When In Roma: Day 30-Rugby!-Roma!-Saturday-2/26/11

I-T-A-L-I-A! I-T-A-L-I-A! I had no idea what to expect Saturday when the girls and I headed out for the Rugby game. But, when we got there, this is what the fans were chanting. It was insane!! So much fuuun!! Rugby is like their second biggest sport here and even though they are not that good, the Stadium was PACKED!! Let's rewind a bit, I slept in and grabbed a sandwich with the girls (Jodine and Molly) before we headed for the stadium. We were told to take the metro and the tram to get to the stadium, both of which we had never taken. It was interesting… Really slow pace compared to the London tube and their tunnels are all different levels and very spread out even though there are only two metro lines because of the multiple layers of ruins. It was kind of disgusting and I hope I don't have to take it again, too many people cramming in one place is never fun. One the way home we didn't even take the tram because it was faster and less claustrophobic to walk. We got to the stadium five minutes before the game started and I was bummed out because I had no idea they were so big about tailgating before the game, it was like being outside the Metrodome before a game! There were tents set up, a stage where a band must have been playing, and rows of beer and food vendors. The only difference is the only beer you could get was Peroni, nothing else because they are the sponsors inside and out of the stadium it's only Peroni! Ha ha! I thought that was really interesting. We climbed up these really scary metal stairs because our seats were up on the highest level, but it was actually a really good view! I thought it was neat because the seats we were in were added onto the original stadium to accommodate more fans. It was an exhilarating game with fans cheering around us and standing up to cheer when points were scored. I didn't know much about what was going on, but I had the basic idea because my friend Jodine plays Rugby so she kept me informed of what was happening. I really enjoyed the game and hope I can go to another or maybe even a soccer game next time! After the game we took the metro home and I changed for dinner since it was already about 6-7pm. Molly's friends were visiting Rome for their spring break from London so we met up with them and took them to a Trattoria for dinner. Trattoria's are normally really authentic Italian and very good, but this one was kind of disappointing and bland, I felt bad :-/ They were pretty tired from traveling and decided to opt out from going out with us. After dinner Molly and I took them to get a cannoli and then we headed back to our place to meet Jodine and Clara. From there we met up with a group of people from our program and hung out for awhile before we all left to go dancing. It was a really good night :) The club we went to gave us sparklers to dance with, I must say that was probably the highlight of my night! That would never happen at home, fire hazard! Haha! One thing really interesting I couldn't get over about the club was that a ton of people were dressed normal, but wearing these ridiculous wigs! The girls had on bright pink and blue ones and the guys had on bright yellow afro ones. It was very strange, but I think it might have to do with Carnival coming up. Carnival is a huge celebration, I think a bigger deal in Venice than anywhere else, but it starts at the beginning of lent and goes until Easter. The biggest week of Carnival is the first week, I believe, but I'm not exactly positive. They wear crazy costumes and masks and have parades. I hope they celebrate it here in Rome too, but I have no idea. I'll let you know when it rolls around here in a couple weeks :)