A few minutes in Rome

We got to Rome without any traffic delays. We even took an extended rest stop where we downed a couple Oranginas to replace some of the sweat we had lost during the day. Again we returned to a restaurant Jurgen had taken us to last summer. That was fine with me because "Julius Caesar" was a tremendous meal. Just like last year we got pasta, tons of salad and our own individual pizza. Most people couldn't finish theirs. I helped myself to some of Grandma's. After dinner we had some free time to explore the sidewalk sales going on in the neighborhood. Sometimes the Europeans try a little oo hard to act like Americans. Gail and I get a kick out of some of the utterly stupid English language slogans they print on their clothing. Things like "Team Fruit" on an otherwise masculine football letter jacket. Or sports jerseys with ridiculous team names like "New York Zebras". Earlier in the trip I saw a really stupid shirt that said "The Early Bird Cathes Theworm" - those word exactly. Imagine my great joy and surprise when I found that identical shirt for 5 Euro. After about an hour of shopping we climbed back on our bus in order to get to our hotel. We drove and drove and drove. Normally our EF hotels are pretty centrally located but this place was miles outside of town. My heart sank as we finally turned off the highway and entered a rather dirty, run-down suburban section of town. We were in the Dragoncello section of town - not near anything of interest. The hotel was unimpressive when we first pulled up and when we entered the lobby. Jurgen told us breakfast was at a restaurant 2 blocks up the road. This was looking like the first crummy hotel of the trip. I detected a ray of hope when I saw a sign for the swimming pool. At least the elevator worked. When I stuck my card into the key slot then opened the door I was met with a blast of cold air. Really cold air. Stepping in through the door there was a full kitchen with refrigerator, sink and microwave to my right. Straight ahead was a large sofa bed, coffee table, 27" TV, stereo, and bay doors leading to a balcony. To the right of that was another door. That led to my King-size bed, another smaller TV, a writing desk and for the first time on this trip, a stand to lay my giant suitcase on. There was also a huge bathroom with a full tub and lots of cosmetics sitting on the double sink. We may have been on the other side of the World but we were staying in the nicest joint we had all trip. The Wine Club had scheduled a meeting that night but I skipped it just to stay in my freezing cold room where I knew I'd get a good night's sleep.