In Love With Scooters

“Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate.”

-Captain Jack Sparrow

I often speak of the simple beauty of Rome. The magic that surrounds this city. With every step taken on a cobblestone road, and every ancient landmark passed on the way to work, the atmosphere is simply enchanting.

One of my deepest desires, and wishes has been to ride around Rome, touring the city on a motorbike. When I was in Reggio, all my friends and I dreamed of riding a vespa. It’s a fear of mine, but as they say... 

“When in Rome.”   

I love the idea of touring Rome in the open air, 
with the wind in my face (despite realizing I will have major helmet head). I never thought I would get the chance to ride on a scooter through Rome, but yesterday,
 I crossed this wish off my bucket list!

Making a bucket list helped me realize the importance of adventure. Of facing your fears and diving head first into a world of unknown things and territories.

Helen Keller said it best, that
“Life is either a great adventure or nothing”.

I choose a great adventure.

So in the city with horrible, horrible drivers, a lack of respect for the rules of the road,  little cars, angry Romans, and scooters flying in and out of every corner of the city, I chose to hop on the back of a motorbike and conquer a fear.

Safe? That is yet to be determined.

The bike looked a little something like this:

The driver looked similar to this:

I might have seen death flash before my eyes, but, it was all worth it.  A tour around ancient Rome on the back of a scooter driven my own personal Jack Sparrow, I'll take it. 
A simple beauty driving around Ancient Rome, a simple treasure I will cherish.

Race For The Cure...Ancient Rome Style!

La Corsa Per La Lotta AI Tumori Del Seno

Susan G. Komen Italia

Since becoming an avid runner, I always wanted to participate in the Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure 5K. I’ve known many women who have fought the battle against breast cancer; it is a fight I have never battled, but running for such a great cause and for such a beautiful celebration of womanhood seemed fitting.

Not realizing the immense size of the Komen foundation, I was shocked when Francesca registered me for the race, in ROME! I knew Komen was huge in America, but had no idea it covered worldwide.

Today, my friend Sabrina and I were able to participate in this exact race - in ROME!

We went into the center of Rome, leaving Ostia at 8 am (on a Sunday, this was rough) and arriving shortly after. 

The size of the crowd was unbelievable!

Thousands and thousands of people; walkers, runners, spectators, survivors, families....you name it, they were there.

Not only was the company wonderful, the route left me speechless (maybe more so than the running) ! During the 5K, we passed through ANCIENT ROME;  Circo Massimo, Colosseo, Piazza Venezia (and probably several other sites I missed trying to avoid falling on the pebblestone streets). 

To me, it was a HUGE deal to be passing by such historical landmarks, but to everyone surrounding me, it was just another day in the life of a Roman....che bella vita!!

It was an honor to run in a race that matter such a great deal to so many people, and it was truly beautiful to run this race in Rome!