Roman Holiday

Hi ladies,
I'm back! Rome was positively transcendental! Le Sisters Williams ate and bonded and Sistine Chapeled and gelatoed until our Uggs begged us for mercy (there we are at one of the city's fanciest restaurants, Il Pagliacco!). The weather was cloudy, cold and generally tragic, but it didn't matter. We packed our days with sightseeing and good times, and after dinner, we'd crawl into bed and watch episodes of The Wire on Lauren's laptop. Heaven. Uh-oh, I feel bullets coming on. It's the only way to adequately describe my thoughts re:Rome. Here goes:

* Roman men are FAR chicer than the women. While the ladies wore a lot of accessories and prints, the boys strutted around town in snug little blazers, ties, artfully rumpled hair and impeccable denim. And they all had pouty red lips.

* Michaelangelo is unbearably sexy. I came to understand this while touring the Sistine Chapel. Any man that can manipulate his body in such a way that he's able to paint the hell out of an unimaginably vast CEILING gets my vote. Though I suspect he'd be more interested in Adam.


















* The whole world is obsessed with Obama vs. Hillary. On a tour of the Colosseum (there I am, posing in front!), a sixty-something Irish couple drilled us for inside info on the campaign--and you wouldn't BELIEVE how much they knew about the race, the issues, and the drama. I mean, if someone asked me to name the Irish president (prime minister?), I'd be tempted to say Bono.

* Roman women embrace their curls! I saw nary a blowout during the entire vacay. It was so liberating.

* Rome has very few black people, so we were movie stars. At every turn, it was, "Scusi, are you related to Vanessa?" Um no, sir, but I got the right stuff.


* If you ever find yourself in Rome, visit Dar Poeta for pizza, and San Crispino for the best gelato in Italy, by all accounts (witness me and Devon/Brownie, trying to find it). And stay at the Hotel Lodi! It was off the beaten path, but very inexpensive...and quite cozy, if you wouldn't mind the lack of a proper shower (to be clear, there was a "washing station" in the bathroom, composed of a bidet with a showerhead stuck to the wall above it. We used a lot of
Mustela Baby Wipes ($10), if you get what I'm saying.

* I'd be reckless and wrong if I didn't share with you my favorite travel beauty products. Actually, my favorite part of vacay prep is assembling a product arsenal to keep in my bag! I love whipping out these fabulous little treats as I'm trekking around a strange city--they make me feel so pampered and jet-setty. Here are five of my favorites:

TIA'S TOP FIVE FAVORITE TRAVEL PRODUCTS

1.) B Fresh Deodorant Towelettes ($6.85 for 15): These disposable moist towelettes came in so handy, because I was wearing tons of layers (it was FREEZING), but then when we'd go inside, the artificial heat caused a bit of unsexy perspiration. They cleanse, they deodorize, and they come individually wrapped. Loves it.


2.) Stella McCartney Eau de Parfum Roll On ($15): I've said it a zillion times, yo. Stella is my absolute, hands-down favorite fragrance in the world. The blend of rose, mandarin and amber is just so sultry, clean, and feminine...and it smells different on everyone. Anyway, I carried this adorably portable roll-on tube (the size of a Sharpie) around in my bag, touching myself up on the wrists and behind my ears all day long. Rome will always smell like Stella to me. A wonderful thing!


3.) No Cooties Travel Spray ($9, good for 75 sprays): Loving this! I was NOT trying to catch a cold on this trip, and both of my sistresses were getting over a bug. So, on the plane to and fro, I constantly spritzed the air around my face with this incredible-smelling, air-purifying spray. Blended with essential oils, it somehow cleanses your immediate environment and protects against the transmission of airborne bacteria when sprayed in the air.



4.) EO Organic Hand Sanitizer ($4): This beauty editor favorite always comes in handy on vacay. EO's Organic Santizer seems much more glamorous than your standard drugstore variety. It's blended with essential oils (especially lavender, which is a natural cleanser) so it smells like a spa, and unlike the drugstore versions, it's seriously moisturizing. Great for an ancient city like Rome, which is covered in two-thousand-year-old germs that are crankier and more aggro than the strains found Stateside.


5.) Boscia Jujube Salve Stick ($16): My lips get so dry on the plane, so I LOVE this multi-tasking lip salve. It's blended with jujube fruit, macadamia nut oil, and licorice to smooth and soothe chapped, irritated skin. And you know how, during the day, your concealer starts to settle into your fine lines? Gently massage this stuff over the area, and your concealer is refreshed in an instant. Magical, no?