I can’t believe it has been a month, but it has, and I feel wonderful. I mentioned how life has slowed down for me here and it truly has. I feel happier, healthier, and simply feeling like I am living life. Yes, I have my responsibilities and I am able to balance those very well with my personal life and with that balance, I am contenta, no felice, no molto felice. It has been an amazing month here and I have explored many a neighborhood, ridden the metro, walked many kilometers, met many people, both friends of Rosa’s and finally, finally, Rosa’s momma, di persona, yes, in person, not on a video chat and that is how I ended this last week of July and first full month here in Roma. It was a wonderful meeting, but this past week was filled with several experiences beyond the usual and that usual did not include going to the market every day. We met momma near metro Emmanuele Vittorio, which is near the Fassi gelato place, where took me weeks ago for the first time. We enjoyed time there and then took a drive outside the center to Eur, to another part of Rome where I had never been. We then parked and took a stroll along the manmade lake which had been used in the Rome Olympics in 1960 for rowing etc. It was nice to stroll around the lake, chat, and even though momma’s English is good and my Italiano, not so, we were able to have a nice conversation. I am truly getting to know this city, the more I am here and recognize where I am without the need of google maps, but yes, the technology is nice. We also made a call stateside to Mr. Kenn, so I talked to my old man when I was with Rosa and momma. It was nice and even they spoke for a few seconds. In any case, it was a nice time. We, also this week, were invited to friends of Rosa’s, Michaela and Simone, a very nice couple, who have a passion for wine, and both trained as sommeliers, so we had a very nice, but very casual dinner at their home and, yes, there was wine flowing. There was also English flowing, since they both speak English very well, but also some Italian, but in the end, it was a very nice evening and we truly enjoyed ourselves and the wines chosen were very nice as was the food and most importantly, the company. We reciprocated to have them over to the place in which are staying and perhaps, later this month, yes, it is August 1st, to come over here. Of course, I am still working on travels for clients and while I only have 2 sets of clients, well, really 3, if I count clients leaving on August 31st from the states, in August, but my September load increased and that makes me very happy. Some here to Italy while I am here and others traveling to other parts of Europe. All though very important, this month is more focused on starting to tutor English with my practicum with getting my certification. Of course, we plan on doing some more travel, which leads me to the other wonderful experience we had this week.
We did a whirlwind trip to Verona and Venice. Even did some GoPro video. We will see what my media guru can do with it. We left early Friday morning, took the train the 3 hours plus to Verona, spent the day exploring the churches, the arena, the area around the river and yes, we went the Hard Rock there for lunch. After many kilometers of walking around and enjoying a very nice day, we took the train to Venice and spent a very nice evening there. We wandered around the canals and bridges, the narrow pathways and little nooks and crannies that is Venice and crossed over the Gran Canal at the Rialto Bridge. Of course, we ended up at the Hard Rock there, which was very nice, later in the day, about 9:00 pm and enjoyed our time there, but being right around the corner from San Marco, we did the short stroll there and Rosa was in her world. She had not been there in some 20 + years and her reaction both inspiring and heartwarming. She broke down and cried and a picture I have of her captured that moment. I was so happy for her. This was probably my 4th or 5th time in Venice, and each time better. As with the time she was in America with me back in February, I saw things through her eyes and that is very powerful, and I was so happy we were together. She makes me very happy, and I want to make her happy. I am here in Rome to be here with her. Where she is, is where I want to be as you all know by now. We heard the end of a nice concert in the square and stayed there for a while before heading back and took a different way back to our hotel, crossing little canals and enjoying the late night which was fairly quiet. It was a very nice stroll. We also had an early train back to Roma the next day as she was guiding in the afternoon. All in all, it was a very nice day and since our hotel was only a 3-minute walk from Venezia S Lucia and we were leaving at 8:00 am, we did not get much sleep, but that is okay, and we saw the city waking up and going about its business. Again, seeing this through her eyes gave me a wonderful feeling. Our train ride back was about 4 hours, give or take and we were able to relax before she went of the guide. The train ride was uneventful and each time the train changed the direction, we found seats that faced forward. We both need that and don’t like to face backwards. The vistas through Toscana and the Lazio, before entering back into Rome were beautiful and later this month or early in September, we will be driving there. The month here so far is everything I could ask and more. It has and continues to be a very special experience here in Rome and beyond. August is upon us and excited to see what happens next. Until next week and the continual sharing of pictures of my experiences here from this American in Rome and beyond, as always, I am interested in your thoughts, comments, questions and adding to the discourse is always appreciated be in on the site itself or on Facebook, Twitter or wherever you read this. Thank you for your support of my crazy little world and of my small business. It is truly appreciated!!! Share the knowledge
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