Let's start from the beginning...
Rome has been expecting snow for a couple days now and today it got it. It rained for most of the morning, switched to flurries from about 10-12, and then it started to stick. Now Rome doesn't even handle rain well, and snow is even worse. Not only is it precipitation (even just that frightens the Romans), but this is the first MEASURABLE snowfall in Rome in 27 years (My Italian isn't perfect so I'm not entirely sure that's true, but its close).
Silly me left my camera at home because I had a full day of classes, but as the snow started to stick I ran (not kidding) home to grab my stuff. Every Italian was out with their camera taking pictures or video (remember, anyone under the age of 20 probably hasn't seen real snow in person unless they vacationed in the north) and I was not to be left out, this was a once in a generation event. There were snow covered vespas, people, smart cars, Spanish Steps... everything.
Do you know how Romans battle the snow?
...oh, because neither do they.
The usual sanitation crews were out there with their old brooms, street sweepers, and the occasional bag of salt to try to clean streets and walkways (though they are essentially the same thing in Rome) and they were not hacking it. I have to say they made CUA's clean up of the snowpocolypse look good. By the evening main roads were pretty clear because of heavy traffic, but the side streets and walkways were covered in packed snow and ice. Walking was difficult and sometimes dangerous, but it was a Friday night and I was not to be kept in.
Bianca and I had dinner plans with Matt in Trastevere but had to walk because the buses were not running. At this point snow has become rain; everything is wet, cold, and miserable. Oh and Bianca is hungry. Remember what happens when Bianca is hungry? We have dinner and head over to our new favorite place (been there once), The Bakery. Now remember how Rome just doesn't do snow? Well apparently it keeps them from going out on a Friday night too because NO ONE was in Trastevere. We had the place all to ourselves.
Just our time at The Bakery could be a story, but it's not one for this post. Though as the only three people in the entire bar, we did get personal attention for all of our drinks and made friends with the bartender, Manuelle. Well, Bianca did more than me or Matt...
The bar closed up at midnight because of the low turnout (apparently three American 20 somethings wasn't good enough) and we all headed to the tram stop hoping to get lucky... and catch a tram for at least part of our journey. (Sidenote: Matt threw a snowball and hit me square in the temple. Now this kid does not do sports, it is just not his thing, so I think I was more impressed with his aim/luck than I was upset he just cold clocked me with a snowball - pun intended) Matt hops on the tram and Bianca and I head for Piazza Venezia to find a bus, only to find there are no buses running.
She and I (really just I) decide to walk up Via del Corso toward home (it was about 5.5 km and I don't feel like doing math right now) to enjoy the snow. It was just an awesome moment to be walking/standing/frolicking in the snow again and in ROME. Bianca just wanted to get home and may have been possibly enjoying herself a little bit, but I was all about the snow. I kept going on an on about how special this kind of experience was, though only to be dampened by my camera being out of battery. I would see something I would want to capture in a photo and say, "damn my camera, why didn't I bring a spare battery!" For 20 or so minutes we talked (well I talked, she tolerated) about the idea of snow, being in Rome, snow in Rome, wanting to capture the experience forever and then Bianca said to me, "This moment... No one else can have it. It's just yours."
Then I was actually glad my camera wasn't working. I've practiced seeing the world as a photographer and finding the photo that is offered to me, and at the same time forced myself to not be constrained to the camera lens. I really wanted to be able to share what I saw and what I experienced tonight: the Tevere with snow covered banks, an empty and snow covered Via del Corso, and young Italians experiencing snow for the first time, but I can't. And I'm ok with that.
Tonight was an experience for me, and no one else can have it.
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