Italy 2006- 8.1

We walked and rode all over Rome today. The Pantheon, the Coloseum, the Imerial and Roman Forums, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps and just about everything in between. Rome is signifcantly larger than Florence or Venice, and we appreciated the availablity of buses to help us get around. Rome seems to be about a curious but natural mix of stunning ancient monuments and street hawkers. Really, do I look like I want to buy a disc that lights up when it flies into the air? These guys need to focus on thier market. We did fend off folks selling scarves, shawls, bracelets, watched, tourist shlock, tours of the coloseum, and roses. The last insisted that it was a gift to Jene and then turned to me expectantly. I told him either gift it, or take it back. He took it back. Then there are the centurions who charge 20 Euro for a photo, black Nike High tops and all, and my personal favorite, the guy who couldn't sing or play the guitar but was putting on a heck of a show regardless. I think the idea was to pay him to go away. We also saw a violin player with more gold in his mouth than the average rapper. Seems the rappers are in the wrong business.

Despite the street hawkers, it was a great day, filled with unique sites that will draw people from all over the world, although today's mix seemed to be heavy with English and Japanese tourists.

Tomorrow will be Pompeii, followed by a fancy dinner to cap off the trip.