To the Boot

Sun! Heat! Italy!

Our excursion to the boot started out rather rocky. Leaving the two little guys behind with my in-laws proved more difficult than anticipated. Plans to take the overnight train went by the wayside. Driving all night instead was tedious ~ more so because the Gotthard Tunnel was closed. (That meant going up and over, rather than through, the mountain.) Parking in Orvieto, a hillside town an hour outside Rome, and taking the train in to the city was complicated by the fact that we arrived in the pre-dawn hours when the train station was closed.

When at last we settled on a train, it was horribly filthy. The Termini station in Rome was frustrating on a variety of levels. Suffice it to say it was Italian. I was reminded why travel guru Rick Steves encourages travelers who are out of sorts in Rome to head back north ~ while those who revel in it should plunge farther south. It takes conscience effort, especially when coming directly from ueber-clean, ueber-organized Switzerland, to ease into the Roman mindset.

But.

Once you're fully in the rhythm ~ once you've adapted to the noise and activity and near inability to walk without being overrun; once you've shed your inhibitions and need for personal space; once you accept that Rome's not going to win any awards for cleanliness or green space; once punctuality doesn't matter to you and eating dinner at ten at night feels comfortable and, like a true Italian, you can forego shorts in 90+ weather...Once it's all second nature...It'll be time to leave. And you'll start counting the days until your next visit.