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Rome is great. Loud, lively and invigorating. In fact its so invigorating I might go somewhere quieter for the New Year’s to have a bit of a rest.

A Roman Christmas

Nickjenkins
2003-11-20 11:12:08

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cafés helpful owner ply me with endless supplies of caffeine laden espresso’s.

As the caffeine and sunshine revived my benumbed brain I began to take in the scene around me. The view from my comfortable piazza-side table was very educational. Bewildered tourists bumbled back and forth across the square, mingling with the immaculately dressed Venetians taking there immaculately groomed pets for a stroll. Every so often, one of the immaculately dressed Venetians would encounter another of their kind and stop to exchange pleasantries. In a parody of their owners’ the pets would hover around their ankles exchanging their own, slightly more intimate greetings.

After a little while a pair of immaculately dressed and geriatric Venetians detached themselves from the crowd and settled into the table beside us. The man peered uncertainly into the café and raised a wrinkled hand and waved vaguely at the owner within. Seconds later the owner appeared clutching a pair of bottle of champagne and a pair of crystal flutes. Presenting them with a flourish, he poured the sparkling wine, exchanged a few words with the couple and retired to the shadows of his café. The old man smiled gently at his wife, turned and raised his glass to us as if to say "Isn’t it nice to be in Venice ?", and settled sat back to enjoy the sunshine. I had to agree with him, it was lovely.

One of the major attractions of Venice as an Italian city is its total lack of automobiles. After the car-centric centres like Milan, Rome and Naples Venice is a breath of fresh air, literally. The absence of noise too is a welcome relief. Walking around Venice is a relaxing experience compared to the normal frenetic Italian touring experience.

Venice however represents a major peril to the camera equipped tourist. The town is so picturesque and so filled with photogenic flourishes that you can barely proceed five or ten metres ...