Okay, so I had nothing to be afraid of. Roma traffic is looney. Otherwise, Italy is fairly tame. Still, when I asked our driver what the worst thing about living in Rome was, he said, ta da: traffic, and parking. Surprise, surprise. But his family likes to have a vehicle because walking is no fun.…
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michelangelo, mosquitoes, and motorcycles
Wooh, I am wiped. It might be the hypoglycemic effect of eating too much bread, or pizza, or gelato. It might be overexposure to Italian renaissance art, but I doubt it–I could spend a weekend in the Vatican. I think it’s all that walking, and walking, and walking, and walking. I need my chiropractor,…
Read Morestuff the tour guide hasn’t taught me
1. Even a family of six can backpack Europe. The less you bring, the happier you are. But it will take you longer to decide what to put in the backpack. 2. It can take days to sleep through the night when adjusting to a new time zone. Last night was the night. Yayyyyyy! 3.…
Read Morecolosseum, cigarettes and other stuff
Time for my smoke, Hannah suggested at breakfast. And she took a hearty breath inward. Don’t worry. No anticipation that we’ll start them early, or at all. But if we were, we would make it inexpensive and just get them to gather butts from the sidewalks: they are in abundance. Can you die from second…
Read Morewhat time is it?
The Italian male flight attendant asked Rachel for a kiss. I didn’t understand what he said, so here, I tell her, “Just say si”. Next time, I said, “Just tell him “non capisco”…I don’t understand”. So much special attention that she was uncomfortable. I don’t think he knows how I old I am, mom. Oh,…
Read Moretake me out to the ballgame
Volare, the tried and true first vehicle I owned, happens to be the first restaurant name we’ve attached to our two day Chicago layover. Deep dish pizza be darned. On the night before we fly to Rome, we’re ordering tortellini stuffed with lobster, veal limone, linguine alfredo, and four cheese pizza–gorgonzola, manchego, asiago and mozzarella.…
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