Sean Arrives, Lazio Soccer Game

Ciao friends!

Yesterday Sean made it to Rome!  His flight got in around 11 and I went to pick him up from the airport, where we cabbed it back to my apartment.

Today was a touristy day.  We went to the Vatican (my 3rd time, Sean's 1st) where he got to climb to the top of St. Peter's for the best view in the city, and we toured around the church there for a bit.

This evening, we went out to dinner at Tony's for some penne with vodka sauce which was awesome (they even gave us free dessert)!

Tonight, we immersed ourselves in Italian culture by going to the Lazio vs. Fiorentina soccer match.  The weather was crummy all day, and it looked like it was going to rain for the game.  We were about to tap out and call it a night, but it was only a light rain, so we decided to go anyway (which ended up being a great decision as we were under cover in the stadium, so we didn't even get wet).  We initially tried to get there using public transportation, but after waiting 40 minutes for a bus that never came, we took a cab to Stadio Olimpico.   We arrived just in time for the beginning of the match.

European soccer fans are the most passionate sports fans I've been around.  They'd memorized and sung about 30 different cheers, all screaming at the top of their lungs in unison for every one.  They would wait for the cue from the cheer directors (wearing gray jackets facing the crowd, standing near the field) before they screamed their hearts out for the next cheer.  From the sight of it, 50 percent of Stadio Olimpico was empty, but you couldn't tell by how loud it was in our seats, the Curva Nord section (loudest and most crowded section in the stadium).  This was where the die hard Lazio soccer fans were, and they didn't sit at down at any point during the match (except halftime).  Lazio lost 2-0.  It was a very cool experience.

Tomorrow, Sean and I are playing basketball with Italians, and he's coming to my Italian Language and Culture class.  We leave for Paris on Friday.  I'll keep updating this throughout the week.

JC