Bonnie and I enjoy the art of getting lost in Italian cities. Just as making mistakes leads to knowledge, getting lost leads to discoveries. It is especially fun because the cities we've explored have no straight streets, so they often turn back on themselves and you find out that rather than being a long way from where you started, you are just around the corner. Yesterday, we set out to find the big Saturday market, which we never found. Our usual friend and guide Signore iphone let us down. It wasn't enjoyable since I'm nursing a sore ankle which I injured last summer and now it comes and goes. The uneven surfaces of Italian streets and sidewalks can be very problematic and irritating to my poor ankle. It is great fun to get lost, get hungry and then stumble on a treasure of Italian life, the trattoria. Since we had worked our way across quite a few neighborhoods, we took a cab home. Sometimes one must give in to discomfort. I will be taking it easy for the next few days and sticking to our neighborhood, which is not at all a sacrifice. We are one block from the world famous Uffizzi Gallery, and since we are entering a period of rain showers for several days to come, it will make sense to visit galleries. Lunch today was interesting. Since I need to be gentle with my ankle, we ate at a place that we have walked by several times that is just around the corner. We've looked over the menu posted outside, but today was the day for entering. It is Sunday and the ristorante was full of families. We got a little table in an alcove next to the front door with a view of the street and of other would be diners checking out the offerings. I love to watch people so this was a perfect place for me. Directly across the street, which at most was 10', was a little bottega that for some reason has fascinated me since I bought some wine and cheese there a few days ago. I really don't know why I am fixated on the place, but I am. So, I had the best time during our lunch, looking at the small, closed on sunday, shop. It is run by a couple who are probably in their mid forties. It was easy to imagine it as being passed down to them since the sign said specializing in foods of the region since 1954. I don't know whether they live upstairs, but my mind wanted that to be, so it was. There were two windows above the shop, with open green shutters facing the street. In my imagination, Niccolo, the husband sat in a ribbed tank top reading the paper as his mother who lived with them and his wife labored over the Sunday meal. As I said, I have no idea where this fantasy is coming from, but it is recurring and fascinating. But, there is much more to look at beyond my fantasy shop keepers. How about the nice looking local woman who steps out of the restaurant for a smoke as she inhales her cigarette in gulps to satisfy what must be an overwhelming need for nicotine. Or maybe the 4 children who have been allowed to go out and play while their family waits inside for their food. After having lots of energetic fun outside, they race back into the restaurant, screeching with joy until one of the waiters apprehends them and gives a strong warning of dire things to come unless they quiet down. Even better, the young newlyweds, at the table next to us. My guess is that they were from out of town and on a honeymoon in romantic Florence. They were right next to us and their eyes were sparkling with love and hope. Every now and then, the pretty bride would look down at her hand and admire her new ring. As she did, her already glowing face would light up even more. They were full of hope and promise for their future life together. When we were ordering, we had a funny moment with the waiter and the young marrieds, at my expense. Why not, laughter is free and contagious. I had decide on ordering zuppa cavalo, which translated to soup with black cabbage. When the soup arrived, the black cabbage was kale. Anyway, one must get the correct syllable accented or you may come up with a different meaning. It seems my accent came across as cavallo which translates to horse. The waiter was quick to correct me in a good natured way and we all, including the newlyweds, had a good laugh at my bumbling mistake. Bonnie ordered the Italian version of egg drop soup, with parmesan cheese, which was delicious. I had a simple salad also and Bonnie had grilled raddichio, which was a good choice. We like to have a light lunch so we can look forward to----------what else, dinner. We have cooked for the past few nights, but now we are out of food so, we get to go out to one of the many trattorias that are just about around every corner. Buona sera

We are just back from our visit to the Uffizzi Gallery. It really is just around the corner, walk two short blocks, go around another corner and you are there. The Uffizzi was established in 1581 and has 1.9 million visitors a year. Today wasn't too crowded except for about half the population of Japan. It really wasn't bad, especially after I adjusted my attitude, which is very often necessary for me in order to enjoy the unknowns in life. As with most public spaces in life today, the first step to the process was the security check. After several tries, I made it. There is always that guy--today it was me. Before we left for the gallery, I thought I'd be clever and download an app or two to make the experience more "enjoyable". You know, I like to be clever and up to date. Well, right off I realized that the app really wasn't necessary and actually interfered with the experience. When you go just about anywhere these days at least half the people around you are looking at their phones, not matter what the event or activity is. In my experience, my phone and the internet can enhance whatever the experience is, but it can also remove one from the moment. It's a toss up and one must pay attention.In the initial rooms, most of the art was religious art, in ornate frames that were more like alters. They were gold and complex, the type one would see in a church. Even though the subject matter was basically the adoration of the baby Jesus or the loving devotion of the wounded savior, there was great beauty to behold. My interest was rekindled when we entered the rooms with pieces depicting other subject matter, such as human activities and frailties not directly tied to Christian liturgy. On occasion, trains of students would file past us. They varied in content from the Italian elementary school children with the beautiful and stylish teacher to the Japanese groups with the teacher leading the train with a raised arm for visibility. I had decided that I would not take a zillion pictures, that I would concentrate on soaking in the moment. Well, that passed quickly. Everything is available to re-examine online, but the act of taking a picture and going through them later, does help to imprint the actual experience. Sometimes, I take a picture of the information about the painting along with the painting itself. The problem with that is that the photos do not always show up in order. Yesterday, while sorting, cropping and discarding photos, I decided to try something I had thought of while at the gallery. One of the apps I got and didn't use, scans paintings and identifies them. Perhaps it would work on the images showing on my screen. It did. Not that it worked perfectly, but when it did recognize a painting and I checked it by name on google, it was correct. So, now I have the beautiful images to look at and share. Technology has come along centuries after the artists lived and died, that can help spread the work and vision, along with the ability to credit the artist by name and date. Of course, there have been centuries of scholars to recognize and categorize important art, music and intellectual concepts. I am amazed and thankful for their vision. And then, there are people like me, plodding along ignorant of so much history but lucky enough to discover it as if it was brand new. I am so grateful to be at a time in my life when new/old knowledge falls in front of me like a gift from above. Today is another day. We will go to the market. I will try the walk because it isn't far. Perhaps we'll take a cab back to save my foot. Thinking of cabs, we had a good experience with one the other day. It had a rough spot but all ended well. We took a side trip by train to Montecatani, a spa town about 45 minutes by train. As usual, the train ride was smooth, simple and cheap. It is amazing the trains run at all since they usually don't even check your ticket. Many people must ride for free. Montecatani is a sweet little town, yet another version of Italian style. There was lots to see and we just got a glimpse, my ankle dictating our ability to explore. More about the town at another time. This is a little tale about the trials and tribulations of travel. The train ride in both directions went well and as we stepped off the train back in Florence we both remarked how easy this sort of transportation can be. We even knew exactly where the cab stand was located and we got one immediately. It is so easy to go on a little side trip without luggage. We had only our bathing suits and shower shoes to carry which were in a "sport sack". I travel in a "sports raincoat" made of a of a breathable material. It has lots of pockets, inside and out so it is like a backpack you wear. That, along with my passport wallet worn under my clothing and I'm a relatively self contained unit. Bonnie has a travel purse with enough zipper compartments and attached accessories to hold everything in a compact but potentially confusing unit. As with my multi pocket coat, you may have to look in a zillion places to find what you need. So, there we were, quickly arriving at the end of via del corno, our narrow little street. Since we are only about 100' from the bigger street, the cab let us off at the corner. There is always a little confusion disembarking----how much is it, take off the seat belt, find the money and pay. A few moments after we get out of the cab, Bonnie realizes that she has left the sport sack in the cab. Well, it's s dark and the cab is gone. What to do. My mind is blank. I have absolutely no idea how to even approach this problem, other to say goodby to the sportsack and the few things in it. This sort of thing shakes ones confidence, but Bonnie rallied quickly. She dashes off a text to Niccolo, our host, and asks him whether there is a lost and found or some other way to reconnect with our bag of stuff. Well, St.Anthony was watching over us, because within 5 minutes she gets a call from Niccolo telling her that he has called company and that the cab driver will be at the end of our street in 10 minutes with our bag. We put on our shoes, go out and there he was at the corner. I happily gave him €10 and a handshake. WHAT A COUNTRY.

Florence This is our third day in lovely Florence. What a city, what a country. Airbnb has become a game changer for us. The software is very user friendly and the selection of homes is wide. For whatever reason Florence is full of available apartments from modern to old world. I will go into detail about our home away from home later but for now, let me say, BELLISSIMO. Mornings have always been good for me. Is it new hope, new promise. More likely it's the result of the sleep reboot. Whatever it is, I'm a morning person. Our apartment on via del corno 1 is the perfect place for a morning person. We have a glassed in veranda. But, glassed in hardly describes it. The back wall and one side wall are the building. The actual glass walls are insulated glass sliders, so one can open the room up if need be. There is also an opening skylight in the roof. Along with the three sets of double doors that open into the house, there are two mini split heat pump registers mounted at the tops of the end walls for heating or cooling. Plants and a long table for meals complete the room which is adjacent to the kitchen for any meals one would like to enjoy out here. So far, we've only had morning coffee and pastries "outside" . The pigeons are everywhere in Florence, including on the roof of the sun room from time to time. We were just witness to a tussle between two of them for territory, while looking up at them through the semi clear roof. Yesterday was the first clear sky, sunny day for awhile, wherever we've been. Today is also clear and bright. It's cold now, 28 degrees when I stepped out to get pastries. It will warm into the low 60's I think. I'm not sure what is in store for this day, but yesterday we walked across the bridge just south of the Ponte Vecchio to climb to the Piazzale Michelangelo. The PM is a high spot with gardens and lookouts which is one of the classic tourist destinations. One can climb many stairs for the short but steep access or drive a winding road to get there. The large parking area was full of tour busses and even two red Ferrari's that can be rented for a drive around the "block". The cars had go pro camera's mounted behind the driver's seat to provide a keepsake record of what must be a very expensive driving experience. Ah, the internet. There is no longer any excuse for lack of info. So, I looked up the Ferrari rental experience. €55 for 10 minutes ($61.55 USD) In the excitement of the moment, I'm afraid I've jumped ahead. Before we started the climb up to the PM, we had one of the great pleasures of Italian life to attend to----lunch. It has taken us awhile to get onto the Italian eating schedule. It seems to go like this; a light breakfast, a good lunch at around 1:00-2:30 and then a full meal late. Many restaurants don't even open until 7:30 pm for the dinner meal. We are usually the first ones there. So, when we found a nice little pizzeria at about 12:30, as usual we were the first customers of the day. We had a delicious arugula and artichoke salad along with a margarita pizza, with wine of course. Our waiter was a delightful young man who spoke "restaurant english". Bonnie loves language so she always orders in Italian. I, on the other hand, am lazy. So, if someone knows some english, I'm all over it. We ordered, we ate. It was delicious. After the meal our new friend the cute waiter, brought us a delicious "gift" of limoncello. WHAT A COUNTRY!!!!!!!

Italy 2016

Traveling

In these days of open access to global communications, traveling is a different experience.
Like most things associated with the internet, having internet access while "out in the world" is a double edged sword.
 As far as making travel arrangements and even taking care of whatever you forget to do at home before leaving, it can't be beat. I remember going to travel agents and watching as they would look at their computers and then explain options. Really, the traveler was out of the loop, and subject to choices offered by the agent. One wasn't really aware of all the options, only those the agent decided would fit you.
The other side of the coin is that you don't get to leave anything behind unless you are that rare breed of human with intense personal discipline. Whether it's family squabbles, neighborhood scandals or national politics, you really can't get away. I understand that often our participation in our regular realities is crucial, but more often than not, it is optional.

Today is our departure day from Padua, or in Italian, Padova.
Padua is a wonderful city in north east Italy, so close to Venice that a canal connects the two. It is an ancient city, even for Italy. It's streets wind and curve from one piazza to the next. Wandering through the city can at any moment bring you into a timeless walkway, too small even for Italian cars.
Before coming to Italy, as far as canals were concerned,Venice was the place that came to mind. Well, Padua is the second Italian city on this trip, the first being Milan. Both, to my surprise have canals. Milan's canals connect the city to the Mediterranean(known as the Ligurian Sea in the north Mediterranean), while Padua's connect it to Venice and the Adriatic. Of course, both cities have abundant fish and seafood dishes on the menu. The canals are the ancient form of transportation for goods between the cities. It's much easier to float heavy loads(think marble) than pull it on poor roads.

Today is our twelfth day in Italy, 6 days spent in each city. We have realized that for many reasons, we need to stay longer in each place we visit. One reason is that as the days of your stay pass, you learn more about the place and realize things you want to experience. Another factor is that travel days are expensive, so the more of them you have, the higher the cost of the trip. The third factor is fatigue. Travel is hard and full of unexpected "adventures". For instance, our trip to Padua from Milan was fairly easy. The cab picked us up on time to easily get to the train station and the train was on time and comfortable. The ride was smooth and the scenery was interesting. What could go wrong, LOL. Well, it seems the trains stop in each station for only two minutes----no problem, right. So, there we were, in the area between the cars with the exit/entry doors. We were ready, suitcases lined up and passport locations verified, just visited the bathroom and ready to exit. Soooooooo, the train comes into the station and we see the sign verifying that indeed we are in Padua. The train slowly comes to rest and we hit the exit button next to the door. NOTHING HAPPENS. No problem, no panic, we hit it again and oh oh, once again NOTHING HAPPENS. Even though we know, as the train pulls out of the station(remember, it only stops for two minutes)that this is not the end of the world, it is still a very stress filled moment. So, I leave Bonnie with the luggage and set out to find the conductor. Now, Bonnie has much better Italian than I do(not hard to do)but my hearing is better than hers. I have to walk the entire length of the train, but I find the conductor and they tell me what to do. It is obvious. We get off at the next stop, go downstairs to another level, crossover to another set of stairs and go back up to the correct platform for the train going in the opposite direction. I should mention that we only had a total of 8 minutes to accomplish this and our luggage is anything but light. Being that our combined age is137, all of this is no easy feat, but we do it. So, here we are on the train again, wary and weary, wondering whether the door will open for us this time or will we be stuck on an endless loop of Italian railway reality. Well, the door does open, we get a cab and soon we arrive at our new Via Roberto Marin home for the next six days.

I am writing this from the train station cafe' while waiting for our train to our new home for the next 10 days in Florence. We should already be enroute but  our original train was cancelled.
Ah Italy---I love you.
Well, here we are, on the train. It was on time and we are smoothly traveling south toward the home of the Renaissance, Firenze(Florence for you gringos, LOL)

Rome 8 Borghese

Galleria Borghese
The Galleria Borghese is an art gallery in Rome, Italy, housed in the former Villa Borghese Pinciana. It is a building that was originally integral with its gardens, nowadays considered quite separately by tourists as the Villa Borghese gardens. 
The museum is in a large park, formerly the estate grounds and complete with a zoo. The museum itself was beautiful and full of more wonderful and ancient artwork. We spent two hours immersed in the glory of the past.

In the very first room of the museum we saw the installation above. It is a depiction of the "Slaughter of the Innocents" and I assumed it was an early version of animation. We found out later it was a contemporary piece. 
Every five or ten minutes, the room would darken and the piece would start to rotate. Once the piece got up to speed, a strobe light would start and the figures would become animated. While fascinating, it was also disturbing. As the name indicates, babies were being slaughtered.

So, it was on to the next room. The gallery is in what was once a large mansion and every room is beautiful in it's own right. Besides being filled with paintings and sculptures, there were also beautiful frescos. In the center of the next room was the sculpture of "Apollo and Daphne" by Bernini. 

              

As the story goes, both Appollo and Daphne were shot by cupids arrow. The problem was that Apollo was shot by an arrow of love and Daphne by a love repelling arrow. When Apollo, overcome by love, finally catches Daphne who is overcome by the opposite emotion, she changes into a laural tree. If you look closely at the photos above, you can see her flesh becoming bark and branches.
Many analogies to modern life came to light, especially " no means no".
Room after room we were greeted with splendid art works from past centuries.

Unknown mother and child

             

David with his sling shot

We spent two hours immersed in the glory of the past.

As usual, it was time to eat. We set out down an adjacent boulevard in search of food. Now, in Rome, that should be an easy task. But, this part of the city was a bit different and more modern. To our surprise, even after walking for several blocks, we never did find that great little place that existed in our minds. We did see a Ferrari dealership and of all things a Harley Davidson dealer. I knew they were around, Harley's that is. We would see and more likely hear them from time to time in the city. Roman Harley riders, like American devotees, love to create a deafening roar as they blast through streets, loud and proud. 
So, after being unable to find lunch, we went back into the park grounds of the Villa Borghese. As we strolled along in the sunshine my feet and legs told me that they love and crave the softness of walking on the earth. I am constantly on hard surfaces at this point in my life and crave the soft carpet of grass for walking. 
The park was lovely and after passing several musicians and seeing a colorful parrot glide from tree to tree, we happened on a Roman food/gelato truck. These trucks seem to be made by the same factory since they all resemble each other very closely. They are colorful and when seen driving they are about the size of a small RV, perhaps on a 1 1/2 or 2 ton chassis.

Gelato Truck

When stopped by the side of the road, they seem to open in all directions and become a full service diner. At least, they have power and can heat panini and serve gelato. When you are very hungry, these trucks are a real pleasure, so we enjoyed our one and only food truck meal, on a park bench with pigeons waiting for the spoils.

As we wandered on in the sunshine, we came on a small orange grove, part of the estate in a fenced area near what looked to be a conservatory of some sort. A short distance further along we came to the zoo entrance but more importantly, the zoo cafe. As usual we were able to refresh ourselves with cappuccino for €1, this time sitting in the sunshine next to a banana tree.

Our day at the Borghese was during one of the more intense snowstorms the northeast U.S.A. had in January, so we were sure to get pictures of ourselves by the banana tree in the sunshine. With some sort of perverse pleasure, the pictures were sent out to the frozen northeast.  

Rome 7

We really can't explain our VRBO experience without reference to Uncle Franco. We had accomplished all the business arrangements via email and paypal.  We were to be met at the airport by a driver whom we would pay with cash. When we walked out of customs, there he was with a sign. All it took was a stop at an airport cash machine and we were on our way. The airport is on the Mediterranean, about 30 miles from Rome. As expected, the ride into Rome was full of curiosity and wonder, from the industrial outskirts to the city monuments. 
Once we arrived at the Via del Pellegrino, our driver showed us the door and rang the bell. Soon, a pleasant looking man of undetermined age opened the door---it was Uncle Franco.
The driver left and we entered the foyer of an old(not that old for Rome, only about 400 years) but lovely building. Uncle Franco showed us to our apartment and started to explain EVERYTHING. By this time we had traveled from Tavistock, starting off at 0800 hrs. Luckily for us Roger and Carlena drove us the 90 miles to the Bristol airport. Eventually, we boarded an EasyJet plane for the 3 hr flight to Rome. Lots of people were speaking Italian on the flight and it began to sink in that soon we'd be in Italy. The flight was smooth and everything went well, but traveling takes a toll and we were tired but more than that, hungry.
So, here we are with Uncle Franco in our flat. Let me describe Uncle Franco. He was about 5'4" and slightly portly, with an unmistakeable twinkle in his eye. His english was------interesting. He had a great habit of using the few heavily accented english words he knew and stringing them together or filling in the blanks with "bubada bubada bubada. So, a sentence might go like this.  "The coffee the sugar the pot----bubada bubada bubada--- espresso. You could get his meaning most of the time. He was very talkative so we got lots of bubada bubada. He even showed us the pants he just bought for a very good price. One very important thing he told us was when we get the wine, leave it open for at least 4 hours or else it's no good. So, after lots of bubada bubada in the apartment, he took us out in the neighborhood. We saw the closest espresso place, the local food co-op, another grocery, a drug store and where to get bread and meat. We were exhausted and hungry by time Uncle Franco finally bid us farewell. 
So, next step, EAT. Uncle Franco's tour ended up in the Campo di Fiori which is surrounded by restaurants, so eating was no problem. It was certainly not the finest meal we had in Rome but tasty and accompanied by a nice house red, we were satisfied.
I remember wondering whether we would see Uncle Franco again. We had his phone number in case we needed something, but never called him. Everything worked well and figuring out the neighborhood is part of the fun of traveling. Even though we didn't see him again we had many laughs and special bubada bubada bubada conversations between ourselves as we thought back to our first night our apartment.
Just writing this and reading it to Bonnie caused a snorking fit of laughter for both of us.
AH, Uncle Franco, we won't forget you. We never met the woman who we actually rented the place from. 

I've already spoken about the location of our VRBO, but this is another example of how well located it was. 
When planning this trip, we spent time looking at maps of Rome and reading about the various attractions. Bonnie had been there already, so she had a better idea of the locations of the various sights. I didn't have a clue.
So, the day comes that we decide to see the Piazza Navona. From looking at the map, we knew it was close, but even Bonnie had no idea how close.
Let me say this. It was so close, we were there before we even started looking. It was 3 blocks(if blocks existed)at most. As I remember, we were suddenly in a huge Piazza with three large fountains. 
It is built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian, built in 1st century AD, and follows the form of the open space of the stadium. The ancient Romans came there to watch the agones ("games"), and hence it was known as "Circus Agonalis" ("competition arena"). It is believed that over time the name changed to in avone to navone and eventually to navona. 
It features important sculptural and architectural creations: in the center stands the famous Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi or Fountain of the Four Rivers (1651) by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, topped by the Obelisk of Domitian, brought here in pieces from the Circus of Maxentius.

Piazza Navona Panorama

Piazza Navona has two additional fountains: at the southern end is the Fontana del Moro with a basin and four Tritons sculpted by Giacomo della Porta (1575) to which, in 1673, Bernini added a statue of a Moor, or African, wrestling with a dolphin, and at the northern end is the Fountain of Neptune (1574) created by Giacomo della Porta. The statue of Neptune in the northern fountain, the work of Antonio Della Bitta, was added in 1878 to make that fountain more symmetrical with La Fontana del Moro in the south.

Piazza Navona

Rome 6

In Rome, churches are everywhere. Mostly, as I said earlier, they are relatively simple on the outside and stunningly opulent on the inside. One thing was true for all that we entered. SILENCE. No matter what the sound level of the street you step in from, the churches were silent. It is something that surprised me every time I stepped into one and brought to mind one word---sanctuary. The churches were often empty and sometimes had an attendant of some sort. They all had places to leave monetary offerings.

Speaking of offerings, of the few beggars we saw on the street, there was one group of individuals that stand out, the penitents. I'm not sure what the "official" term for them is, but it was clear that they were seeking penance for some sin, either personal or on behalf of the rest of us.

They were always dressed in black and on their knees but otherwise in submission,prostrate, face on the ground with arms outstretched as if praying. They said nothing and did not move. There would be a cup by their side. I remember seeing one with the lower half of her body in the street, between two parked cars. It struck me as yet another part of the parking problems in Rome.
One day, after ending up at the Vatican by chance, we started standing in line to enter. The line was very long due to security checks and extended for perhap 1/4 mile, making a half circle around the vatican courtyard, known as St. Peter's Square(it's actually an oval). This is the place where people wait for the puff of smoke when a new pope is selected and on occasion listen to the pope address the people.

We had tickets for the museum and Sistine Chapel, for the following day so after standing in line for awhile we decided to abandon the Vatican for that day. 

The Vatican

It was a good choice because it led to another chance to "get lost in Rome". 

The interior of the 142' diameter Pantheon dome

As I said before, Rome is constantly circling back on itself, and our stumbling led us gradually through high end shopping areas to The Pantheon. As usual, we followed small streets which opened into yet another piazza. But, this one held the Pantheon. Needing a little refreshment after our wandering, we sat in one of the many open air cafes' facing the Pantheon. These cafes' are the conduit through which the life blood of Rome flows. Yes, they have wifi and bathrooms. Yes, they usually cost a bit more than out of the way places, and YES, they are a very welcome sight. As we sat down and unwound with Bonnie's favorite, a Spritz and a beer for me, I checked my email. I had been communicating with my good friend Leslie Ross since being in Rome. Leslie is married to Paolo and they met in Rome, so she was a wonderful source for stories of romantic Rome. So, we are sitting there, facing the Pantheon and I open my email. It is from Leslie and she is telling me that we must see the Pantheon and why. Being an architect, Leslie quickly filled me in on facts about it's history and construction. Of course, due to the marvels of modern technology, I snapped a shot of the Pantheon from the perspective under the cafe canopy and emailed it to her on the spot. 

The Pantheon

After finishing our drinks, we made our way(me on slightly shaky beer legs) to this marvelous structure. The Pantheon dome is still today the largest brick dome ever built, made possible by the wonder of "Roman Concrete" and engineering. The interior of the dome appears to be concrete. (photo above)

The Piazza della Rotonda is the site of the Pantheon and of course it is a major tourist spot. As with many tourist attractions in Rome, the air was full of rock and roll. There would be a solo or two musicians with a "band in a box" set up. So, you would hear a full rock band endlessly playing familiar music.

I'm getting hungry---oh, to be in Rome and pop in somewhere for bread, wine and cheese. Perhaps a cappuccino would go well too. I guess I have culture shock.