After freshening up I made my way into the city… It’s been cool. I’ve enjoyed the peace, punctuated by sirens. 🙂

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The people are still here in the park, in fact there may be more, but it’s getting quite cold now the sun is going down. I may have to leave to avoid freezing to death… I forgot to pack a coat… Damn it.