Apparently people like their soda very flat here. If you order a Sprite at a restaurant, first of all it will cost you upwards of $4, and basically you will get hydrated, slightly flavored sugar. I guess they like their water with bubbles and their soda without.
The traffic patterns in Rome are still a complete mystery to me. The "walk" sign seems to be more of a guideline than a strict rule. People pretty much cross the street whenever there seems to be an opening, and sometimes when it's your turn to walk, you better watch out or you might get hit by a bus. There also seems to be a very different concept here about what is a safe distance between a pedestrian and a car. Much more "intimate".
Graffiti is everywhere, including all over the sides of the subway trains. The Roman Forum has a big cat refuge and adoption program. People let their laundry dry from their balconies, next to the rooftop garden terraces.
There are lots of little pizza/pasta eateries along every major and minor street. Based on the number of restaurants around here, Italian life must revolve to a large degree around food. It's really funny to walk along the streets near touristy areas at night, because the people working at these places literally walk out to you and try to recruit you to come to their restaurants. And random accordion players will walk up to play a few tunes and then walk to your table and literally ask you for money. Some guy also walked up to our table within the same 10 minute window and put a couple of roses in front of me, and after I handed them back to him he put them back down in front of me again, asking for a Euro or so. Very persistent.
In other news, Clint and I thinking about developing a "gelato map" for all the starving tourists, because we always seem to be able to find plenty of gelati stands when we have just eaten but can't find any when we're hot and thirsty and REALLY want some gelato.
Okay, one of my favorite little things in Rome is that they have these public drinking fountains all over the city. But they're not quite the same as in the states. They run all the time, first of all, and they point downward, which is good for filling water bottles. But if you block the output spout with your hand, the water will be redirected to a spout that points upward. Very manual system, but it works.
The ambulance sirens (which I hear quite frequently) are sort of friendly, with alternating tones in 6ths. Very musical, if slightly out of tune. :)
Today I bought a baseball cap that says "Italia". It was made in China.
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