We finally left Rome. That sentence bothers me because it sounds like I am happy that we were able to leave when in fact I wish I could go back right away. Rome was an experience to cherish always. Alex sleeps in the opposite section with his mouth gaping open as I do and did moments earlier. He has his headphones on as he rests.

On the first leg of the trip I sat across from a small Italian girl. She was wearing a tight black shirt with some blue print on it and blue jeans which were very light. She had her hair in a bob and sunglasses covering her head. Nothing like the hundreds of beautiful women parading the streets of Rome, but attractive nonetheless. She was small but her legs were able to stretch up and prop on the adjacent seat. I could see about two inches her skin between where her jeans ended and her shoes began. The same lovely Italian skin with a hint of oil perfectly browned even though everyone always seems to be wearing long pants. It is almost that the Italians are hiding that wonderful asset from me even though they are willing to share so much else.

Yesterday after dinner in Tras Tiveri with our waiter who thought he was Nicolas Cage, we went to the Piazza di Spagna with a bottle of red wine and mingled with the teenagers there. People here in Italy didn't seem at such a rush to do anything, and that includes meeting people. I would imagine that the old ways influence the new here, whatever that means, in that people still know how to deal with people here in Italy and the rest of Europe. In America it sems like we've forgotten how to interact with anyone around us so it makes bars and dance clubs all the more the anomaly since it is a forced meeting amongst people who are unaccustomed and inexperienced with social situations. Many people come together on the Piazza di Spagna, through drunkeness or however, but you don't find this kind of experience in America.