Adventures of a Wandering Thirtysomething

Today we set our sights on Rome’s notorious history. Short of donning togas and wielding daggers of fury, working our way through the skeletal remains of the once great center of the world was like stepping back into biblical times. We walked where Caesar walked, saw the sights Peter and Paul saw as they were imprisoned, and began to understand the Bible’s many references to Rome’s wealth, power and influence on Christianity and the world.

As we visited the historical sites today, we also continued to gain valuable insights into tourism in Europe. Our chief complaint: tour groups. Nightmare of all nightmares, tour groups proved to be the bane of our existence. Enjoying a nice photo opportunity at the Colosseum? A tour group will pounce on you like a herd of dogs on a three-legged cat. They will swoop in with about 30 people in tow, ensure that no fewer than 5 heads of people who are not your friends will appear in your photo, push you out of the way since you’re clearly a spineless American with no intent to push back, and then proceed to stand there for the next 20 minutes droning on and on to an audience of no more than 2 people in the group. Anticipate future stories of tour group ass kicking – it might happen.

We also learned that we may be the only English-as-a-first-language tourists within a substantial radius. Americans clearly do not dominate the tourism industry. Not being a language buff, I don’t have the first clue what tourists are speaking around here, but it’s definitely not English. Needless to say, we’ve been doing a lot of smiling, nodding and thumbs-upping. Yes, a good thumbs up with a smile from a white person has few cultural barriers.

Our taste of Italy tonight was one of the highlights of the day. Sacro e Profano gave us a truly delicious and authentic experience with amazing pizza and homemade pasta, served by the kindest wait staff. It was the anti-American version of Italian. No heavy sauces, fluffy crusts or mounds of cheese in sight. Just a little olive oil, a little fresh mozzarella, and fresh veggies and meat on fire-roasted thin crust for cheaper than a greasy pie back home. If there is Italian food in heaven (and I’m guessing there will be with the Pope here and all), it would taste like this.

Here’s a sampling of our photos taken on Day 2 – VerHeuls Do Rome:

Photo #1: Outside the Colosseum at dusk

Photo #2: Yummy dinner

Photo #3: Trevi fountain

Photo #4: An ancient temple in the Roman Forum ruins