Day two:

The waiter has just informed me that the people on the table next to me have paid for my wine. I'm in shock. What lovely generous people this city attracts! I thank them and they say its a good luck gift for my adventures here. We had been chatting over our dinner for 3.5 hours and at this point I could probably write their collective biographies, but thats just how it seems to be here. Unless you ask for the bill it aint coming. No one is in a rush to give away your table even during peak times and waiters pretty much leave you alone to enjoy the atmosphere as long as you wish. London restaurants should take note. 

The table next to me have left now and I set about finishing my homework from class today, heart warmed from the past few hours I spent with them. School today was so much fun and utterly hilarious from start to finish. I arrived early after my 37 minute walk from my flat and found a collection of students waiting outside for the doors to open. To say it was a mixed bag is an understatement. A nun dressed head to toe in black and white garbs stood reading a very large and elaborately decorated bible right next to a guy with rows upon rows of gold chains, a flat cap, rings on every finger and thumpy music leaking from his headphones. An elderly gentleman hummed cheerfully as he peeled a banana in the most overstated and theatrical way I have ever seen. I couldn't help but smile. This was going to be fun. 

I opt for the beginners class and head up the very grand marble stairs to a classroom on the first floor. The school shares a building with the embassy which also occupies next door, and so the school has a much more regal atmosphere than I was expecting! We meet our teacher Marta who insists on shaking everyone's hand and saying her own name extremely slowly - MA-RRR-TA - whilst pointing to herself.... 13 times to be exact. Learning objective 1 complete, we begin the class. It soon becomes apparent that despite all the students speaking english, ONLY Italian will be permitted in the classroom. I expect that Marta will use english however to translate vocab and explain concepts. I am wrong. Marta acts out the word she is trying to teach us and solicits guesses from the class....but only in Italian...which is tricky when the word is in fact Italian. Its like that game where you have to describe something without using the actual word. Issue is. NO ONE SPEAKS ITALIAN. The entire 3 hour class therefore is essentially a very very long game of charades. This is EXTREMELY entertaining as people shout out in broken Italian and Marta's acting becomes ever more desperate and exaggerated the further we stray from comprehension. I was wondering if maybe just telling us what it is in English would be more effective. Definitely quicker, and quieter. However Marta is so energetic and the class so entertaining that I'm sure I will forever remember the day I learned the word green house after 4 minutes of frantic picture drawing, miming, and holding up vaguely related objects. This class is comedy gold, so I have a feeling the material is going to stick! 

School is out at 12:15 and so is the sunshine, so a friendly classmate and I head out to find a spot of lunch. He is a photographer and journalist from Los Angeles and is here on an assignment from a magazine to write 'a week in the life of a Roman'. He is keen to experience the full force of la dolce vita and the unapologetic indulgence and pleasure it prescribes. Im more than happy to help him on this quest and we settle on a sunny spot in Piazza di San Salvatore in Lauro. We talk, eat and bask in the sun whilst comparing our work histories, places of birth, education and travels. Its amazing how much ground you can cover with someone when neither of you are rushing off anywhere, and are just happy to be right there soaking up the present moment. An ice-cream for the road and we say our goodbyes.

It is HOT out now so I head back home and arrive at my flat at 4:30. I only slept 4 hours last night so a nap is totally on the cards. And let me tell you, it was a great nap! When I wake up its 6:00 and the streets outside are starting to hum. I get ready, grab my camera and head out. I walk around for while taking some pictures of the streets as the light starts to fade. For dinner I chose a place on the road adjacent to mine with nice cosy tables lining the exterior and spilling onto the road. That is where I am now, full of food, wine, new vocab, and warmth from new friends. Time for that bill I think.