Allora, piu calcio

Sean has been playing in various soccer matches lately and tonight he invited me to come along to watch. I decided to go because it was a beautiful day to be outdoors and I wanted to check him out on the field and support the team. The public transportation was way out of sorts today due to the Roma Marathon (which we watched earlier in the day and was very inspiring), so we rushed over to the nearest metro by foot, since there were no buses, and took the longest route possible to an area of Rome totally new to both of us. With the help of 3 friendly old ladies, about 5 other random locals on the street, several metro workers, and a handful of homeless Romanians lighting fires in trash cans, we found our way to the field. I was sweaty and tired before we even arrived.

Sean met the other players in the locker room and then we all headed out to the field. I sat in this little “dug out” among all the player’s bags and jackets, and was asked to help out by shouting “cambio!” every 5 minutes. I was a little nervous about my role, and didn’t really understand why I was doing this, until half way through the game I realized I was telling them to change goalies. Sean is a beautiful soccer player, and I was so proud when he scored a goal, I clapped and said, “bravo!” The other players ranged in skill, but Sean seemed to be the most graceful. I noticed how dramatic Italians can be, shouting swear words, and “Mamma Mia!” and I was slightly afraid some might start crying at some points in the game. One guy, who seemed to have had his fair share of pasta in his life, actually kept getting hit in the face by the ball, and I couldn’t help but feel bad for him. As the sun started going down, the chill in the air grew almost unbearable. I huddled in my little cave on the sideline and bundled up and enjoyed the game very much.

Villa Pamphili

A few weeks ago we discovered an amazing park called Villa Pamphili. It is like a diamond in the rough, water in the desert, a blanket on a cold night, a bright green oasis in the middle of an over-crowded, dirty city. The park goes on for miles and miles, and is all the green lushness you could ever want; complete with incredible fountains, petite flowers and enormous cypress trees scattered throughout the emerald grass. A lovely lake sparkles in the middle of the park while big white swans glide across it, and a small golden church even sits tucked away amongst the trees with bells that sing on the hour. The park is full of other runners, joggers, and beautiful Italian families and babies playing and laughing and living the life we came here for. The sun drenched the park one afternoon we went on a long run, and I felt like the park was almost magical. I stumbled upon an alcove where half-naked, Italian men around the age of 80 sun-bathed and tanned their already dark, brown skin. I giggled and jetted past them as the lake came into my view. I wasn’t sure if I was running for exercise, or running like a child runs from the excitement of such a beautiful setting.

I love "I love shopping"!

Last night Sean (reluctantly) and I went to the cinema on the famous Via Del Corso, to see the original version (in English!) of “I Love Shopping”, which is the title translated from “Confessions of a Shopoholic”. Yesterday was opening day here in Rome, and having been an avid reader of all of the books in the Shopoholic series I was so excited to find out that the original version was playing here in the center. It was so nice and relaxing to be able to watch a movie in English - understanding 100% of a film is something I have always taken for granted before living here. I highly recommend this movie, I laughed through the whole thing, and I even heard Sean laughing at some parts too. It was a very cute movie and I thought the casting was very true to the books. Only problem is now I want to go shopping.

The weather has been incredible lately. We have been able to shed all of our bulky layers, and enjoy the bright, warm sun during the day, and even warm nights. It’s almost as if Spring just arrived over night. Little flowers are starting to bud all over the city, the birds are chirping, the tourists are arriving and the city is springing back to life. I found a safe place for me to start running again - meaning safe from any insane Italian drivers - called Circo Massimo. This is an ancient stadium - a site of public games and festivals from the 2nd century BC, and a perfect open area to go for a nice run! Funny to be jogging in a place where the ancient Romans used to hold chariot races and things like that. It has felt great to get my body moving again after 5 months without my beloved 24 hour fitness.