I literally gave myself 30 min to grab a couple souvenirs but I felt there was so much sight seeing and eating to do that shopping wasn't a priority. However!!! Next time I come back I'm saving one day just one day to shop!!! It's a must. Hopefully I strike gold prior to this next trip so I can actually shop at these high end stores that are breathtaking. I of course got a I <3 Roma Tshirt bc no really I do:) while shopping I noticed how many other tourist were surrounding me doing the same exact friggin thing. What baffled me the most was the amount of foreigners that work in Italy. An Asian women was running the shop i was at. The stands up and down the streets were run by Indians. I guess to me in the US it's so common to have so many different races but I didn't expect this here. Rome is a melting pot. I met an australian couple. Who I ran into twice on the metro, crazy! I met a Chicago couple. I met so many different people that were not Italian and living there. We live in a country where u just don't leave so it's hard for me to grasp...I mean hecks yeah I could live in Italy. But lets be honest do I really want to live in a country that's run by a president who runs a huge prostitution ring and doesn't get charged with s*** lol I however love how much Europeans put work as a second priority. I know in the US we have the opportunity to dream big and make those dreams actually come true. Unlike Europe it isn't as easy. However it's become an obsession that Americans work work and work. In Italy people are so happy and full of life. Forlenzo said he lived in a houseful of guys and he was the only one who worked. Wtf? Lol. Forlenzo was obviously ambitious. He's traveled all over Europe and speaks 4 languages. In the USA I am obsessing about how to take the next big step in life career wise and squeezing in some small vacation time in between. I dream to adapt more of leisurely lifestyle and even living in Miami I still feel that I am a workaholic. Also when I go to Costa Rica to visit I see how family and pleasure are first. I know we all want it all and I'll be the first one to say it. La Dolce Vitta is really the Italian way and it was amazing to be a part of that lifestyle for a bit!