Live for the day, not for the Future

Culture Shock... What can i say, the Italians definetely live for the day and not for the future. I say this because the other day, after about the 20th main for lunch (19 of those were some type of pasta) i was laughed by my mates cousins for putting a seat belt on in the back seat in the car(this is un-heard of in Rome), to preceed coasting down the freeway at 200kmph with no one in the car wearing a seat belt. To put this into perspective, a motor bike screamed past us like we standing still only to have a young boy (max 12 years old) on the back in shorts and a t-shirt and the national road toll per week is over 100!

Every night in Rome, a couple of english companies organise pub crawls around the city where you pay 15 euro and you get free drinks for a hour and free entry into the clubs. Its a good way to see the night life as its really expernsive (15 euro entry to most clubs and a beer at a club is 10 euro....$1 Aus = 0.6 euro). The only small downer is the pub crawls seem to be full of americans tourists. Of the 70 people on the pub crawl, 50 of them would of been americans. I am not saying i don't like americans, but 50 of them in a rome bar can get a bit much.

We also went to the beach the other day which was different. In Australia, we can go to any beach we want but in Italy, 95% of the beaches are private and locals pay a annual fee for a bit of beach space.

Being the mature one I am, the first thing a guy will notice in Rome is the women. I don't know if its in the water or all the pasta they eat, but the roman females are the most well endowed women i have ever seen. There is no such thing as a flat chested roman women. Even the young girls are busting out!

The plan for the next week is to spend one or two more nights in Rome then we are off to Abruzzo where my mate has a family holiday house on the eastern coast.

Cheers

I Have Arrived

What is the definition of boring? Being trapped in a mine for 2 weeks...No. Sitting in Bangkok airport for 15 hours while in transit. What do you do in 15 hours of sitting in a airport which has the longest duty free shopping strip i have every seen? 1) Play i spy, 2) Read 300 pages of the the Da Vinci Code and 3) Try and sleep in chairs that were specially made not be slept in.

Anyway, after the hassles of that, I have arrived in Rome and was greeted by warmth and humidity. Rome is one of the most crazy placs i have visited with insane traffic, unbelievabely cramped living, tiny cars, and being able to walk down the street and around the corner is some of the most visited tourist destinations in the world.

I have been staying with my mates family, who i might add speak no english, which has been fun trying to communicate with them. They are very friendly and the key phrase to learn is "sto bene"...i am fine. If you do not say this, they will not stop serving you food.

We are planning to stay in Rome for a few more days then we are heading off to the countryside where Fabian has some relatives in Abruzzo.

I am writing this email from a cafe which is next to the beach. Rocco, you are absolutely correct about the women in Italy and the women who visit the beach!

P.S. I really need tan up quickly.

Till next time.

Final Farewell

In true engineering form, I exited URS in fine form...A drunken slobbering mess. URS kindly organised a farewell lunch at Southbank (thankyou dena, very well organised) which was followed by a big session at the BLVD. Brucey, who dropped by to wish me farewell, decided I wasn't drinking enough so loaded me up on scotch and cokes and conventiently left before they fully hit me. After shattering my glass all over the floor, Ii decided it was time to go given I had to back it up on Saturday night with a session of go karting and drinks at the Elwood Lounge.



Driving to the go-karting track in Sunshine, I was rather nervous see i was having trouble keeping the contents in my stomach together in the car, let alone zooming around on a bumpy go kart track. Surprisingly, it all went well and I placed a respectable 5th. Then we headed off to the old faithful, The Elwood Lounge for something to eat and a few final beers with the crew. Thanks to everyone who came along to see me off and "I wish youse all" the best while I am gone.