ATW in 45. #21

What a day. Or what a night. I slept poorly. I could just not get to sleep. I finally went to sleep between 2 and 3. Which means I will feel like crap tomorrow. I need to bring sleeping pills next time.

The coliseum is on the schedule for today. I am excited. I have seen it in so many movies I feel like I have been there before. I haven’t.

But we are going this am. Early. My son likes to move early. He is psychotic about it. It is tremendously annoying. Really.

The coliseum is impressive. We had priority tickets so we skipped the line. Did I mention how hot it is today? It’s hot. And muggy. And when the romans built the coliseum, they forgot lifts and escalators. So for a few hours it was up and down stairs in the sun till we were ready to wilt. The experience is 10 on a 10 scale. My imagination runs wild with what went on in the arena. Think Gladiator the movie but in person. There is a lot to see while standing in the oppressive heat.

After 3 hours, we were done. Wasted, hot and exhausted. What to do? Went in search of gelato. We needed to cool down.

It was difficult to find gelato with the required dining room. We did not want to stand and eat outside. We found a place, got our gelato, ripoff tourist price and sat for long enough to eat it and cool off. Ice cream is medicine.

After gelato we went looking for lunch. Don’t judge me, I’m on vacay. Again, Emily and I wanted to find something off the beaten path. So we walked, a half an hour, out into Rome. And found a place without googling.

The lunch was ok. The service was not. Which does happen. We were waited on by the owner who, it seems, was only interested in pulling customers in from the street. Did I mention the bad service? Hell, I could not get the check so I could pay and leave till I begged. Food was ok.

After lunch was shopping. The ladies seem to think it necessary to go thru many stores in search of god knows what. Or just to look. Don’t understand.

I feel like we shopped for two hours but it could have been less. Felt like more.

After shopping the three adult children went off to find a drink. Booze. We went back to the hostel to do laundry. I think I preferred laundry to drinking. I need clean clothes more than a drink. Not always but tonight I do.

We got a call later in the evening. They had found a restaurant for dinner. Usual Italian food, go figure. I had a very nice seafood risotto, plenty of food and antipasti and wine. The usual. We strolled home late and I collapsed into bed. Love it when sleep arrives so easily.