Dirty 30!!

We started off the evening with a glass of wine on our rooftop. It was so nice! We talked, watched the sun set and just enjoyed our apartment.

After a short nap, we left around 11:30 to go to a club called Goa in the neighborhood of Trastevere, which is known in the tour books as the real Rome. It turns out there were many clubs in the area, most of which didn't have signs. So we heard (what we thought was) good music at one club and I went to the front of the line. My Italian isn't good at all but I said "due" (two), the bouncer asked me who I was with (in English), I pointed to Matt (who was of course super-cute with jeans and a black corduroy jacket) and he let us right in. We were so pumped about going to the front of the line and getting in that we didn't think of asking what kind of music they had. So we went in and it was hip-hop. Not my favorite. We stayed for a while and Matt said we should go. I probably would have stayed since we had already paid to get in and we didn't even know where the other club was, but we left, which turned out to be a great idea. One of the door people told him that Goa was around the block.

We got to Goa around 1, which is apparently the time to go to a club because there was a huge crowd trying to get in. No line, just an enormous bunch of people. We got into the bunch and slowly moved up. I saw people taking out IDs, and I took out my ID and held it up with the California part showing. The bouncer saw that and let us right in! Yeah California!



The club was one of my favorite I've been to. It wasn't very big (maybe 1/4 the size of the Vanguard) but it had cool lights everywhere, a video DJ and lots of cool people with different styles. Everyone looked great, but really different, which was a breath of fresh air from the usual in LA, where it seems like women's syles are so similar (which I also noticed in Paris). The best part about the club was the mood. Everyone was just having a good time and seemed happy to be there. Really open to each other (people do make eye contact), dancing, talking, etc. Matt and I were in our own world since we basically couldn't communicate with anyone, but we had the best time. The music was great, the club had dancers with multiple costumes (one was like a mime with multiple masks, one like a bird with a slinky but still classy feather outfit) - so much fun!



From there we decided to walk home. We walked for a long time towards the Colosseum. At one point, we heard loud electronic music coming from over a huge garden wall. We tried to go up the exit to get in (we were already dressed to go - why not?), but the door person said they were closing.



After some more walking and help from some friendly Romans, we came upon the Colosseum. So amazing at night!! It was lit up from the inside and the area was deserted since it was so late. It was a sight to see and the first time we had seen it. We walked around there and then (thankfully) found a cab. The perfect end to our night.

The next day we went to a huge lunch and then back home to our couch for an afternoon of movies. I was a little torn about spending an afternoon relaxing, but it was ok after we discussed the fact that we were out so late the night before, and we have been traveling, learning, doing new things every day for 16 days straight. We were just exhausted. It ended up being really nice just to be together in our apartment. We had also bought some treats on the way home from lunch, which we snacked on the rest of the day.

Yesterday was my 30th birthday! We woke up and Matt sang to me. We slowly got ready and traveled to see the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish steps. In between, we ate a pizza at a cafe and window shopped. Window shopping is a lovely past time that the Europeans have and I think I am going to continue it in the US (even though I know window shopping at Urban Outfitters and Banana Republic won't be the same...)

We spent the afternoon relaxing and reading in our apartment, which was actually a highlight of my birthday. The cool air and lovely evening light streaming into our room, relaxing in the afternoon/early evening.



Then we went to our rooftop terrace and had champagne. We talked about our trip and looked through our photos. I couldn't have asked for a better 30th birthday! That night we decided to go in search of a pizza restaurant that Claire, the woman we interviewed, recommended. Yes, we had pizza TWO times on my birthday! We coined this our eating adventure. We had to take the bus and the metro to an area that is off of the tourist maps of Rome. It took much longer than we anticipated and ended up being more of an adventure than eating. We did find the restaurant, and we did have pizza, but we had to rush to eat since the metro closed at 11:30. All part of the traveling adventure.



On the way home, Matt stopped and got us a dessert to go from a restaurant a block from our house. We took it home and he set it up with two candles from the apartment (near the dessert) and sang to me again. What a day!

I would have to say that it is really strange to be 30. Almost surreal. I had mixed feelings about it yesterday until Matt looked at me at one point and said "don't worry, Pix - being 30 is a really great place to be and I know you'll like it" I instantly felt better. I'm not looking back - 30 here I am!!!

Today we are doing another Context Travel tour to see the Colleseum, Pantheon, etc. - the sights of Rome. Tomorrow we travel back to LA. We leave here at 8am and get into LA at noon. Traveling back in time!

I will write more and post photos/video when we get back to CA.

Jessica O.