<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9180115.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-7863" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9180115-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a>I mentioned previously that I consumed a bit too much (half a bottle) of my new favorite wine on Night 358.  This wine is indeed fab, so if you ever come across it, then cin cin!  (That means "drink half a bottle" in Italian.)

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Rocket scientist that I was that day, I also chose to celebrate my "feel the fear and do it anyway" bike moment with a mojito at lunch.  And a nightcap later that evening.  And I think I may have tasted someone's homemade beer.  I don't even like beer.  But I'm a gracious guest.  I would rather take a few sips then insult someone's pride and joy.

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Did I mention that I really don't drink too much or too often?  I'm that girl who always orders water.  It drives my friend, Sarah, nuts.

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Combine the day's sloshfest with only a few hours sleep, and you have a woman who has no business boarding a bus headed for Rome.

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[caption id="attachment_7926" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="You know you&#39;re hungover when...you&#39;re at an autogrill in Italy and the only thing you can even think about stomaching is Pringles."]<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9200208.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-7926" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9200208-300x263.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="263" /></a>[/caption]

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Shame.  On.  Me.

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I am an embarrassment to all Foodies in the good ol' U.S. of A.  I misrepresented our kind, and I am truly sorry for my actions.

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It gets worse.

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What I <em>really</em> wanted more than <em>anything</em> that day was Taco Bell.  That's right.  I would have sacrificed an entire week's worth of cappuccinos for two Crunchy Taco Supremes (hold the tomato, please).

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Horrific, isn't it?

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As fate would have it, I was SOL because tacos don't exist in Italia.  I believe they are banned.  Along with any other ethnic cuisine that isn't Italian.  Except for Pringles.  The CEO's grandmother more than likely hails from Italy.

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After the longest, bumpiest, and most nauseating bus ride of my life, we arrived in Roma.  Upon exiting the bus, I kissed the ground.  (Not really.  I added that for dramatic effect.  My parents, however, <em>did</em> suffer through a nightmare of a plane trip once from Cancun.  After vacating the plane, the passengers actually kissed the ground before racing to the nearest restroom.  I suppose that I should be thankful for small miracles.  It can always be worse, my friends.  It can always be worse.)

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My cousins and I discussed lunch.  Bill voted for McDonald's.  Apparently, a junk food demon possessed my body that day.  I heard myself uttering, "I'll have McDonald's!"  I don't even like McDonald's.  But I am a gracious cousin who supports my kin when he needs me.

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<span style="font-size: medium; color: #008000;"><strong>Rhonda gasped.  I thought she might grab the nearest crucifix (we were a block away from the Vatican) and shout, "Begone, vile junk food demon!!!!"</strong></span>

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Instead, she put her foot down and insisted on a trattoria, God bless her.

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I scoped out the menu.  "GRILLED CHEESE!!!!!"  Another small miracle.

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Bill carefully studied every menu item as he always does.  "FRENCH FRIES!!!!"  A miracle of biblical proportions.  It must have been our close proximity to the Vatican.

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Time passed.  And passed.  And passed.  Italians enjoy leisurely meals.

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The waiter arrived with our lunch.

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This is what grilled cheese in Rome looks like:

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[caption id="attachment_7927" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="You got it! It&#39;s a piece of cheese that is grilled."]<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9200229.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-7927" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9200229-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>[/caption]

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Bill immediately looked around for our waiter.

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This time, it was I who gasped, "NO!!!!"

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I am by no means going to insult an Italian because his grilled cheese is different than my grilled cheese.  I am not going to be one of <em>those</em> Americans.  I AM A GRACIOUS GUEST!!! Even when I'm nursing one of the worst hangovers of my life and want to cry at this point.

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Instead of crying, I turned lemons into lemonade.

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[caption id="attachment_7930" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Or, if you want me to be literal, I turned a piece of cheese that is grilled and a hunk of bread into an American grilled cheese sandwich."]<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9200230.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-7930" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9200230-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>[/caption]

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With a full belly, I was ready to conquer the Ancient World!  I had only the rest of the afternoon.  (I would leave for the airport at 3 a.m. the next morning!)  Rome wasn't built in a day, and I had only 1/2 a day to explore it.  Not ideal, but neither is a lack of a Taco Bell nor a piece of cheese that is grilled slapped on top of bread.  When in Rome, you make do.  It's Roma!!!  It's magnificent!!!

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We descended upon Ancient Rome, and I stood transfixed.  I started to cry.  Not from the hangover, but from a sense of awe that I had never experienced.

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I am from a baby country.  Since I had never been outside of North America, I had never witnessed anything of such historical depth.  Sure, I had just seen medieval villages all over Tuscany, but those remains were <em>new</em> compared to these!

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If you've never been you <em>must</em> go.  Please leave more than 1/2 a day.  In the meantime, you can visit through my photo portal.

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<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9200250.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-7933" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9200250-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a><a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9200254.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-7934" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9200254-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>

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<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9200302.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-7938" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9200302-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a><a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9200307.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-7939" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9200307-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>

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<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9200322.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-7940" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9200322-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a><a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9200319.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-7941" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9200319-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>

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<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9200269.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-7935" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9200269-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a><a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9200333.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-7937" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9200333-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a>

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You're probably wondering about the final photo.  Remember when I mentioned in Day 358's post that Italians graffiti <em>everything,</em> and I do mean <em>everything</em>?  I learned in the coliseum that Italians have been graffiti-ing since the beginning of time.  Yes, there's <em>ancient</em> graffiti depicting gladiators in the coliseum!

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The graffiti above is modern day Texas A &amp; M graffiti.  Not in Texas, but in Rome.  When in Rome, my cousin just so happened to wear his Texas A &amp; M shirt.  Oh, the oddities and surprises of life!

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When in Rome, my cousin and I decided to order french fries for a SECOND time that day at dinner, much to Rhonda's horror.

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<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9200334.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-7942" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9200334-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>

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There was no ketchup to be found.  Italians eat their french fries with mayo.  And since we are gracious guests, we ate our french fries with mayo, too.

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