puttin' the love back into rome

i've been livin here in rome for over four years now, and between the chaos of the city, italy's cultural and economic crisis, a disheartening level of pollution, beaurocracy and general technological backwardness, the aussie in me tends to get pretty fed up with it all. plus, i've even started driving now which means no more night buses, but a whole load of unparalleled road hysteria. there are a lot of angry people out there.

i crave wide open roads and forests and trees and silence and oxigen.
i've also realized that i need to take a different approach and start making note of all the things i do love about this place. so here we go: a new series called puttin' the love back into rome.

To start off we have:

More often than not, cars in rome do not stop to let pedestrians pass, unless there is a traffic light. One of the things that helps me love rome better is the surprised pedestrian. driving along the busy street i see him, he has been waiting forever to cross (too often i am in his place). i stop, he glances in awe, smiles and gives a little wave. there should be more smiling and waving everywhere, generally.