Rome: the Second Day

A familiar sight

Street scenes

Breakfast

Every morning we enjoyed the hotel breakfast on the rooftop. I became quite accustomed to croissants and coldcuts and cheeses with my coffee American every morning. Yoghurt, fresh and canned fruit, cereals and pastries were also on the buffet. Several English and Indian families sitting near us ordered bacon and/or eggs from the menu, but I did not miss the traditional English breakfast. It was so lovely being waited on every morning. Usually when we vacation I still end up cooking breakfast, so this was quite a treat.

We headed off this AM on foot to the Colosseum, which just seemed to appear around a corner. It constantly amazed me, the sudden revelation of breathtaking antiquities that were just an everyday part of life in this gorgeous city. We bought a Roma pass outside the Colosseum and Ray adopted his tour guide persona, copied from the many aggressive tour guides lurking around all the tourist spots. He would hold his arm above his head and we followed after him like ducklings. The Colosseum was magnificent but frightening. The image of the horrors that took place in this huge arena still hung in the air about the place. Boomers would call this aura "bad vibes."