Well...I was to come on here and photos of my vacation and journal my discoveries only 2 days in the terminal with flight issues has me wanting to re-watch "The Terminal". Then picking up the dogs all matted I realized I forgot to tell them not to bathe them (or at least bring them bottles of laser lites silk and drape) so I hurriedly upload the 100 GB of photos from the memory cards to my computer, start unpacking and grooming the dogs when I get hit with the flu some 3 days of coming home but luckily...it was low grade and I remember getting my flu shot late last year because they were out every where. Must have been that extra mini vacation at the terminal :l
Bad enough I had an outbreak of impetigo I haven't seen in 5 years, a children's skin disease I've carried since I was a child that hits with extreme stress, but when finally opening my mail 2 weeks later and see I have jury duty in 2 days...it's flared before it had a chance to heal. You do what you have to do and I was just glad I wasn't in contempt :l But 2 blocks away from the courthouse I am pulled over. Yep. Those tags I needed to get but not home or sick for about a month :( And they cost me nothing because well...I had to sell the 16K Harley for 8K because they yard man quit without notice and the grass was 4 weeks high by the time we see he isn't coming :/ Which is why the fleas came, and probably snake too, along with the impetigo...like a domino effect or dog chasing his tail and getting nowhere.
What I do know is that you can only do so much and with any real decency, communication or a head's up on situations is critical in understanding and educating each other of where we are at in life. And if some people have to live with chronic pain...I can surely tolerate or live with chronic idiots. And being in Europe...I was one myself lol! I'd hear so many say how the Russians are arrogant, French are snooty, Italians are crazy, and then nothing when it came to the Americans. Of course I would have to interject "And the American's are stupid?!?" Always a laugh to follow and sometimes "Yes" I would then excitedly explain "That's because they kept us sheltered way over there on the other side of the hemisphere from all this good stuff!!!" :D Lol...what an amazing journey!
Wheretorome.com should offer a service of this type everywhere! You can even get a private photographer with that if you want. Everyone said they even paid the same or more so I can honestly say although my head was swimming, brain was full, eyes glazed crazily of what all just whirred by me....I did do Rome AND THEN SOME in a day! From his neighborhood where I got the best coffee and Italian coffee pot like his, to the world champions in gelato, to areas in Rome tourists don't know about like the peephole and even a couple of different areas with views overlooking the entire city at different angles. He even had information about other places that were on our itinerary in his country (and was right about Taormina, Sicily!), beloved Sicilian wines, original limoncello brand, candies....all that (and a bit of the Angels and Demons tour where we could see all 4 posts from one specific intersection).
Not to forget that he wouldn't let us pay tourist prices for anything, showed us places locals go, and we still got to see Palatine Hill, Roman Forum, Vittorio Emanuele Monument, Spanish Steps, Circus Maximus, Garibaldi statue, Pantheon, hospital that is said you are a true roman if you are born there, I could go on. No wonder his nephew cried when he saw me. My eyes felt like they were bulging and about to explode like one of those cartoon characters from too much stuff packed in my head! :o Oh!!! And lunch at Dino's and Toni's just kept coming! I was out to spend 50 Euros for each of the 3 of us but all 3 of us got EVERYTHING for just 50 Euros!! 4 bowls of pasta, meat tray, appetizer tray of 4 kinds of goodies, 3 kinds of desserts, wine, bottled water, cokes, coffee's...I don't know what all they hit us with but it was AWESOME and family friendly just like the Italians do. Sit and pass food and share it all!
But if anyone thinks they can rent a car and drive that mess or see Rome in a day without someone like Andrea is either slap ass nuts or chronically stupid! We just got lucky through my 4 days of research and owe them sooooo much more! Jim didn't know the 30 euros was a tip for him and I had only handed him 10 so leather masks to him and his Roudy and overnight some American treats for the holidays it is! And no..we weren't on the scoot but a Mercedes sedan. We were in his neighborhood and traffic is sooo congested there most everyone has scoots or cycles there. The company does have mini vans for larger families too btw and most all of the inner city is zoned off from anyone who isn't a resident there and thinks they can rent a car without special paperwork (Noooooo. Not that bad 'paperwork' word again!).
Yep. We're home. And all our stupid stuff is still here lol but it's nice to think of him out there somewhere romancing his girl in his favorite spots, or even the next lucky clients to journey with him to...wherever!
Thanks to Andrea and Marco at "Where To Rome", now we know:}
Thanks to Andrea and Marco at "Where To Rome", now we know:}
Buonanotte per ora, Roma!
