Rome, Italy - Friday, June 25
Location:  WALKING

John:  We're in downtown Rome.  The Coliseum is right ahead of us.  And to our right and... I guess to the left is the Roman Forum.

Dick:  Yes. I'm quite impressed.

John:  Are you?!

Dick:  Very impressed already.

John:  But Dick, there's smog in the air, it's hot and grimy and we're surrounded by heavy traffic.

Dick:  This is history, John.

John:  Looking to the right and left... there are many relics. The Forum is right in the middle of everything. Here's some pretty nice looking... ruins or something.  You see, we can't exactly figure out what is what.  Which are the ruins and which are... well, ruins that are not as ruined.  Well, I guess they're all ruins.

There are tons of ruins right in front of us here.  I don't know what this was but you can tell it was something.

Dick:  It's undergoing restoration.  There is scaffolding up along the walls. But there're all kinds of people here too.  Some lowlife.  And tourists. You name it it's here.

John:  Anyway, we've made our way up to the Coliseum now.  It's 7:04PM and the place is closed.  All we can do is walk around the outside.  It really has a certain atmosphere to it, doesn't it?

Dick:  Yes. Definitely.  Imagine all the sporting crowds that were in there. It's still the oldest ballpark standing.

John:  Ah... yes. I can see the families saying, "Well, what will we do tonight? I know!  Let's go see some gladiators slain.  Why yes.  Wonderful idea, dear." And off they'd go with popcorn.

All these iron gates are... there's actually a cat inside.  How's he going to get out.  Maybe "cat"apult out?

Dick:  Catapult for the cat.

Location:  OUTSIDE THE CAMPGROUND

John:  Here we are, Dick.  Live on the scene.  As we returned to the campground.  Right in front, blocking our entrance is a Volkswagen Beetle on fire!

The flames are shooting out of there. What do you think of this?

Dick:  Well, what I'm wondering is where is the Italian fire department. That thing has been on fire for the last ten minutes.

John:  There are about five Italian guys yelling to everyone to stay away.  We can't even pass it to get to our tent. It could blow at any minute.

I can't imagine how it could have possibly got there. The hood is open. One of the tires just blew up.  Some guy Roberto is running around.  They keep yelling for him to get back. "Get back, Roberto!"  Maybe it's his car.  But the Italian fire department is nowhere in sight.  Probably they're on strike just like everyone else.

And what was the reason for the strike, Dick?  You read it in the paper. 

Dick:  That's right. It had to do with protecting their inflation proof wages.

John:  Oh... sounds like an official enough reason. Meanwhile, I have to take a piss and I can't even get into the campground's gabinetti.  Black billowing smoke.  Cars continue to go by on the Via Aurelio, SS1, as the car burns.

Dick:  On the other side of the road there are about a dozen young Italians with their motorbikes.  All watching the scene. No "polizia" either though.

John:  There goes a car going up the entry right past the burning car into the campground.  No fear there.  I guess it depends on how much gas is still in the tank whether it blows up or not.  The flames continue to spread.

Now... look, Dick, one brave sole has come down from the campground with a bottle of seltzer.  He shot it in the back window and it doesn't seem to make a dent in the fire.

Dick:  No. Not a bit, John. I think this is a job for a heavy duty fire hose or they might as well let it burn out at this point.

John:  Still no police in sight. No firemen. Another camper is coming in.

He was surprised to see the car there but he keeps going.  Slowly, but he keeps going up the ramp.  Wait... and here they come.  It seems the "polizia" are on the scene now.

Dick:  Twenty minutes late. They've got their lights flashing away. Looks like the "Keystone Polizia".  They're stopping in the middle of the road here creating more of a traffic problem than anything else. 

John:  The "polizia" are quite puzzled, just trying to find out what is happening here. They're just throwing some dirt on the back of the car.  But it looks safe for us to go by now.  You would think they'd bring some fire extinguishers.  That seems to be about it.  Any last comments there, Dick?

Dick:  As we walk now towards the men's room.  If they needed any liquid assistance I was going to help them out there.

John:  Well said.

* * * *

Saturday, June 26
Location:  WALKING

John:  It's Saturday night here in Rome.  The people are out on the streets.  They're going to clubs.  They're going to restaurants. They're going to sidewalk cafes.  So, things are pretty much hopping here in downtown Rome at 10:05 at night.These Italians guys go out in groups of three to five and try to pick up girls together.  Nine times out of ten, American girls are the ones they're trying to pick up.  But, the girls just ignore them as they try to hit on them.  Really, five guys trying to pick up one or two girls don't have a chance. Right now we're walking to... I don't know exactly where we are or where we're going.  We're just sort of going from piazza to piazza.  We should find a cafe soon so we can sit down. The traffic is wild.  There are no walkways, no lights to cross the street, across eight lanes of traffic.  So, the standard method of getting across is to just walk into traffic... luckily and miraculously the cars avoid you. And... wait... this thing here is famous.  I'm not sure what it is though but I've seen it in my history books.  It's a high pillar with all these pictures carved on it.  I think it's called... "Trajen's Column"?  I'm not sure... we've been so many places it's tough to research any one place. Earlier today, we ensured that we'd be returning to Rome by throwing 3 coins into the Trevi Fountain.  It took a bit of work to come up with three since the Lira comes in such large denominations, they are usually distributed in bills.    * * * * Visit the Rome Photo Gallery