Make Time: When in Rome, Roman

When I got up in my shitty hotel across from the train terminal, I decided to use Hotel Tonight, which is an amazing iPhone app. If you've never used it, you should definitely check it out. Here's how it works: at a certain time every day, hotel's release a room (or a few) at a much lower rate than normal because they fear they might not sell the room that day. In the US this happens around noon, but in Rome it happened at 9am. So I got on the app right at 9am and found a really nice hotel for a good deal. The hotel is called Allesandrino - check it out here. I packed up my things, got some free breakfast (which my shitty hotel provided), and then jumped on a subway towards my new hotel. It appeared that the subway dropped me pretty close, so I was just gonna walk when I got off. Unfortunately it wasn't that easy. The hotel is near the Vatican so there are a lot of streets that dead end into their land, and to make things worse it was around 85 degrees out. I was sweating profusely. Never lost, but always wondering how long this was gonna take. I powered through, and showed up at reception completely drenched. Luckily they had my room ready at 11:30am, so I dropped my things and took a shower and then made my way back out into the day. Took a bus down to the main tourist area and walked around a bit - too some pictures, and then wandered into the Orsay Museum. Yes, I know this is a museum in Paris, but I walked by a museum here with the same name and I love Impressionist art so I walked in. Some fantastic paintings, including a great one by Monet. I promise I will eventually go to some Roman art, but for now I was just glad to get out of the heat and see some of my favorites. After that I walked over to the Coliseum. This is obviously the most touristic place here, so it was mobbed, but I actually didn't have to wait that long in line. Inside the monument is definitely a madhouse, but I got some good pics and had time to just soak it in. Amazing to think this was built so long ago. I remembered the coliseum I saw in Arles, and this was definitely bigger and more elaborate. They built an entire world under the floor to house the animals and raise up the gladiators and the animals as well. Crazy. The Romans were really barbaric. Smart, but barbaric. Eventually I walk out and grab a nice pizza in a small cafe nearby. Then after that I had to go check in to my AirBnB which I booked the night before. I had tried booking a bunch of AirBnB's the day I got here but kept getting rejected because everyone was booked up, so I figured I would get rejected from this last one as well…but of course once I already booked my hotel then this AirBnB came though. DOH! So now I have two places to stay tonight, but obviously I'll stick to the hotel. Anyway, I met up with my AirBnB host and checked out the flat - very nice and huge. I chill there for a second and then head back out into the city. My friend Karla from Barcelona had told me to go to the Spanish Steps, so I decide to head that way. Until now, my day had been kind "meh". I wasn't into the heat and the huge amount of tourists, so this city really wasn't touching me. There was a little rain that came when I was at the AirBnB, so it had cooled off. When I got out of the subway at the Spanish Steps there were still a ton of tourists, but I definitely liked this area of the city more than anywhere else I had been. Very old. Tiny little cobblestone streets. I take pics of the Spanish Steps and then meander into an old church behind the steps. There is a mass going on in French, so I sit for a while and listen. I think of my mom. She would be happy I'm in mass right now. There are a bunch of nuns kneeling on the ground just in front of the priest - very intense. I sit for a while and think about my mom and reflect on the good things in my life. I'm a lucky man. After about a half hour I get up and walk back outside and down a little street. Amazingly cool street. I walk past an older man smoking in a hotel doorstep, who I thought might have been Roman, but he greets me in English. I start to walk by but then double back to say hello. He's from Cleveland but has retired to Ft Lauderdale. My family has a place in Ft Lauderdale so we laugh about that, and it's good to talk with him. He tells me of how he came here to Rome in 1976 with some friends and how different it is now…mostly because he's here with a girlfriend. Good vibes. I walk away from him and as I'm walking a see a tiny little door to my left. Looks like a little bar - cool. I look at the upstairs window and there is a drum set in the window. DING! I go inside and walk past an incredibly classic old bar and then upstairs, to this most amazing lounge with a full piano, a standup bass, and a drum set all ready to jam. The bartender comes up and I find out he's name is Phil, from London. He came here a year ago for a jam session and never left. Ha. He says there is gonna be some great jazz tonight at 10pm, so I head out into the streets and plan to come back later. NICE. Funny how a day can turn around so quickly. I walk around the tiny streets in that part of the city and get lost in all the beauty. People eating dinner. Street musicians. Tourists. Just a nice relaxing atmosphere. And the weather now is absolutely perfect - the sun is going down and the rain cooled things off. I walk all the way back to my hotel, but on the way I stop to check out the sunset which is setting right over the Vatican. Breathtaking. I was mesmerized. Took a few pictures but I'm not sure that does it justice. Very perfect ending to the sunlight for today. I head back to the hotel, grab a kebab (yes, I know…I'm in Italy - so what. It's still the cheapest dinner), and then shower and head back to the jazz club. Phil greets me happily and I head upstairs to some FANTASTIC jazz. These guys are young and they are ripping it. All covers but they do a lot of jamming. The drummer is fun to watch and definitely makes me miss playing. I sit and listen for an hour and a half and then call it quits. What a perfect day!!! I know I had some tough part to the start, but it really ended up well. Just goes to show - you can always turn your day (or life) around. All it takes is a good decision here and there and then everything is right back inline. And of course, positivity!!!

Video of street musicians I loved!!

Video of the jazz club.

Today I'm going to check my bag here at the hotel and go see the Vatican, then when I'm done I'll bring the bag to the new AirBnB and then do some laundry and see where the day takes me. Should be a gooooood one.

Happy Friday to everyone back home :)