François the gay cannon

Today is our second day in rome and the weather has been amazing (so of course I am sunburnt). We spent all of yesterday walking through the city through various ruins with the MO that we were going to old stuff. There are literally ancient structures in various states of disrepair on every street, our favourite being a fort which had been turned into a very secure parking garage.

The train ride in was long, but we shared our compartment with a couple from Switzerland and a couple from Brazil. Cross cultural hilarity ensued. As much as there is some resentment about Americans not speaking other languages, there was a grudging acceptance that its nice that there is a common language. It is really funny to hear people who are close to fluent create there own expressions as in "Bump Hour" for Rush Hour.

After several hours of walking we ducked into a free museum that has AC. The museum certainly shed some light on why Italians of late have not been famed for their military tenacity. This was most exhibited by a cannon which had giant brass laurels over it at the end of the barrel and and the other end what I believe was a music stand. This fashion over function approach can be seen in the federal police that circle the streets. They drive Alfa Romeo 159 which look like the offspring of a Bentley and the batmobile, but which seem hard pressed to get anywhere in a hurry. It goes without saying that the police all wear suits and strangely shaped sunglasses.

Last night we ate at the hostel, which provided free pasta. An archealogist abnd true Indiana Jones wannabe gave us a bottle of wine and pontificated on the many job opportunities for a Mezza focused Archealogist with a specialty in Ceremics. Slightly toasted after dinner we manged to walk half way across the city in search of a bar with kid from Chicago also staying at our hostel. An international incident almost errupted when I was told that I had finished the last of the Jack Daniels on the Premises.

Today we are doing laundry for the first time (not in a sink with shampoo) and then off to the catacombs. If there is time we are going to cruise to Catholic Disneyland.

There has been one street panty sighting, in of all places a car tunnel.

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