Rome If You Want To

At this time last Saturday, I was baking in the heat of Rome, Italy. It was an amazing weekend full of good food, breathtaking sites, & SUN. After this poor excuse of a summer, the heat of Rome was a surprise that my skin was not expecting. Rome was exactly what I envisioned. Traffic was chaotic, Vespas zipping about to & fro, landmarks at every corner, & food that is as full of flavor & life as the people that live in this amazing city.

It took me a little while to realize why I was so happy but then it hit me. There was emotion everywhere! Until I was in Rome, I didn't realize exactly how much of a difference there is between the Scandinavians & Latins (Italian's, Spanish, etc). I was in a place where people stopped to chat w/ each other in the street, hugs & kisses are a normal greeting, drivers constantly yelled & flipped each other off (yes, even that was something that brought a smile to my face). Italians, or Romans as they prefer to be called, are passionate & I liked it!! Ok, maybe I didn't like the stereotypical gang of guidos sitting on a front porch hooting & hollering at every "bella" that walked past them but in every other sense, it was GREAT.

However, by the end of the weekend, I learned something about myself that surprised me...I could never live in Rome. For as exciting & interesting the people and the places were, as I boarded the plane for Copenhagen, I started to compare the 2 & realized that there are things that I value more than the great food & warm weather. I want to live in a city where there isn't a beggar, hustler, or gypsy on every corner. I want to live where my kids (in case that ever happens) will grow up feeling safe & enjoying a healthy lifestyle (I prob wasn't thinking so much about that as I engorged on pasta but whatevs). I found myself preferring the clean (albeit quiet) streets of Copenhagen.

Don't get me wrong...This still doesn't feel like home to me. But little by little, as I explore the world a little more, I learn about me & I learn about what is important to me & maybe...just maybe....some of those things are here, In Copenhagen.

And the best part of Copenhagen? Rome is only a 2 hour flight if I start to miss the food, sights, & passion again!