Reflections From Roma #04
03 marzo 2018
Photo Update Alert:
“Pompei/Napoli”
Hello there… Rodger French
here.
As time passes here in
Roma, I find it more and more difficult to expeditiously execute these
postings. I surmise a number of possible reasons:
1. So much has been
written - often quite excellently - about this region, and especially this city
and country, that I feel I run the risk of being redundant, nay, superfluous.
2. This is our last State
Department posting and so - weirdly, paradoxically - motivation seems lacking.
3. Generating the forward inertia
necessary to do the hard work of writing becomes burdensome with incipient old
age.
Now we can add to this
rather lame-ass list the fact that I will soon begin working part-time at the
Embassy. Which is a good thing, what with two years left in our hitch. I will
be part of a team (or cog in a machine, if you prefer), make good use of my Top
Secret clearance (eat your heart out, Jared Kushner), and squirrel away some
cash (places to go, sites to see).
And, of course, our Official 2018-2019 Visitor’s Spreadsheet
must be maintained and guests graciously accommodated. So, yeah, I have
accumulated a sufficient aggregate of sorry excuses for not writing. Nonetheless,
in the interest of maintaining my diminishing bona fides as a globetrotting
correspondent, permit me to offer these short, but brief observations:
Vatican Necropolis - If you can book this small-group tour, prepare
to descend 30 feet and go back in time 2000 years. Utterly fascinating; and,
you exit through St. Peter’s Basilica, there to skylark with the multitudes.
Pompei/Napoli - We took the quickie two-hour tour of Pompei. It was surprisingly
poignant, but equally frustrating. If you’re seriously into checking it out,
book a private tour guide and plan on staying all day.
Tourist ProTip - Taxis in Napoli do not have meters, so get a fixed price. Then, hang
on… riding with Neapolitan cab drivers offers amusement park-level thrills,
without those pesky seat belts.
Bonus Weather Report - The recent “historic” snowfall did, in fact,
cripple “The Eternal City.” Two inches of snow. Shut the place down. Just like
Atlanta, but with infinitely better scenery.
Unavoidable Political Sidebar - Italian national elections are scheduled for
Sunday, 04 March. No one is quite sure what the turnout will be, but it is
widely expected that the Fascists will do well and that Italia will once again
be led (de facto, this time) by Silvio Berlusconi. Esto no saldrá bien.
I would promise to be more
reliable in my future reportage, but… nah. Suffice to say, I’ll be in touch as
I am able and the spirit moves me. That does not, however, mean that I am
incommunicado. Recommendations are always welcome, and if you have a question
that you think I might know, find, or make up an answer to, please ask. E
grazie mille per la tua pazienzia.
Onward.
Rodger
