Disaster #3 and Lessons Learned from Anthony Bourdain

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For those you not familiar with Bourdain, he’s a travel/food writer and former head chef of Les Halles in NYC, which is where Ruth and I actually had dinner after we got married on Valentine’s Day in NYC. He’s written a few books about food and has a show on the Discover Channel where he travels the globe in search of the perfect meal.

Anyway, he wrote a book called Kitchen Confidential (great book, BTW) where he informs us that the single biggest source of food poisoning is raw vegetables, the point being that our anxieties over pork and fish are misguided.

Well, sure enough, we got hit with disaster #3, food poisoning, most likely from a salad eaten at the airport, so be aware. One of us isn’t feeling at the top of their game, but suffice it to say that we feel VERY fortunate that the kids are doing just fine.

So this is just a quick and general observation, but I’ve found that the bigger and more upscale the hotel, the more they try to weasel every last cent out of you. This hotel that we’re staying at, I still can’t remember the name, actually charges you for wireless internet service. It’s shameful, actually, because the smaller, low budget places give it to you for free. It makes me tense thinking that every little thing you eat or ask for you’re being charged for. Kind detracts from the overall experience, but such is the life of travel.

Especially when you are in tourist hell, and believe me, Rome is tourist hell. Then again, that’s why we come here, to see these things, and there is an incredible number of things to see.

As I mentioned, our hotel is right across the square from the Parthenon, and with Ruth’s background in Art History, we have the perfect guide to all that there is to know about the place, and there’s plenty to know about the place.

I will say this, all the books and pictures that you’ve seen or heard about the Pantheon don’t hold a candle to the real experience. It’s an amazing sight to see, and when you walk around the grounds and go inside, it’s really breathtaking, especially when you consider that the Romans built this thing long before the days of machinery.

And, of course, we succumbed to our first experience (at least the first we know of) of being scammed as a tourist. In the end, I’m embarrassed to have fallen for it, and I could have made a stink and gotten out of it, I’m sure, but it’s all a part of traveling in a new place.

We were at the Pantheon and there were a bunch of actors dressed in operatic costumes to promote, of all things, an opera. I figured they were just a bunch of stage actors being nice. They put their garb on Audrey and Nicholas and I, and then we took all the required photos, and then they hit us up for money for the pics. I should have known better, and I could have simply told them to take a hike and walked away, but we did get some cool pics, the kids enjoyed it, and I fell for it, fair and square. Live and learn.

We’re off to explore Rome for the day, it should be interesting. As we go about our daily routines, I do find I’m acutely aware that everyone is trying to take advantage of us, or better yet, rip us off. This kind of sucks, but seems all a part of travel.

Just a final point, Audrey and Nicholas are having a blast just hanging out in the hotel and taking baths. When in Rome…

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Photos

Ceiling of Pantheon
The sunlight was supposed to act as a spotlight on statues of the gods that lined the perimeter.

Cool Euro Car
What kind of mileage do you think this gets?

Inner City Ruins
This archeological dig sits smack in the middle of downtown Rome.