Hot, (not) flat, and crowded

I apologize for the delay in posting any comments and photos from Rome. I ran into a problem uploading photos to this blog so I decided to wait until I reached home.

Rome was a challenging experience. I understand the interest that many have in the ancient. It is challenging to consider how life then would have been so different and yet so similar. Beyond having this insight into the passage of time and the realization that Europe has so much more history than North America, I did not have the reaction of others when confronting the history present in Rome. I think I am more appreciative of the information than the experience. The experience itself is hot, dirty, and extremely crowded. It is difficult for me to be reflective in this setting. The following image may give you a sense of what I mean by crowded - this is a photo of the Spanish Steps. What you see here is nothing in comparison to Vatican City (which we did spend time viewing) and the Colosseum which we did not enter. This would have required several hours standing in line.

I process my travel experiences with a camera. This is a personal thing and I know some believe you just look and appreciate. This just does not work for me. I also prefer taking pictures of things other than people. Cindy always complains I take too few pictures of people. So Cindy - I did take a few pictures of you.

Here are a few more photos.

Vatican City

I liked the flare.

Swiss Guards (guys and women with automatic weapons were also very visible)

Not the Sistine Chapel (no photos allowed)

One of the Colosseum (as many people cropped out as possible)

Trevi Fountain

A few others I like

I won't push any more pictures on you. If you are interested, all of my photos are public.  

This is all for now. We are resting and hope to hit the road (or water) again soon. Thanks for connecting.

Oh, the title? A derivation of the title from one of my favorite authors (Tom Friedman - Hot, flat and crowded). Friedman also writes about the connected world and the foolishness of those who believe we can isolate ourselves.