The Bachelor, Italian Style

     Maybe it's a sign that I have been in Italy for far too long, but I find myself caught up in this season's Uomini & Donne.  When I initially came to Italy in 2006 (for a trial run & some language study), my roommates and I scoffed at this hybrid of The Bachelor meets Ricki Lake (or if that's going too far back, I can toss a nod to Tyra Banks), but there has to be a bit more to the show as it's going 10 years strong and the protagonists faces are spashed all over TV mags at the newstands.  It probably has a lot to do with the super good-looking young people and the cutthroat "all's fair in love & war" approach of the contestants, but I have to admit that I am a convert - call it language study (I'm learning many colorful expressions!), cultural insight (well, that's a stretch), or just a way to veg out between my lessons, but Uomini & Donne is currently one of my guity pleasures in Rome.  It is quite terrible...see for yourself..