Reflections on Rome

Well...I can certainly say that Rome is an incredibly unique place. The weather has been incredibly nice during our entire visit.

After two visits, we have now seen most of the significant sites - St Peters Basillica, the Vatican Museums, the Colloseum, the Forum & the Appian Way, Trevi Fountain and much more. Visiting again helps me to remember just how ancient things can be. 3,200+ year old Egyptian art from 1250 BC puts the 230 year old US into perspective.

And, how will I ever forget the traffic, motorcycles and absolutely crazy driving here? NY, LA, Chicago and other bad US traffic is nothing compared to Rome. But, they seem to manage somehow without traffic lanes, crosswalks, stop signs and other controls. Our entire time here with all the craziness, we have only seen one accident.

Motorcycles - Copenhagen had its bicycles. But, Rome definitely has it motorcycles. They are everywhere. Both men and women in casual or suits (all with helmets) are riding motorcycles of all sizes and types. Parking areas are filled with more than 50 motorcycles per block.

Walking - let's just say that people walk here more than most places in the US. A "10 minute walk" here doesn't really mean 10 minutes. It really means something less than 30 minutes.

English - fewer people seem to speak English here than most countries we have visited. But, most people try their best to communicate and to help.

Returning to Rome - who knows? We will probably be back on another cruise in the Mediterranean. But we will likely limit ourselves to whatever tours are offered from the ship. This trip really wore us out and I'm not sure we could handle it again.

Today we will board the Westerdam and begin our cruise. I know it will be mostly relaxing - though we do have some excursions booked. And, tomorrow, Saturday, we see our friend Luigi who will take us to Florence. Should be another good visit since we really enjoyed Florence the last time we were there.

That's it. One more breakfast and we take the ride to the port and board our ship.