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ROME, ITALY -
In Rome we stayed at a tiny hotel near the Spanish Steps (postcard below). We never saw them as empty as in
this picture - even in freezing cold, at 11 PM, the steps were packed with people, mostly teenagers, mostly smoking.
If you're a nonsmoker (or, I imagine, a vegetarian), Italy makes you appreciate California and its health-conscious
ways. In both Italy and France, the "non-smoking section" just means there isn't an ashtray on your table -
the guy elbow-to-elbow with you is another story.
Speaking of elbow-to-elbow, there are a lot of people in Rome. In the evenings, when everyone goes out for a stroll,
people spill off the sidewalks and into the streets, reclaiming right-of-way from the cars and scooters. Whether you're
on foot or in a vehicle, the best (only?) way to get around in Rome is to proceed at a constant pace and watch out for
other people doing the same thing - everyone just sort of steams along, and very few accidents result.
You may feel the urge to abandon the constant pace when crossing the insane traffic around the giant white Monumento di Vittorio
Emanuele II (top photo, foreground), a monument to the first king of unified Italy.
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