Dai Dai Dai!

I've been craving some climbing ever since I left Spain, so today I ventured to the furthest area of Rome I have yet to explore in search of a bouldering gym I found online. I followed the river north of the Vatican for a few miles, and it was one of the most beautiful walks I've had yet. All the Romans were out enjoying the sunshine that is breaking the recent cold snap. Old houses in shades of pink, yellow, orange, and green lined the river, and there were even a few crew shells scuttling about like water bugs, being chased by coaches in kayaks. When I reached the gym I met some fantastically friendly Italian climbers, and after paying up and apologizing profusely for how out of shape I am they showed me around. The gym is a spacious area of bouldering walls and caves, all of which went much higher than I am accustomed to. The routes are designated by tape color; white is the easiest, yellow is medium, black is hard, red is hardest. I struggled around on some white routes for a while before attempting one yellow. Italians are intense! The owner of the gym even took pity on me and set a route for me, which he labeled with smiley faces, probably to make me feel better since I was getting my ass kicked by every other person there. It worked, and I left the most satisfied I've been since Spain, and with a few blisters to brag about. I may not be able to pick up a feather tomorrow, but you can bet I'll be back there as soon as possible.