All Roads Lead To...

My first full day in Rome was different than that to which I've become accustomed. I actually have family here. My great (or is it 'grand') uncle Dick is a profesor here at a local college. I got ahold of him and set a time to meet this morning. I walked around a little, found the Colloseum and the Roman Forum, and then went to meet him. I hadn't really spent any time with him before this, so I was a little anxious. But it turned out pretty well... he was obviously used to being around people my age. He was also kind enough to get me a room in the residence where he was staying while I was in Rome (I don't know how much that cost him, though, but thank you Uncle Dick).

Once settled in a bit, my first order of business was to finally... finally see Star Wars. It turned out that one of my great uncle's friends wanted to see it as well. We ended up seeing it at the same theater where it was premiered last night. I must that I enjoyed the experience, but I have to hold off any judgement because I liked the first two when I saw them for the first time too (I still think the second one is pretty good... the first, we're all agreed, is crap... haha.. sort of). I will say that knowing Vader's story definitely adds more depth to his character, but it seems like his journey towards the dark side was more of a conscious choice than the expected result of overwhelming rage and fear. Although, perhaps he wasn't fully committed until the very end. Still, he seemed motivated to do evil for good reasons like saving Padme and protecting (what he considered to be) the Republic. I'm not sure if I believed he was evil (again maybe at the end he committed). I guess I'll have to see it again.

I got a small tour of a Baroque Church, Trevi Fountain, and some of Rome's thirteen obelisks from my great uncle's friend on the way back to supper at their residence. I definitely learned and appreciated more than if I had just walked around and found them on my own. After dinner, I got a small walking tour and a good conversation from my great uncle. Rome is a collection of small, busy streets and larger, even busier ones that often open to bustling pedistrian squares that pepper the city. We walked between a few and saw a couple of sights (Definitely get as much gelati as you can while you're here). It was pretty good night.