Quick Update from Roma

I wish I had more time to blog while I'm here in Europe, but I don't have my beloved laptop and Internet cafes are time-sucks away from my precious sightseeing excursions, so I'll be brief.

I'm very excited to read in a Nation email today that the CPE (the awful proposed law in France that would have eliminated the little job security young French people have) has been repealed by Jacques Chirac in response to all the pressure from students mostly and also labor (University campus shut-downs, strikes, rallies, marches, etc.--at least one general strike our host in France, a school teacher, took part in). And in Italy, a new left-leaning President has been elected, booting out the rival incumbent, who was a staunch ally of Bush's vis a vis the war in Iraq. There are political posters up everywhere in Rome, including Green (Verdi) party and Reformed Communist party posters. We even passed a Communist party office the other day where a bunch of people were gathered in the street outside watching the exit poll results of the Italian Presidential race. The Nation reports that the election of this new President shows that Italian voters want out of Iraq.

Yesterday H. and I strolled around in awe in the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill and Colosseo (Coliseum). Of course we've been eating a lot of delicious Romano food and drinking some off-the-hook coffee everyday too. Now we're off to see our last big site of the trip: the Vatian Museums and the Sistine Chapel.

More updates and pictures of my trip--which, in short, has been amazing amazing amazing--when I return back home (and to my laptop and wifi :-)).