The professors from Elyse's school couldn't convince them I was a student who lost my student card. I did however, get a free tour. That seemed to drag on for a decade through millions of rooms I wouldn't have been bothered to herd thru like cattle. There were only 2 things I was determined to see in the Vatican, The School of Athens & the Sistine Chapel ceiling. I would have liked to climb to the top of St. Peters but there is not a chance in a lifetime I would wait in that line. By the end of the tour we all longed to die / never enter another museum again. I can't stand it, being herded like cattle thru a place, listening to the idiotic tourists making absurd comments, groups of 5 year olds running thru,
as if they would have any appreciation for what they are looking at, it's a complete zoo and really gives no insight to what a place is actually like. It must be seen tho, Michael Angelou is one of the greatest minds of all time, an absolute revolutionary, bringing us the power of perspective. I always thought he must have had a great sense of humour, placing himself into the picture whenever he could. In one fresco in the Sistine, he paints his face on the skin of a man who was skinned because he preferred to be sculpting and not painting again. Surprising he wasn't suicidal trying to complete works like that.
In sheer exhaustion, we collapsed and decided that no tourist attraction was worth that again. We did get a bottle of wine, do a lap around the colosseum and a nite excursion but nothing when all the tourists are out ever again!
The next morning the girls left after a rough nite of bratty spoiled behaviour on ones part. Hanging out with all these girls has made me realise what an adult I am and how much I value my friendships. I would never talk to my friends with that kind of attitude, it was mildly depressing and disturbing to see college girls acting like they're 10. Unfortunately, that was not the last of the weird behaviour I would experience in Rome. Went to the post office, only to have some guy come up to me after I had told him to leave me alone 3 times already and say, "you take 50€?" I take 50€ for what dude? "you take 50€ to come to cafe with me?" Are you serious right now? What about me looks like I can be bought? Furthermore, any woman worth talking to won't be paid! I absolutely lost it on him in the middle of the street with a good hundred people watching him cower in embarrassment for 5 minutes while I put him in his place. I managed not to hit him, although the initial shock of being asked that almost got him my purse to his face. I'm still in disbelief, I was in such normal clothes, no makeup, looking rough and hung over. I assumed it a confidence boost and quickly let it go.
Headed to what was supposed to be the start of gay pride week here, but there wasn't a single gay person in the entire park in this sketchy area so I left and hiked to the Spanish steps and Trevi Fountain trying to get something out of my day, determined to turn it around and shrug off the creepy male encounters that seemed to occur in succession here. Instead of shrugging that off I was almost arrested twice, once for refusing to pay a double service charge from this restaurant when it wasn't on the bill and once for sitting on the sidewalk with my guitar, even tho I wasn't playing. I met back up with the girls as they had missed their bus and were still in town, apparently we were all having rough days. Just as Elyse and I were discussing how gross Italian men can be some guy whistles from the street below only to whip his flaccid cock out of his pants and wave it around like the Italian flag. He was alone in the car, not like it was some dare from his friends, this is just a normal day for this guy. How is this stuff happening to us?! Seriously! So after that we decided it best to go to the hotel and hide out the rest of Rome. Elyse and I got hungry and were determined to seek out a Chinese restaurant, which we did with little difficulty. On the way back I walked us a different way cuz I wanted Elyse to see these used book stalls. As we were digging thru coins and books a blacked out, pierced up punky dude asked us if we were looking for anything in particular, cuz he works there. So he began to help us and then another older man came to help us and struck up a conversation that ended up lasting over an hour, knowing more about Canadian history than Elyse did. So the punk guy says he's going for a drink with his coworkers and asks us if we'd like to come. After talking to this older guy for another 40mins and decide we'd like to keep talking to him, we decide to go for a drink. Here we think we're going to hang out with a couple cool people who sell books, like the guy we just met. Nope. An elaborate plan between him and his buddy was hatched that we were all going on a double date. For the millionth time on this trip, Elyse and I have been claimed, dibbed and underestimated, leaving us asking the same question. Don't we get a say? Don't we get to choose what is a date and what is not?! How dare u assume! Especially when the friend hadn't even made any attempt to talk to us. Luckily it took us only minutes to realise what a joke this guy was. At one point he said, 'this guy is 50 years old and has wife and 2 kids, ur ok with that?' Apparently plutonic relationships are not in this dudes vocabulary. Then he brings us to a grocery store to get a drink and says, 'now, u get this round, I get the next one.' HA. Yeah right. I refuse to accept that and I don't drink any of this crap, we're going to a real bar. So cool old dude managed to navigate us to a bar where Sid the squid proceeded to take cigarettes and try to take 10€ for a drink. We just gave him 5€ to get him away from us then when he got back to the table, we all left. And! As we were leaving he says to the old guy, 'thanks for ruining my nite.' Please, u ruined it for urself! Anyway, murderers averted. Still dying to text him and tell him all the wrong avenues he took and how he should read some of the books he sells but I can't quiet figure out how to word it so it won't be lost in translation and I don't want to get the old cool dude in trouble either.
I really wasn't in Rome long enough to get to know it but I didn't like it much. Maybe I'm just so sick of this country I didn't give it a chance. Ready for civilised Switzerland where I'm sure the slimy men will be fewer in numbers. In the Italians defence tho, the tourists use them, just as much as they use the tourists. Severely disappointed that my long lost cousin Laura returned my messages to meet with her with only a smiley face and straight up ignoring me. Oh well, I can't stand people who do that kind of thing anyway, just never respond to a simple question or offer to meet, I find it really arrogant and unnecessary. So probably best I didn't waste my time meeting her. Venice and Milan are my last stops here!
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