I should really start carrying my camera around...

There are few truer statements than the above. I often times find myself in the most interesting places, yet have no means of capturing their beauty due to my lack of foresight. This week really took the cake in that regard.

On Wednesday night we met our Italian counterparts for dinner in an area of Rome we had never been before called Magliana I believe. I might be wrong, but its been typed and its too late to google whether or not it is in fact the name of where the restaurant was located. Anyways, it was a lovely time (language barriers and all) and we planned on meeting Thursday morning to go to another place we had never been called EUR, which is on the outskirts of Rome and is known as the affluent part of the city. We missed the first bus there by mere footsteps, and the next bus came 45 minutes later. It was a beautiful, sunny day, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

We finally got to the area and were all immediately struck by it. Unlike the center of Rome, which is nearly all metropolitan with old buildings and streets as wide as my wingspan, EUR was covered in lush green grass and skyscrapers. It was clear we were in a totally different area. We walked past a manmade lake on a path called "Passegiata Giapponese" which means "Walkway of Japan." I could not give a good reason it is called this, as it looks nothing like Japan architecturally, naturally, or otherwise; however, it may be due to the overwhelming sense of serenity that passes over you while looking out onto the blue lake and fountains. We continued to explore the area, coming across the Square Colosseum. This was a building erected in 1935 under the fascist rule of Mussolini. It is mainly a convention space now, but our Italians told us that due to it's origins, they oft do not promote the building, despite its intriguing facade.

I also went to a club last night called "Goa" which is supposedly one of the more exclusive clubs in Rome. As we entered we immediately noticed that unlike many other clubs and bars where other exchange and foreign students frequent, this bar was nearly 100% Italian. It was a very cool building with tons of decoration that purported its exclusivity.