A good day for a funny story

We were told that we would have a funny story to tell. And today, Kari and I have a funny story to tell!

The group met this morning at the Pantheon to go get espresso and then grab lunch. We finally got there, after some tension as the stops on the bus we always take, the 492, were different today. I attribute that to it being sabato and more of a touristy day. But we got off at our stop and made it there for 11 on the dot. And the espresso was good! A little too sweet with the one sugar, but good. And lunch was fun too; I had my first brushetta and the pomodori were so fresh (Mom, you would have loved them!) and then some insalate pollo. Matt was sitting across from me and he ordered shrimp and they HAD THE EYES AND LEGS STILL. It was disgusting. Kendall was sitting next to him and we asked him to cut all the heads off and hide them. I felt like they were judging me.

But after lunch Kari and I went up to Teri's hotel room to grab some papers and the rest of the group headed back. That's were the day got interesting. We figured we'd grab the metro and get off at the stop Kari needed to pick up the 30 day metro/autobus pass. The only catch was that to grab the metro we would need to go up to Barberini and we were even a little but past the Pantheon. We figured if we went up to Fontana di Trevi we could pick up Via del Tritone and be good. I have no idea how it happened but we went inside the Pantheon again to look around, came out and got turned and twisted around. Half the streets weren't even marked on the map, so we just headed in what we assumed to be the right direction. But partway through we got stopped at a police blockade and had to turn around. All of these streets were blocked off, we started to notice. This was because President Bush is in Rome today. So we were trying to get to Fontana di Trevi and we finally hit a street to get us there and it is completely roped off--caution signs everywhere but there are people lined up on both sides of the street, taking pictures and pointing. And all of these police cars with sirens blaring start whipping by and Kari says, "I think that might be President Bush!" So we kind of pushed our way forward and stood there. About 30 cars, at least, start to go by and we're saying, "We don't know what's happening, but let's take some pictures!" The man next to us, an Italian, said, "It's for your presidente." And we were laughing because it's kind of funny to go all the way to Rome to see the President. We couldn't tell which car he was in but we did see all of them go by and when they finished, the man told us, "Enjoy Roma."

We went to the Trevi Fountain then and took pictures, got turned around again, and finally found our way to Via del Traforo, which connects to Via del Tritone. It was on that street that we saw a man running down the side of the road waving a giant rainbow striped pot flag. It was really interesting to see a protester, coming from a human rights prospective, and not one policeman stopped him (although he might have stopped before he reached them). No one really noticed him or paid any attention to him. He was just some guy running with a giant flag. But to really have a successful protest you need more numbers.

Our feet killing us (Kari's more so than mine) and Kari's jet lag beginning to kick in again (since she just got here yesterday at noon due to plane cancellation), we were really glad to see the Metro station. Not so glad when it was closed. We went into a tabbachi to see if we could buy a one-way ticket for the next one, a 20 minute walk to the Spanish Steps when the proprietor told us all the buses and metros were closed because of President Bush. We were not so happy to have seen him then. But the good news was that Kari bought her month long pass there.

We decided to just hop in a cab because we were tired and did NOT feel like walking to Medaglie D'Oro, which probably would take an hour and a half. So we hailed a cab. The driver was probably in his late fifties or early sixties and did NOT speak English. We told him we wanted to got to Medaglie D'Oro. The first way he wanted to go was blocked and he got into an argument with the police officer. It was very interesting to watch him because he really used a lot of hand gestures to emphasize his words while he was talking,even though I really didn't know what he was saying. So he started on another route and then he got and idea and made the idea sign and said another road. And then he said, "Bene bene bene." So we took that and he pointed out Villa Borghese. We reached the road Medaglie D'Oro and h asked us which hotel. Kari told him the road and had no idea where it was. So he started driving down the road, asking people. They didn't know. Then we told him it was Residence Medaglie D'Oro. And he said, "Ah!" And he asked people and they didn't know. He then pulled over, put on his glasses, and radioed in. They told him the same address Kari had said at least seven times by that point. He then pulled kind of off the road got out of the car, leaving the door open and went into a hair salon to get directions. They didn't know. He came back out, said, "Loco," and pointed at the side of his head. He then, using motions and speaking at the same time, told us we should write down the address next time.

We got direction when he pulled up next to some ancient cab driver and a red light. When the light turned we were honked at and 4 people drove around us. We had to do a three point turn but he kept saying, "Bella bella" and cheering with his hands.

At about 3.00 we pulled into Medaglie D'Oro. We gave him a 5 euro tip and decided that we had a very interesting day. I was surprised at how well we could communicate with him, although I wish that I had known more directions or question words. The nonverbals were fairly easy to understand and translated well. All in all, it's been an interesting day!