Over Afternoon Tea

Tea is not only a drink but a ritual over which people have been relaxing, talking, and catching up on each other's lives for centuries. This blog is intended to serve as a virtual cup of tea, helping me keep in touch with friends and family in my physical absence.

There's No Place Like Rome

First, a brief apology: I am aware that I haven't posted in forever. Life got busy, then the Internet went dead, and then I went to Rome. If I'd had net access, I would've told you I was going beforehand. Oh well.

Rome was quite the experience. After a week abroad, I feel I've experienced the roots of ancient civilization and the roots of modern Americo-centrism. Like vents in the bathroom so that your entire hotel room needn't be muggy. And toilets in enough places that you don't have to dehydrate yourself to get through the day without a burst bladder. And heating that works at all hours of day and night (marvelous, isn't it?). It's lack of little things like that that combine to make spending two days out of seven in Rome flat on your back with a 102 fever so much fun.

On the other hand, it was definitely worth it. We spent two days wandering around the Colosseum, Forum, etc. which were worth the two days in bed. Best of all, we saw the site of the old curia house. I couldn't resist bringing Cicero's First Catilinarian along and reading a bit of it from there. (Those of you with better memories may recall where that one was actually delivered; I don't think it was the old curia house but that's OK.) My husband couldn't resist snapping pictures. OK, so like most students of Latin I could be accused of Cicero-worship. Whatever.

The sunshine was beautiful, the gelati was great, the language barrier wasn't too bad. I managed a three-sentence conversation in Italian with a waitress that got my husband and brother-in-law staring at me like I dropped from the sky. But hey, it got them their coffee -- even if it was actually a cafe Americano, therefore coming with foam on top, which caused said brother-in-law (who didn't realize) to pour himself a cup of foam and make faces.

Anyway, Rome was memorable. But for the moment, I'm still weak from the fever (which finally broke the night before we left) so it's back to bed for me. I hope to get some links to pictures up soon. It's good to be home.