A month in one place...

Is one month in one city in a foreign country too much?

Depends...

If you like to see a ton of stuff and always be on the go, yes... a month is too much.  You can pretty much see the highlights of Rome in 3-7 days.  Slam-bam, thank you ma’am... you won’t even have to get adjusted to the time zones.

If, on the other hand, you just want to ease into life, perhaps take in a movie or maybe the new Monet exhibit, well... that’s a different story.

We managed to do something different everyday.  Up by 7:30, coffee by 9:00, off on an adventure, lunch around 13:00, home by 15:00.  Rest.  Relax.  Siesta.  Discuss what we saw today.  Plan on tomorrow’s adventure.  Rinse.  Recycle. Repeat.

This idea is not new.  I read it on a “bucket list”, somewhere on the internet.  Immediately I liked the idea.  Would I choose a different city next time?  Maybe.

London and Paris are EXPENSIVE.  Maybe Madrid or Barcelona.  I like small towns, but the big cities sure do offer a person lots of options.

Just thinking...

Dubbing around...

Tuesday was a dub day... Caren and I ate mediocre Giaponese (Japanese) food and consumed copious amounts of Proseco.  Made for a great siesta!
Wednesday we took the train to Anzio (Nettuno actually) to visit the Sicily-Rome Cemetary, where 7.800 headstones are arranged in orderly rows.  This does not include thousands of unidentified bodies.  Pretty moving...
Today, Rosanne left early and power walked the Roman forum.  Caren and I went to the Marilyn Monroe collection, which was fantastic.  It was a huge exhibit and very touching.  Caren split to meet her friend Joyce and I had a pizza at Dar Poeta.  Ummm good.
I am really learning my way around.  Subway - busses - walking... it’s all coming together.

Tomorrow Caren goes for a Tuscan wine tasting tour.  Rosanne and I spend our last day in Rome, with a Saturday exit to Amsterdam.  Caren also leaves on Saturday... her plane to Amsterdam leaves at 06:30 (gawd).  Our plane leaves at 12:30 (so civilized!).  We spend the night at the airport hotel at AMS and fly home on Sunday.

I love it here...

High ground

This was one of the many hills the Germans occupied in Southern Italy.  They were entrenched on this sight.  The Allies, on the valley floor, never had a chance.

Rome was captured on June 4 1944.  D-Day and the Normandy invasion, on June 6, got all of the press.  Italy was the real bloodbath.  Reconnoiter patrols of six men would leave and never return.  Men drowned trying to cross the Rapido River.

 The view from the Abbey...