A roadie in Rome!

I was one lucky girl last week, I got to accompany Mark on a gig to Rome! All I had to do was carry the guitar (oh wait, I didn't do that), wrap cords (I wrapped at least one) and be a great fan. (that, I was stellar at)

The band was tasked to play for an election party at the US Embassy in Rome. That party had to be one of the most interesting, lots of Italians watching lots of US television, showing just as much excitement, worry and anticipation as your average Joe American. The embassy staff were great hosts as they provided the Italians with tons of iconic USA. What would that be you ask? Well for starters, McDonalds . . . I'm not kidding . . . we are talking hundreds if not thousands of cheeseburger and hamburgers going into hundreds if not thousands of Italian mouths. For the love?! . . . McDonalds to represent the good 'ol USA? McDonalds alone (if a study could be done) is probably THE reason we are the largest and have the worst heart disease stats. But I digress, there were other iconic albeit unhealthy memorabilia too: Pepsi, Diet Coke, Budweiser, Cheeto's, Doritos, Kellogg's, Gatorade . . . and the most odd of all, a table with burritos, chicken wings, tortilla chips and salsa. Those Italians waited sometimes as long as 30-40 minutes for that table. Call me crazy but aren't burritos and tortilla chips from south of our border?! Oh, well it was fun seeing their reaction. Supposedly you cannot buy Doritos in Europe. If you can, I haven't seen them! Do they not know how lucky they are to step outside and instantly find pasta and pizza heaven on every corner. Just goes to show that the grass always APPEARS greener on the other side.

So as the night went on and we continued to watch the ebb and flow of electoral votes we waited to see who was going to be our new Commander in Chief. Did McCain have a chance to take it? Looked like it in the beginning . . .


. . . but we all know how it turned out. I sure don't envy these men, the American people have put the world's weight of pressure on these men, there are quite a few messes to clean up. Mark and I saw posters all over Rome with Obama's picture and the caption in Italian read "Change the World", but wait, isn't he our president?! And why is it left to the American's to always step up and make change or clean up messes, then we all just complain about it. It is a crazy world we live in. But we must remember they are only human and they are dealing with a mean, ugly, nasty beehive of problems with a bunch of politicians that just can't seem to get along. Good Luck to ya!


So here is a collection of images from the night:

This one is for you Dad:
And this one is for me! Oh yea, they knew I was comin' for the Diet Coke table was where?! Right next to the band!

So I'll post our Roman Holiday next as we had the next 2 days to explore Rome and all it's wonders.