Rome traffic

Oh my gosh - Rome traffic is so bad, so bad...beyond what I could have imagined from all of our travels, lanes appear and disapear at will, vespas scoot by, lights generally attended to, pedestrians breeze confidently thru it all. To find Marcos cousins place was a miracle! It is a flat a mile from St. Peters in a piazza that is quiet. Alas Bonifacio has to be in Milan and we only saw him last night here and at his cousins for dinner. (Photo of his flat to left)

We arrived and unpacked then were scooped off to Silvanas and Paulos for a lovely light dinner and conversation. I mostly understand what is going on but it is so frustrating not be be able to respond in Italian, so I respond in English and they mostly understand me. Add wine, as we had some last night, and all flows amazingly well! Paulo is a long time Roman and an avid history buff. Particularly as it related to coinage and the military. An interesting collection and varied. He let us hold 2000 year old Roman coins and had a fantastic sword collection that Coco had her eye on. It was a perfect meal for Jacquie - vegetables and fruit! She was in heaven.

We slept and slept and are just up now. Marco drove Boni to the airport as the taxis are on strike - Italian politics and inefficiencies, a frequent topic of conversation for the locals! Mario, another cousin, is retired and has promised to be our tourguide of Rome, what a delight not to have to deal with what we saw of traffic. He will come over later and we will plan our day. For now for me, a computer, for the girls Boni has Shrek 2 that they are watching, Marco went out to get a coffee and I am about to shower. Life is very good! Happy July 4th to our American friends and Coco! We celebrated Canada day on the road but met people from Victoria in an Autogrille and celebrated a bit with them!

Also Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad we thought of you on the 30th!

Hugs- here for 5 days and will be on email regularly should you need to post a message here or via my email. Chaio! KB