Clare_2

15/05/07

I decided to take a road trip up to Rome yesterday so that I could attend the Notte Bianca or “White Night” festival later on that night. It was a good opportunity to get to know Italy’s culture a little better. The festival itself is a celebration where the city of Rome stays open the whole night and locals and visitors come together to get to know Rome from a new perspective.

While driving up there, I could really appreciate the beauty of the countryside. At times I found it hard to keep my eyes on the road because of the lush, incredible surroundings. It sure was a contrast compared to the dry yellowy tones of Australia. I drove past many agricultural plantations including that of apricots, cherries, lemons, peaches and vegetables however the most common being vineyards. The road to Rome is very populated and curvy. The most scenic and magical part of the drive is when the road leads you to the top of a hill, then as you’re just reaching the peak the landscape explodes out in front of you, the green, lush, mountainous region with all these layers of white buildings. It was quite a spectacle.

When I arrived in Rome, I was unsure about where the festival actually was, so I asked around without any success. I decided to buy a map from one of the local corner stores, I then went up to the locals and asked “Notte Bianca festival?” and showed them the map. This proved successful as they simply had to point at the map and off I went. I then booked into the Marcella Royal hotel and went upstairs to take a nap.

Last night/this morning was on of the most magical experience of my life. As soon as I exited the hotel lobby at about 9:30 p.m, I could see the streets had come to life! Everyone was out and about, traditional classical and choral music was playing and everything was open for business. I decided first to go and join in on some of the traditional dance that was being taught in the town square, all the locals were so friendly and greeted me with big smiles, some of the women even gave me a kiss on both cheeks and the men did the same or kissed my hand and said “Cio, come siete?” which means “Hello, how are you?” in Italian.

It was incredible to see all of what Rome had to offer in the one place. They show cased some of Italy’s most famous and proud cultures such as art, theatre, cinema, music, dance and sport. Also their clothing, most came dressed in traditional Italian clothing, it was an array of deep reds, bright yellows and oranges and flowy but fitted dresses.

The event finally came to an end the next morning and I happily retired to my hotel to sleep. Lucky I had had that nap yesterday afternoon.