Arrivederci a Roma

Made it back to the good old US of A last night about 7:30. Great to be back - always good to go, always better to come home. I hit the sack about 11:00 pm, which put me to exactly 24 hours since I woke up in Italy to come home. I didn't want to sleep much on the plane so I could get back to my regular schedule easier. I'm afraid it worked a little too well. I woke up at 5:30 this morning which is pretty close to my regular 6:00 alarm time. I figured as long as it was still dark out and I was awake, I'd load a couple of rolls of film into the developer tank and then go back to bed. Well that was about an hour ago and I'm wide awake still. A nap might be in order later today, however.

Random thoughts on the trip:

Our tour guide, Elizabeth, was great. Very knowledgeable, organized and fun to be with. Told one of the funniest stories I've ever heard about one of the previous trips she guided.

Italian food: Great, as expected. I had pizza a couple of times, pasta with every dinner. Dinner always came with a dessert, which I'm always in favor of. We had cernia one night, which is a type of grouper. Probably the best fish I've ever had. Mild flavor, baked in olive oil, herbs and Parmesan cheese, I'm guessing. My only knock was they don't normally serve coffee with dinner or dessert. I'm real good with the wine for dinner but I like my coffee with my sweets. I also miss just grabbing a cup of Joe when I'm on the move. Espresso is the big thing there and you can get an Americano, which is good, but I missed my regular get a cup to go or after dinner cup. That obviously is just my bias and if I was there for long I'd get over that, I'm sure. Went to a McDonald's at the airport yesterday morning for a cup and got my Americano and saw liquor bottles behind the counter. They apparently serve mixed drinks there. There weren't any breakfast sandwiches like an Egg McMuffin, either. Croissants and brioches it looked like. When in Rome, do as the Romans.

Driving in the cities: We were in several old cities (Florence, Sorrento, Rome) and because they are several hundred years old, or older, the streets are very narrow. Many of them are barely wide enough for one car. I didn't see any parking meters any where and if there was a spot to park a car or scooter, there was one there. They park inches apart and if there was a parallel parking competition, I'd bet on the Romans. Little cars rule the road and I saw lots of Fiats, Alfa Romeos and quite a few of the Smart Cars. Lots of bicycles, as well. Gasoline about $8.00/gal. With the narrow streets, limited parking, mild climate, and expensive fuel, bicycles and scooters are a perfect mix.

Graffiti: The cities are covered with graffiti. The style looks like the same kind of crap you see in American cities. While I'll admit many of the graffiti painters are indeed artists, I'd just as soon see them doing something else with their talents. I'm not a big fan of defacing public or private property. That building your painting is someone else's art. Respect it.

Style: The Italians have it. Whether it's clothing, automobile, motorcycles or architecture, they have that flair. Even in this day and age, they still look good smoking a cigarette.

I shot about 750 photos on the trip. I need to cull quite a few and get them downloaded to the computer. Once I've got that accomplished, I'll try to get a few of the good ones posted.