Arrivederci Roma - Hola Sitges, Spain

Hola from Sitges, Spain!

A lot has happened since I last wrote. First and foremost, congratulations America on your choice for our next president. You have made the world very happy. Everyone I´ve encountered is overwhelmingly in favor of Obama. Its the first thing people bring up when theylearn I am from the US and it´s nice to be proud to be from there. That hasn´t always been the case over the past 8 years. :) And my parents are pleased that I won´t be seeking refugee status and applying for citizenship in Italy or Spain.

On Monday we ended our day in Rome at the Piazza de Spagna, climbed the Spanish steps, grabbed some gelato, and had a late dinner in Trastevere. It was awesome. Marta departed for Torino at midnight. The following day I was scheduled to fly to Barcelona. Fortunately there was an Internet Pointe below where I was staying, and fortunately I decided to check my email before leaving. Bravofly.com, the website I used, had canceled my flight reservation due to a technical error on their part. Having to get out of the place I was staying and wanting to get out of Rome, I decided I would still head to the Ciampino Airport to see if Ryan Air had my info anywhere. At this point I am lugging my giant American pack around.

The travel gods were certainly not on my side on this day. The plan Marta and I had created for me to take the Underground to the train station, then the train to the airport was all wrong. After a few random stops on the Underground and some less than helpful attendants in the booths, I finally made it to Termini, the central train station. From there a helpful police officer told me to to take the shuttle bus to Ciampino. The shuttle bus drivers were on strike. Awesome. I finally abandoned the idea of going to the airport with no real flight reservation, and checked my bag at the train station so I could walk around the city with just my day pack. I strolled around, grabbed some food, and just enjoyed the city a bit more with no real plan, no place to stay that night. Then came the worst thunderstorms ever....southeast US style...Florida style.....explosions, streaking lightining, and walls of rain. Awesome. At this point I decide to inquire with hotels as I passed by, it was after dinner, and it is the low season, everyone was willing to negotiate. I found a reasonable rate and checked into a hotel near Termini. The room was beyond description - if Devo made hotel rooms, this was it...think Sprockets from SNL. Purple walls, purple carpet, plastic modern furniture, bright red bathroom, stainless steel counter tops....I took pics...it was laughable.

That evening I found another Internet Pointe after searching in the rain for a while. I booked a flight to Barcelona for Wed night. From here my lucked turned much better. I hit the hotel bar and Rome was playing Chelsea live. The game was being played in Rome and people were enthusiasitc. Rome won 3-1 and it was fun to watch a football (soccer) game with locals and other travelers. I then headed out for a very late dinner. I found a very quaint family restaurant, where I was the only real customer, just a couple of Italian guys hanging out watching football. The owner took very good care of me, asked if I was from the US and replied 'Country Roads take me home' in very broken English. It was funny. I had an amazing dinner with wine and talked to these guys the whole time. They loved that I knew Rome had won the game and we watched highlights. They asked about Obama. Then the owner grabbed an acoustic guitar and palyed John Denver´s Country Roads and Knocking on Heaven´s Door. It was classic! He didn´t really know the words so he just made the sounds he thought were the words. Bravo! It was good times.

Yesterday I strolled around Rome some more, had lunch, had gelato, the weather was sunny and warm. I hopped a train to the airport and my flight to Barcelona went well. I arrived in Barcelona a bit late, missed the last train and bus, and was forced to taxi from the airport to Sitges. I chose to stay in Sitges because after 5 rocking days in Rome I was ready for something a little more relaxed. From Sitges I can easily take the train into the city center of Barcelona. Sitges is a spainish beach town, its beautiful and very affordable given its the off season. http://www.virtourist.com/europe/sitges/Sitges_Spain.htm

Apparently in the summer this is a huge destination for the gay community. I´ll have to return in the summer for that action.

Today I am exploring Sitges. Tomorrow I will train into Barcelona to spend the day seeing the sights. From here I´m not sure where I´ll go, but I´ll probably stay here for 3-4 days. I have 8 days before I am to be on the olive farm in Tuscany.

Take care and give my best to everyone. Peace.