I am going to devote this entry, even though I am not finished writing about our trip to Morocco, to the lovely people of Morocco who will not hesitate to ask for money - for nothing. So many people in this country think they deserve money for doing absolutely nothing. Nada. Not a damn thing. And I am not talking about beggars who are homeless and hungry. I'm talking about people who were better dressed than Enis and me. Or working as traffic police. Or at the airport in passport control or baggage screening. SOB's they are and they really pissed me off. Here are some of the experiences we had with people trying to extort money from us, although Enis was the real object of their interest. I don't know what the hell previous Turkish ... read more

We had our second of many bread-only breakfasts in Morocco this morning, but there were several different kinds of bread, one being very much like my grandmother's cornbread, and lovely jam and butter and coffee. Enis was functioning much better than I thought he would without his Turkish tea. Moroccans drink mint tea, which I loved, but they didn't serve it at breakfast at our hotel. Our breakfasts were good in Morocco, but consisted mainly of bread. That is very French and the Moroccans have definitely been influenced by the French - food, architecture, language, and attitudes were all reflective of their time as a French colony. Unfortunately...' After breakfast we walked to the medina and immediately found a spice store featured in Lonely Planet. The guy working there told us his father was Mr. Spice ... read more

Not much on the agenda today, besides gelato. And going to the ATM. By this time I was a little bit tired and ready to sleep in my own bed and unpack my backpack. First, I walked over to Santa Maria in Trastevere and explored my own neighborhood a bit. Actually, I was looking for a place to have lunch and stumbled upon the church, so I went inside to take a look. It was beautiful and big and had stunning Italian marble floors, but I have seen so many churches in Italy and in Europe by this point that I didn't even take pictures. I left and went in search of a cheap place to eat even if it meant I had to stand up and eat. Lonely Planet recommended Forno La Renella and it ... read more

Not too much on my agenda today, but I finally made it to the Borghese Museum which had been recommended by many books, people, and especially by my friend Lorenza, and she's Italian, so I believed her! You have to make an appointment before you go because it is actually a small museum and less than 400 people are allowed in at 2 hour intervals. It is about 14.50 euros to get in, but I used my Roma Pass for a discount and paid 10.25. This was the last day for me to use my Roma Pass, so I made sure to see all the museums I wanted to see today. The three most expensive things to see in Rome are the Capitoline Museum (17.50 euros), Borghese Museum (14.50 euros) and the Colosseum (not sure but ... read more

Today I was headed to the Colosseum first and would meet my friend Lorenza later. I walked to the Colosseum which took about 30 minutes. On the way there I saw the Arc de Giarno, which is behind a fence, as well as the Arc di Constantino which is next to the Colosseum. I used my Roma Pass (25 euros, good for 3 days only) to get in to the Colosseum, which also includes the entrance fee for Palatino and all the ruins around it, but I didn't know that at the time. I only had time to visit the Colosseum before meeting Lorenza. The pictures can really tell more than I can. The Roman Colosseum is actually not the biggest one they ever built, but it was probably the busiest. Originally it had a wooden ... read more