Day 8: Tuesday, April 29, Paris/Rome

Today was a very early morning. We caught a 0800 flight to Rome on Vueling, a discount airline. This makes Southwest look full-fare by comparison – the seats were even shorter and Southwest at least gives you peanuts. Much more similar to Tiger Air in Asia.

Our apartment here was much nicer than I was expecting and had evidently been recently renovated. Wood floors, new appliances, etc. The price and location had been appealing, and overall it worked out well.

After putting our bags in our apartment here we struck out for two close churches. One turned out to be an American parish and one of the two places you could get tickets for the Pope’s public audience on Wednesdays. We didn’t do that, but we did enjoy the churches.

The old and the new. A common theme in a continent whose history goes back to long before ours.

Rome’s chaotic bustle hit us full-force. I was in Rome for one day, so I’m now in slightly familiar territory. Rome’s opposite might be Singapore. Here in Rome you ignore crosswalks and traffic lights, toss cigarettes on the ground without so much as stepping on them to snuff them, and “tagging” graffiti is absolutely everywhere. Pick-pocketing is a real danger. On the other hand, people are outgoing and (generally) helpful. Life is certainly vibrant. Fashion here is much more diverse than in Spain.