La Citta Eterna

On my first trip to Europe, Rome was the first place we went. Imagine being 16 and turned loose in Rome as your first taste of Europe. I'm happy to say that Rome has lost none of its charm in the intervening 28 years. It's still warm, friendly, and completely inviting.

We got on the bus this morning and rode into town, seeing again some of the sights from the bus window that we saw the night before. But this time we started with a visit to the coliseum and took a bunch of pictures of our tour group there. The light is nice in the galleries and it was already getting hot before 10 AM.

After wandering Titus' halls for a bit, we went on to the Trevi Fountain. We rode the bus there, but then walked from the Trevi (and yes, the whole coin thing was done in high style) to the Pantheon. The last time I was here, the Pantheon was undergoing some restoration, and so wasn't up to its usual snuff. It's much more impressive this time.

After the Pantheon, they turned us loose for lunch. I took Kate and Chris Long over a block to Piazza Sant Eustachio for some of the world-famous cappucino at this place. Along the way, in sight of the Pantheon, there was a sidewalk restaurant with a specialty of risotto. We had asparagus risotto, more gelato, and another cappucino for lunch, then it was off to the Vatican City.

The Vatican is well worth seeing regardless of your religious persuasion. The museums and grounds are spectacular, and the art collection is second to none. I mean, for crying out loud, it includes the Pieta - and you'll never see a finer piece of sculpture in my opinion. Unfortunately, low light and the protective glass kept my pics from coming out, but I got others.

The Sistine Chapel is funny. No photography is allowed inside it, and they actually had the carabinieri haul off a guy who whipped out his insta-matic for a few flash shots of Michelangelo's work. It's also supposed to be silent, but 500 people whispering in unison makes quite a load of white noise. It's loud in there, and would be ear-splitting if the guards weren't constantly shooshing everyone.

After the Vatican, I took my leave of the group and grabbed a cab (Opel - fast and nice!) down to Piazza Ugo La Malfa to meet the Miata club. Five people (Marco, Tommi, Francesco, Mary, and Roberta) in four Miatas made the rendezvous. We hung out for a bit, then took a drive through Rome - first to the Arch and Coliseum, then to a pyramid tomb elsewhere in the city. I took about 450 pictures in this time for a feature in Forever MX-5 this fall. Turns out the next time we return to Rome, it's the night of their monthly meeting, so I'm scheduled to go out with them again next week.

After our hang-out, Tommi (who's a journalist covering Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian President) drove me back out to the hotel. I had dinner here (nice! and only 15 Euros) and now I'm writing this while sitting under the canopy outside the bar. It's about 75 degrees with a light breeze, and I'm learning to like Campari and soda.

Tomorrow - we head north to Tuscany and Florence. Word has it our hotel is Right Downtown across the street from the Arno River. Che Bello!