Girls Night Out in Rome (American Pop Culture Style)

If my 22-year-old self met my 30-year-old self, she'd probably be a bit  disappointed in how boring I've become.  My evening attire is most often athletic shorts and a sweatshirt, my ideal Saturday night is being curled up on the couch with Tom, eating pizza and watching a movie, and I could probably count the number of times I've been out past midnight in recent months on one hand (after all, being out late makes it difficult to get up early on Sundays to run or go on other daytime adventures).  But, my 22-year-old self is just going to have to deal with it because my 30-year-old self absolutely loves this "lame" domestic lifestyle.    

Photos of the Club are all from the Internet, since mine just look like blurs

Still, every once in a while it's fun to spend a night out on the town and remind myself that I can still be young and hip and cool when I want to be.  (Or, at least, it's fun to attempt to be these things- the fact that I just used the word "hip" probably indicates that I'm not, in fact, very "cool" or "hip" or whatever term the kids are using these days.)  To be honest, I rarely have the motivation to plan such an evening myself, but luckily one of my friends here had a stroke of genius and planned a girls night out at a local club.  So, on Saturday, eight of us got dressed up (to the extent that our limited wardrobes allowed), donned a little extra eyeliner, and headed out (in cabs) to the Micca Club on the other side of the city.  

I need to figure out what this is and order some next time....

If I could take all my favorite things from every bar/club I've ever been to and roll it into one place, the Micca Club is what I'd end up with.  It had a fun yet classy vibe without seeming snotty or like it took itself too seriously, and the ambiance was fantastic.  It felt like being inside a roomy brick cave (caves are appealing, right?), which was filled with colored lights and interestingly dressed people.  Actually it probably wasn't *that* roomy by Minnesota standards, but after having lived in San Francisco for many years (where many bars are the size of a studio apartment), it felt enormous!  They also had a talented English-speaking bartender and an extensive cocktail list with some very unique options (such as the "taste divine,"which involved cinnamon and egg whites).  I stuck with red wine (normally I'd prefer a good microbrew on tap, but that's tough to find in Italy), but maybe next time I'll be a bit more adventurous.    

Dance Floor (which was much more crowded when we were there!)

The best part by far, though, was the music and the performances.  The DJ was spinning tunes from the 50's and 60's, which, to my surprise, meant American oldies and not Italian music, and so we had a blast dancing to Chubby Checker, Leslie Gore, The Isley Brothers, and even the Beach Boys' "Surfin' USA."  Since my parents always listened to oldies while I was growing up, it somehow feels like the music of my childhood, too, and I absolutely love it.  To add to the mood, they had old black and white film running showing various clips and scenes from that time period.

I have to say that it felt quite strange and hilarious to be dancing to American oldies in Italy, but all the Italians (even the younger ones) seemed to be familiar with the songs (even if they didn't quite know all the lyrics or the corresponding dance moves).  It's funny, obviously Italy has a very strong identity and culture of it's own, but American culture is still so pervasive here in a lot of ways.  It's easy to forget sometimes how influential our music, movies, slang, and even food is on other countries.  Of course, this influence can be for better or for worse (it bothers me to no end that Italians can buy their morning coffee at McDonalds), but in this case, the influence was a good one (at least in my opinion)!

In any case, there were people of all different ages in the club, and, much to my relief, there were no smokers (or, at least, no smoking inside the club) or handsy men to contend with.  Italian men sometimes get a bad rap (especially after "Jersey Shore" came out), but I have to say that they were a million times more laid back and respectful than many of the men you might encounter in American clubs.  Of course, the fact that it was drag night might have had something to do with that, but I'm still getting there...

From a different night, but similar to Saturday's show

So, if all of this wasn't already awesome enough, the club was also hosting a drag and burlesque show (with both male and female performers), which was amazing (although admittedly a bit off-theme from 50's and 60's night).  We saw "Cher" perform, watched a couple dance the Charleston (yes, the Charleston made it to Italy!), and saw enough sequins and feathers to dress a whole dance troupe (or an especially sassy marching band).  I like to tell myself that it was also a good "learning" experience since I did my best to understand all of the Italian that the MC spoke between acts, and during the course of the night, I did at the very least, 1) successfully ask the bartender for a glass of water, and 2) ask a girl if she was waiting for the bathroom (in Italian), so that's something.  

As you may be able to tell, I had a fantastic night out with the girls.  And, the best part is, since we're not 22 anymore, we left at a reasonable hour (around 1 AM), made it home without anyone fighting or  crying, and I didn't have to spend the rest of the night holding someone's hair over the toilet.  In fact, it was so much fun that I might be persuaded to wear something other than sweats on a Saturday night in the near future.  I do have a hunch that this isn't the only fun club in all of Rome, although it definitely will be a tough act to follow.

Alla Prossima,
Erin

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Mon. Feb. 4:  Spring is in the air!  Literally- things are starting to smell different and there are flying insects about, but weather-wise it's still a bit chilly- lows in the 30s and highs in the low to mid 50s.