Ohhhh Italy. (Sigh)

Meet Franco. This little old man finds time to just sit back and smell the roses. He works at one of the little flower shops located everywhere in Rome. At all points in time (3 am) there is a place to buy flowers. He speaks no English but I can communicate with him for the most part. I watch him as much as I can. He is really very funny but is close to loosing his life and it's very sad but is a huge realization as to why I will never smoke the way he does or drink all day everyday.

Sometimes there are moments that I feel Italy is a 19 year-old boy and I want to pat him on the head. Obviously Italy is not a young country but it is very behind. Italians say it is their culture and that they don't want to change, but sometimes its better to grow up a little. There are just some things worth changing. I have learned that Italians are very stubborn and set in their ways. It does not matter if Rome as a city is struggling financially and that there are so many ways to help this situation. They have the option to really cater to the tourists. To make a few changes and bring in some money. But nope... its a law here that the stores are forced to close down for a period of two to three hours as it is their nap time. It just makes me a little crazy sometimes. I want to love it here so much. I do love it, there are just some things I have to learn to deal with. Living abroad makes everything change in your mind. Everything you knew before seems different. You see things that were really wonderful about where you came from. You also see things that you never imagined. Rome is beautiful! The city is very busy but there a places that you just have to stop and look at. A few things that I walk by every day and take for granted.


The Colosseum is something I see everyday and as with anything you see all the time has lost its way of taking my breath away. However there are times when I realize... WOW... I am next to the Colosseum! So beautiful.