Another wonderful (and rainy) day in Rome!
I skipped breakfast this morning to sleep in a little bit. No big deal, I normally don’t eat breakfast anyway. So when I eventually rolled out of bed, I got ready to leave for the day.
First stop: Art Attack (Arkage)! Art Attack is a Public Relations Agency in Rome, and as a PR major, I really appreciated the visit. The guys that we spoke with were really friendly and really loved their jobs, which is something nice to see. I could see myself working somewhere like Art Attack, truthfully. It’s far from the stuffy, office building that I often picture being a PR agency. Plus, the work that they’re doing is very interesting and different, while also being on the minimalistic side.
After a few finger foods at Art Attack, we headed out to get lunch. Victoria and I (haha, what a surprise) headed off down a random street to see what we could find. As much pizza and pasta as I’ve had since coming, I wasn’t in the mood for that at that point in the day. Luckily, we found the coolest sandwich shop!
The shop is called Donkey Punch. It was a small space with a big personality. Walking in, I was sort of dark, with murals and the menu written all over the walls. The menu consisted of mainly sandwiches, which were named after English bands and artists, including Fleetwood Mac, The Beatles, Queen, etc. I got the “Z.Z. Top,” which was corn, tomato, avocado, salsa, and lettuce all served on a ciabatta bread.
After meeting back up with the group (and taking cute impromptu pictures), we headed off to La Repubblica, one of Italy’s largest newspapers. We toured their facilities and talked with a few people about the work that they’re doing. The newspaper is working on expanding their data journalism department, but have recently worked to create interesting multimedia stories, with copy, photo, video, and interactive graphics. This, unlike in most United States-based newspapers, is free to the public.
We returned to the hotel after the visit and sat down to have a group meeting. There we just briefly shared our favorite experiences this far into the trip and got some updates on the next few days. A group of us decided to seek out the Pittsburgh bar tonight and decided to set out around 7 p.m., getting directions from our tour guide, Matteo. As soon as we got on the tram, the sky opened up, and we had quite the trek ahead of us. Josh, Allison, Victoria, Robin, Helen and I all ducked into a shop to buy umbrellas and get our directions straight.
When I say it was raining, I mean the ground turned into a river. My shoes are currently sitting at the end of my bed soaking wet.
We eventually found the bar and went in, meeting the owner Giovanni and talking to him about Pittsburgh. It was kind of refreshing to actually be able to speak with someone and now have to worry about if they’re going to understand you or not. I really wish American schools would start teaching languages earlier on. It would be nice to be able to travel and understand anything at all.
More of our group met us at the bar (we didn’t even realize anyone else would be coming!) and we all sat around, just generally having a good time. After some drinks, we asked Giovanni for a recommendation to a nearby restaurant. He personally walked us over to his friend’s place, Navona Notte.
We sat down and ate dinner and let me tell you, Giovanni was right, the food was good. Then again, I’m convinced that there is no bad food in Italy. I had pizza, but sampled food from the friends around me, everything from potatoes to fried rice balls.
After dinner we walked part of the way back, catching the tram to take us to the hotel. Thankfully, it wasn’t raining anymore. There were just puddles everywhere.
We have a brilliant day ahead of us tomorrow. First, we’re going to Enel and then later in the evening, we’re learning to make pasta. What a way to spend your last day in Rome!