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<p>[QUOTE="IdesOfMarch01, post: 3030146, member: 39084"]After my wife and I, with another couple, visited Italy in late 2016, I wrote a series of "trip reports" for my friends and siblings. We had spent four days in Rome, and at the end of that segment of our trip, I summarized my observations with the following note:</p><p><br /></p><p><b><i>Random thoughts and observations about Rome</i></b></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>I would never want to drive a car in Rome. The fundamental anarchy of Roman drivers reduces all traffic laws to mere suggestions, although I observed surprisingly little horn-honking and road rage. If Google, Tesla, et al. think they’re ever going to get driverless cars to work in Rome, my advice to them is: Guess again, guys. Not gonna happen. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Many of the Romans seemed to appreciate the little Italian we knew. Our Colosseum guide would say “Perfetto” every time we used an Italian phrase correctly. Our Catacombs and Crypts guide was momentarily speechless when I replied “Mia moglie non e qui” after she asked if everyone had returned from a bathroom break. I don’t think she thought an American could say “My wife isn’t here” in Italian, although she recovered quickly and said to me “perfetto” (although I might have I heard a muttered “idiota” following “perfetto”). While some of the Romans didn’t appear to even acknowledge our efforts at Italian (or answered in English), others would respond by conversing in Italian far beyond my comprehension level, as when I asked the owner of a shop selling Murano glass “Quanto costa” and she responded with what sound like a couple paragraphs describing the Murano factory from which she bought the glass and how long they had been in business. Very little of it was coherent to me.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Using the Rome Metro made me feel a lot more like a traveler rather than just a tourist. I grew to like that, despite the crowded trains and concern about pickpockets. It’s faster to take the Metro and walk to your destination than to take a car or a cab, and you experience a certain amount of freedom knowing you’re not always obligated to a taxi or car service to move around the city.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>The tap water in Rome was incredibly good — better, in my opinion, than the tap water in [my home town]. Rome prides itself on its tap water and with good reason (in my experience).</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Our hotel’s breakfasts were the best we experienced — just about everything you could want (scrambled eggs, ham, bacon, hash browns, cheese, fruit, pastry, croissants, cereal... the list is endless). I stopped eating lunch since I was so stuffed after breakfast. This kind of buffet breakfast would cost $40 or more in most major cities.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>We didn’t eat at fancy restaurants, but the food was good although a little pricey for the portions. My wife had trouble finding dishes without cheese (she's lactose intolerant), so meat-sauce and pasta ended up being a staple. Most restaurants added a “coperto” -- a euphemism for “tip” that translates as “cover charge” in Italian. Depending on the cost of the meal, the coperto amounted to 12% - 18% and we only added more tip if we especially liked the waiter or the food. We tried to sample each restaurant’s tiramisu, and they varied a lot; one night we had an astonishingly good tiramisu, while at the same restaurant the following night, it wasn’t quite as good. But that’s what you get when the restaurant makes a new batch of dessert every day.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Still don’t understand why hotels bother with bidets in the bathrooms. Bigger showers and double sinks would be a lot more useful.</i></p><p><br /></p><p>We had visited Ostia on our last day. Some of my favorite recollections of that visit:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]755079[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>An ancient local restaurant's menu in Ostia, and the dishwashing area:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]755080[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]755082[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Ancient lore has it that the proprietor was named Macrinus Donaldus and boasted of “Over MMMMMDDDDDCCCCXII served” in a sign above the restaurant.</p><p><br /></p><p>And, of course, Ostia's mosaics and public toilets:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]755083[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]755084[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="IdesOfMarch01, post: 3030146, member: 39084"]After my wife and I, with another couple, visited Italy in late 2016, I wrote a series of "trip reports" for my friends and siblings. We had spent four days in Rome, and at the end of that segment of our trip, I summarized my observations with the following note: [B][I]Random thoughts and observations about Rome[/I][/B] [I] I would never want to drive a car in Rome. The fundamental anarchy of Roman drivers reduces all traffic laws to mere suggestions, although I observed surprisingly little horn-honking and road rage. If Google, Tesla, et al. think they’re ever going to get driverless cars to work in Rome, my advice to them is: Guess again, guys. Not gonna happen. Many of the Romans seemed to appreciate the little Italian we knew. Our Colosseum guide would say “Perfetto” every time we used an Italian phrase correctly. Our Catacombs and Crypts guide was momentarily speechless when I replied “Mia moglie non e qui” after she asked if everyone had returned from a bathroom break. I don’t think she thought an American could say “My wife isn’t here” in Italian, although she recovered quickly and said to me “perfetto” (although I might have I heard a muttered “idiota” following “perfetto”). While some of the Romans didn’t appear to even acknowledge our efforts at Italian (or answered in English), others would respond by conversing in Italian far beyond my comprehension level, as when I asked the owner of a shop selling Murano glass “Quanto costa” and she responded with what sound like a couple paragraphs describing the Murano factory from which she bought the glass and how long they had been in business. Very little of it was coherent to me. Using the Rome Metro made me feel a lot more like a traveler rather than just a tourist. I grew to like that, despite the crowded trains and concern about pickpockets. It’s faster to take the Metro and walk to your destination than to take a car or a cab, and you experience a certain amount of freedom knowing you’re not always obligated to a taxi or car service to move around the city. The tap water in Rome was incredibly good — better, in my opinion, than the tap water in [my home town]. Rome prides itself on its tap water and with good reason (in my experience). Our hotel’s breakfasts were the best we experienced — just about everything you could want (scrambled eggs, ham, bacon, hash browns, cheese, fruit, pastry, croissants, cereal... the list is endless). I stopped eating lunch since I was so stuffed after breakfast. This kind of buffet breakfast would cost $40 or more in most major cities. We didn’t eat at fancy restaurants, but the food was good although a little pricey for the portions. My wife had trouble finding dishes without cheese (she's lactose intolerant), so meat-sauce and pasta ended up being a staple. Most restaurants added a “coperto” -- a euphemism for “tip” that translates as “cover charge” in Italian. Depending on the cost of the meal, the coperto amounted to 12% - 18% and we only added more tip if we especially liked the waiter or the food. We tried to sample each restaurant’s tiramisu, and they varied a lot; one night we had an astonishingly good tiramisu, while at the same restaurant the following night, it wasn’t quite as good. But that’s what you get when the restaurant makes a new batch of dessert every day. Still don’t understand why hotels bother with bidets in the bathrooms. Bigger showers and double sinks would be a lot more useful.[/I] We had visited Ostia on our last day. Some of my favorite recollections of that visit: [ATTACH=full]755079[/ATTACH] An ancient local restaurant's menu in Ostia, and the dishwashing area: [ATTACH=full]755080[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]755082[/ATTACH] Ancient lore has it that the proprietor was named Macrinus Donaldus and boasted of “Over MMMMMDDDDDCCCCXII served” in a sign above the restaurant. And, of course, Ostia's mosaics and public toilets: [ATTACH=full]755083[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]755084[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]
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