Where are all the Barcelona fans? Man U. is definitely in the house. I see their fans everywhere.
There are thousands of fans coming who don't have tickets to the game. I'm thinking I should avoid Campo dei Fiori and any other places where the hard core fans hang out. It's going to be crazy.
Manchester United is heavily favored to win.
23 comments:
Wow...
Your blog makes me really perplexed...
Well, I studied english for 4 years, metting several people from USA, and I've realized that USA's people are the only people in the world who still have this absurd, incredible, folkloristic idea about Rome and its way of life.
I envy people as you: even though you currently live in the REAL Rome, you still see it with pink glasses.
Sorry, let me ask you some questions: do you really find that fucking crappy city an ideal city?
Have you really find la dolce vita in that pigster?
Ooo-ooh, yes: Rome is the eternal city and In particular I love:
the traffic: a chaotic rush hour which lasts 24 hours per day;
the sidewalks occupied by cars and motocycles;
the filth which affects even wealthy suburbs;
the graffiti which cover almost every building from the center to the outskirt;
the pollution;
the noise;
the people's attitude;
the hideous urban scenery of the waterfront: you're always degradeing Los Angeles, but I found LA waterfront (Santa Monica, Long Beach, Venice, Malibu, Santa Barbara, etc. etc.) BY FAR more beautiful than Ostia, Torvaianica and Ladispoli;
and last, but not least, the outskirts: un endless, depressing, horrible urban sprawl of commieblocks, unfinished buildings, ugly modern buildings, ugly malls and billboards...
For God's sake, open up your eyes; Rome, the city of your dreams, SUCKS!
Bye.
dear anon.
First of all Santa Barbara is not part of the L.A. waterfront. Santa Barbara is to L.A. what Sperlonga is to Rome.
I love SB and I love Sperlonga. I agree that Ostia is not a nice beach.
You cannot swim in Santa Monica Bay as it's very polluted, but it's nice to look at.
If you have been reading my blog you would know I'm from New York City. I'm used to noise, pollution, people with attitude, etc.
I've also talked about the hardships of living here. How dare you come on my blog and tell me my POV is not one of the REAL Rome.
Fine you don't like Rome. I don't like L.A. but it would never occur to me to go to an expat's blog who lives in L.A. to trash the city.
I don't need to open my eyes. They have been open since the day I first stepped foot in this city.
Where you see a pigsty I see amazing art, culture, history, architecture, food, friends, family, quality of life, etc. You don't know me or my background so don't tell me how I should feel about Rome. bye.
ooo--ohh, and you see amazing art, culture, history, architecture, food, friends, family, quality of life in Tuscolana, Tiburtina, Collatina, Laurentina, Prenestina, Casilina etc. etc, do you?
Wait, are you telling me that people who live in that crap are lucky?
Even luckier than people who live in the best areas of San Diego and San Francisco?
Anyway, in which parte of the historical center of Rome do you live?
Are you enough rich to afford an apartment close to the Spanish Step?
Don't feed the troll. Your response said it best. Bye.
I love reading your blog. As a fellow American living in Italia, I agree with you when you say you see art, culture, history, etc...
It takes a certain person to tolerate the bad that comes with living in a foreign country.
As my husband always says.. It's too easy living in the U.S. Yes, it's a better way of life but, most people aren't truly happy. I can honestly say that I am much happier here.
The next time I'm in Rome.. let's get together with our Pink glasses and hit the town!
i just wanted to say that the barcelona fans are here, in barcelona, ready to start rioting and looting and ish if we win. visca barça.
but anonymous totally took the wind out of my sails. what a d-bag...
Calcio is so crazy. It may be one of things things that I still won't understand years from now. Fans of the opposing team have to sit in giant cages? Yikes, I say stay in it's too hot to deal with crazies out and about or online.
gibber - Next time he's in America he should skip the nice areas of the cities and go to the slums. There are no hotels (other than the per hour kind) there so not sure where he would stay.
sonia - ciao. Let me know when you're in Rome. I'll be sure to bring my pink glasses. I'm happier here as well and other than red tape/language issues my life is easier here. While I realize that L.A. is an exaggerated version of the American dream, I met so many people who made millions a year, yet they were miserable.
To be broke there is not easy. And I mean really broke, not the I make "only" $700,000 a year broke.
ieishah - good luck tomorrow! Maybe there will be an upset.
scattered - what is up with this weather? I have the fan going full blast. I fear for July/August.
Wait until next year's World Cup. It's going to be great. I was in the States last time (where most people don't care). It's incredible to see teams and fans from all over the world.
NYC - Good luck in Campo! As for the whole other discussion...I'll say what I've always said. Every place on the planet is good and is bad. There are plenty of crap places in the US just like here are plenty of crap places in Rome. Conversely there is beauty in both. If you don't like a place, then don't live there. And if your situation doesn't let you do otherwise, make the most out of it. Life is too short to bitch about this sort of stuff. Basta.
What's a commieblock?
Driving home from Cinecittà (Tuscolana) tomorrow afternoon will be a nightmare. Stay put and follow the match on TV, steer clear of Campo and order take out.
Any news re the writing? Ciao
I think a commieblocks are the concrete apartments that resemble housing in the communist block countries(sort of the Italian version of the projects or low-income housing).
As far as the Champions League Final, stay locked up in the house! I don't fear much when I travel but drunken soccer fans are rightly to be feared and avoided.
I can't wait to find out how the finals went and what it was like being there. My German daughter would be beyond envy.
You know how I feel about your living your dream in Roma.
Enjoy! De Gustibus... right?
I hope Barcelona will win today!
jessica - I agree. I complained for years about living in L.A. and one day one of my very good friends said "Move!". Life is too short to be that unhappy.
lola - good luck with your commute today. I was watching CNN International and they said it going to be bananas. I heard loud singing last night.
homebody - the outer area of most cities are not pretty and in some cities you'll find slums around the corner from million dollar homes. I have a meeting today but other than that plan to stay indoors.
jen - I hope it's a good game and not a rout.
Pa lbou - good luck!
p.s. anon I deleted your last two comments. I'm not interested in debating you and your rudeness to Jessica was unacceptable. You don't know me or Jessica so don't tell us we have to be simple/clueless not see what a "fucking dump" Rome is.
Since you hate Rome so much why do you move to your beloved San Francisco or San Diego? Both are great cities. I hope you make a lot of money so you could afford to live there.
i love you blog, even though i don't comment a lot i do read it regularly and enjoy reading your adventures and your take on Rome. thank you.
that said, i do hope that people who go around wthrowing negative comments in someone's space should grow a pair and not hide behind their anonymity. but i guess that's just asking too much.
keep on writing! :)
I heard about all the problems in Rome because of the rowdy fans. Is it true they aren't selling alcohol in the shops? Unbelievable. And for what? For soccer??? Anyway, if I were you I'd stay barricaded at home today.
Sorry! I clicked on "publish" before I finished that last comment. What I meant to say was to stay barricaded at home, safe in the arms of Prince William, who's supposed to be in town for the final. Unless you prefer older royalty. In that case there's always King Juan Carlos ;)
I had a bunch of huge drunken English yobs blocking my way on the escalators and in my carriage on the way home from work on the metro today. They were carrying slabs of beer and singing football songs. Huge pot bellies hanging out of too tight shirts (and that was just the women!) Wow - I was so naive before I didn't realise why they weren't selling alcohol (well legally anyway) during the champions league.
anon- I don't like Rome much as a place to live either but as NYC/caribbean ragazza said I'd never go on someone else's blog and attack them for liking a place. And BTW if you're going to use parolacce - at least use them correctly!
Every place has it's good and bad points - and living in a place FT you lose any 'folklorist ideas' pretty damn quickly (if you had any to start with that is).
odessa - grazie! I wish anon had used their name since they wrote a book on my blog. :)
milanese - you are too funny. I'm not into royalty that much. I used to be into Prince but his Royalness heading slowly toward Michael Jackson weirdness. Yes the supermarkets stopped selling alcohol. Actually I thought it was a good idea.
kataroma- ha! your description of the Man U. female fans is priceless.
I agree with you once you live somewhere for awhile it's very different than vacationing there. I respect other people's POV but Anon's later posts were rude and personal. Just because I refuse to join his hate Rome bandwagon doesn't mean I'm naive. I love NYC too and I know many folks absolutely hate that city. I lived among many of them when my parents moved to the suburbs.
LOL! Maybe I was rude: but I'am still waiting for your opinions about the quality of life in the outskirts of Rome, I mean, the REAL Rome :D Will you delete even this? ;-)
I don't live on the outskirts of Rome and neither do any of my friends. Therefore I don't feel qualified to offer an opinion about the quality of life there. How can I speak on something I know nothing about?
wow!
are you and your friends multi-millionaire?
I mean: you're able to afford an apartment in the (filthy and run-down) historical center of Rome... that's unbelievable... where do you exactly live?
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