The Benefits of Being Blonde

Italian men are notorious for their catcalling, kissing faces, and absurd sounds and gestures to attract women. Throughout orientation we were lectured a handful of times about how to react to these advances. Just ignore them. But should you  ignore them when you're getting free bottles of wine and get to play bartender at a restaurant? Probably, but it's always a tempting offer. The other night we went on a walking tour with Andy Steves (Rick Steve's son). He took us through Campo di Fiori, Piazza Navono, and we ended up at a spectacular restaurant right behind the Pantheon. The restaurant was 15 euro for a four course meal and bottomless water and wine. It'd be silly to pass up the free water...and wine too. After the meal, Christina (a blonde), three other blondes, and myself were asked by the owner to go behind the bar. He told us, "This is all yours. Whatever you like. Now you are the bartender." Then he proceeded to bring out the restaurant's own "Sexy Wine". Each table received a bottle, but so did each blonde bartender. As we left he made sure to tell us that the bar is always open for us. If this is one of the perks of being in Rome, I could get used to this.

 The Blondes behind the bar

Christina and I with our new friend and tour guide Andy Steves