Snow in Rome

Snow in Rome

One of the main reasons I was ecstatic for Rome was the fact that the weather is significally warmer than Chicago.  I packed a light jacket and a light pea coat, not even considering there could be any weather colder than maybe mid forty or fifty degrees. Little did I know that I would need a bigger jacket; there was snow coming!

This past weekend, as well as the weekend before, a huge snowstorm hit Rome.  Professors were saying that this is the worst snow Rome has had in about thirty years!  We had a snowday, because the professors couldn’t make it into class and we were also strongly encouraged to not leave the building.

The funny thing is, the snow wasn’t even that bad.  Italians just aren’t used to snow, so they had no idea how to react.  Also, using salt to melt the ice isn’t common here, so it was very slippery.  The whole city shut down. Busses and taxis stopped running and restaurants, cafes shut down.  It was impossible to get anywhere for a few days.

It was fun playing in the snow, even if it did seem significantly less than what I’m used to in my hometown (the snowbelt of Northeast Ohio).  It was cool to see my new friends from California experience their first snow; most of them had never experienced it!  Here’s a picture of the snow covering a vineyard in Tuscany (they got a lot more than Roma).

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