Bird out of the Cage

Saturday, March 19, 2011

"Excuse me can you tell me how to get to...?" -Everyone, Roma

Today was a meravigliosa (marvelous) day! I slept in until 11am...wow. I figured out my adventure for tomorrow--my last Sunday in Europe and boy do I have the best and most anticipated day planned out. I went out and walked around a little by myself and then met up with Megan who would be joining us for our last Persian meal of the trip. We said goodbye to Babak who was leaving for Istanbul to meet up with his family for Norouz, Persian New Year. I actually got to skype with Sassan, his older brother, which was again the first time I've ever talked to or seen him. They both look so much like my grandfather it's kind of uncanny. And then Megan, Janise, and I headed out to walk around on the town and explore a little more.

We actually went out at the perfect time because there were all kinds of live entertainers everywhere we turned. In what I think was a mall there was a live band filling the air. On Via Del Corso there were people in between every corner. The best were this cute little lady that was dressed up like a mime in a corsetted antique dress and she danced around with an umbrella. And we're talking like ballroom danced. She had a stand with a couple elaborately decorated vintage looking umbrellas and she passionately graced her selected courtyard with the floating tip toes as the music flowed from light and flirty to deep and love torn. Interesting display, but I have to admit she was talented. One of the others was a street break crew. We stopped and watched for a little while, but just as with most street crews I've seen in different places around the world, they focused a lot more on hyping up the crowd before and after they perform than the actual break dancing itself. I've realized that after having been in charge of the Break Dance Crew on BYU campus for about a year and a half it's hard for me to watch or be impressed by other crews sometimes. I mean, I knew the guys were good, but the more crews I see perform the more I realize, shoot! the BYU Breakers are actually like totally stellar!! Way ta go dudes! (and dudette, there was one girl and she was actually the president's wifey :) ).

Janise was tired and Megan, Ali, and I had a midnight rendezvous awaiting for that evening, so we parted ways at Stazione Colosseo and went home to freshin up and get somethings done. I finished my final prep for Sunday and at around 11:30pm headed back out to meet up with Megan and Ali at Stazione Ottaviano.

Whoever came up with the idea of a 24 hr. bakery was a genius. I applaud you! The bakery was a short walk down a couple now dark streets not too far from the Vatican, and then down a seemingly unfriendly stairwell on the left. Had I not been with Megan and Ali, who had been here once or twice before and knew that this was our desired location, I imagine even my adventurous spirit might not have found me wandering down into this basement gathering place. The streets were scarce of people and those that were lallygagging around did not draw out any of my typical eagerness or fascination to get to know new friends, as they stood, stooped, stared, and whispered from the shadows of the sidewalks.

Once inside it was just like that part in the movie Eat.Pray.Love. where Julia Roberts character walks into a Cafe and is lost in the huddled sea of people yelling over each other to the handful of service ladies running around behind the counter with bread, pastries, and other too incredible to describe wonders flying from plastic glove to bag to patron. Amazing. I wish I would have filmed the scene. That would be the solitary way to do it's description justice.

We each ordered two, three, four items and headed back up the dark stairs to enjoy our devilish ambrosia in the crisp evening's fresh air. We walked around a bit in search of the perfect spot to perch and nibble. As we approached a corner crossing, I climbed up on top of the Metro wall, swung my legs over to hang over it's inner facing edge and with a half smile and a taunting raised eyebrow coaxed my pastry lovin' friends to join me. With the nerves common to one walking across a long suspension bridge, they cautiously climbed up and over, settling in right next to me.

What a sight to see. Here we were, three American girls, each with their own BAG of fresh baked, hot out of the oven delicacies in one hand, munching on another with the guidance of the other hand, chatting up a storm at a volume that could compete with the best gaggle of high school girls Italia has to offer, constantly having to remind each other and wipe off remnants of those heavenly treats from cheeks, lips, noses, and fingers, sitting there on a dark corner in the heart of Roma, glowing with the dim light of a street lamp and the stars above, legs dangling into the dark abyss familiar in day light by thousands as they emerge from it's depths after their arrival from who knows where on the metro to join the world of travelers, tourists, locals, business people, and everything in between on these streets that have existed and seen more history, joy, tears, blood, and love than any one street in our Country, giggling and bursting into laughter every other moment...

Few people passed by over the couple of hours we tarried there, but I bet they had never seen anything like it. Once in a while I would get up and walk the tightrope around the mouth of the metro on this wall. I think Megan would stop breathing every time. I just laughed. And took a couple pictures. Boys, love, religion, heartbreak, life, Italia, home, family, you name it, we talked about it.

I had an early morning approaching me so we finished off the last of the treats we intended to eat together and again parted ways.

I love walking around Roma at night. It has the perfect combination of peaceful and mysterious.

Everyone was still up when I returned. I skyped Seany as soon as I got back and helped him write his mission farewell talk which he would be giving the following morning at church (He's going to be serving a mission for our church in Donetsk, Ukraine...follow his adventures here). I stayed up until around 3:30am Roma time and had to call it a night. I strategically placed my things around the house so as to expedite my getting ready process for the morning and went to sleep.

I set two alarms just to be safe. I had an adventure awaiting that I was not going to jeopardize by faulty technology or my personal weakness for sleep.

Sidenote: Today was funny too, in the past week it's become a daily occurance, multiple times a day actually, that people stop me on the street when we're walking around and ask for directions. It's really funny and they all try different languages to ask as well. Everyone here thinks I'm Italian, locals and otherwise, but really I don't know what it is about me that says, "Hey! I know what I'm doing and where you want to go" but it's kinda fun. And the best part is that I've been able to help them 100% of the time even without a map.

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