Roma

Wife is here now. Today is our first day of touring Rome. Seeing the sites and boy Oh Boy is there a lot to see. I am so impressed with the place in spite of the rip offs. Super clean, the Romans are super friendly and getting around is super easy. Super duper. It’s an exciting amazing city.

The only downside is the massive influx of

tourists. Maddenly crowded. Unbelievable. A local told me that the best time to visit Rome is January and February. Cooler temperatures and far less crowds.

Crowd at Trevi Fountain

That is about as close to the fountain as you can get. They charged 2 Euros to get a closer look. No thanks.

Crowds around the Colosseum

They told us not to bother going to the Spanish steps or the Pantheon due to the massive crowds. Everything was sold out or had lineups that went on forever. In the hot sun? Forget it.

Try to navigate through this typical Roman street scene.

And my landlord? 5 days and no new towels. The bed isn’t made up and nothing. I asked for new towels and was told that that wasn’t in the price. Are you kidding me? 5 days and no fresh towels. No breakfast and no nothing. Be warned. Now I am trying to be civil here but things happen to reinforce my cynicism. At the Trevi Fountain we went to a bar that advertised a rooftop patio that looked over the fountain and the 10 thousand people who were there. Yeah it was a rooftop bar but only for three tables. The rest of us clowns had to sit well behind and enjoy a 20 dollar coke. Mad? You bet I was. You cannot go anywhere in Rome without being ripped off. Hey they even charge for going into the Vatican. Peter’s Pence be damned and I now understand how the Reformation came about.

I am so pissed off. I want to leave. Now.

I will never come back here. Never. But I think I said that before. The only saving grace today was Vatican city and St Peter’s Basilica. Unbelievable it was. The Sistine Chapel was closed as were all of the Vatican museums. But the Basilica was open and that made it all worthwhile:

 

Di Pietro by Michelangelo.

The Nave of the Basilica.

To prove we were really here. Dot!!!

See ya.