A Roman Holiday

There's no shortage of clichés about Rome: All roads lead to Rome. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Rome was not built in a day. Naturally enough, the seven of us (an overnight addition) do quite the clichéd Rome stuff: first stop is the Colosseum and the Roman Forum area with all its ruins. It’s a bit incongruous: ruins from 1^st century B.C. and 72 A.D. in a city of this century with hundreds of milling tourists on an off-season Saturday. I’m not quite transported back in time but walking around in a monument that is a city cannot get boring.

A couple of the other guys do the map reading and deciding where-to-go-next and I am content to take in the sights: Piazza del Campidoglio, Trevi fountain (where you throw in coins and make wishes), Spanish steps, Piazza del Popolo... with pit stops for pizza and gelato. The sun sets early at 1730 and we take a bus to Campo de’Fiori in search of watering holes. Dinner is at McD’s and a bar with a good happy hour deal – before we retire to the Cobra’s den.