De-Tourism

My favorite part of having my american friends come to visit, especially if it is for the first time --- is the sense of "wow" and newness and fascination they bring to everything i'm showing them -- that gets me excited to and incites a re-appreciation in me for the beautiful city I live in -- for it's monuments, art, food -- everything.

So when I met up with Jane, Crissy and Allen yesterday and found out this was their very first time in both Italy and in Rome -- I was eager to give them a taste of the city -- starting with some Italian hot chocolate which Jane be-named "chocolate soup" -- then moving along to some night-time sightseeing -- the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and Piazza Navona all lit up and lively -- then a nice, no frills pasta dinner in the center with a healthy dose of white wine -- followed by a late night walk across the tiber to Castel Sant'Angelo and all the way up into the glowing-blue Saint Peter's Square and Dome.

As they put it "everything is so... overwhelming".

And it's true.

Can't wait to show them some other stuff tonight.