Freeky Friday

Starting today, any Friday postings will be devoted to positivity, unity and love, in the name of Freekware. Two special bloggers (Concrete Jane, to whom I owe the design of this page, and Doctor Princess) inspired this Friday trend, and I invite you to learn more about it here: Concrete Jane. These posts will recognize the lifestyle that Freekware promotes, and today I respond to a prompt that I will (conveniently) relate to my blog.

"We're all getting psyched for summer. What plans are you most looking forward to?"

Well, since I leave tomorrow, my immediate answer is: ROME.

I'm looking forward to absolutely everything. Our group arrives Sunday morning and as of now, we have no definite plans, but I imagine we will find our hotel, get some food, fight jet lag and begin the adventure.

Our coach has arranged for us to swim Monday through Thursday in the mornings, with afternoons free for sightseeing (yay!). There are a few must-sees for me: the Pantheon, Villa Borghese and Bocca della Verita (see inspiration for this choice below). I somehow managed to miss the Pantheon in my last trips, but it's first on my list this time, and I will not forego the visit.

Bocca della Verita in Roman Holiday, with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck.

Looking past the sightseeing, I'm also ridiculously excited for the meet. The atmosphere of an international swim meet is nearly indescribable. It's three days and six sessions of intense competition and high-quality racing, made even more incredible by the friendly interactions among swimmers of every nationality. Any difference of languages doesn't even matter, really, because everyone speaks swimming.

This next week will certainly be an experience, and I'm looking forward to exploring Rome yet again and competing in that beautiful pool.

Happy Friday!