What does the mob of Remus say?

"It follows fortune as it always does, and rails against the condemned...Now that no one buys our votes, the public has long since cast off its cares; the people that once bestowed commands, consulships, legions and all else, now meddles no more and longs eagerly for just two things - Bread and Games!"

-Juvenal, Satire 10, The Vanity of Human Wishes

Remus, Rome, Roma, Rom, Rim, Rzym, Рим... the list of its names in varied languages adorning the many guidebooks outside each of the ultra-famous sights goes on. There is this tour-bus and aggressive-flower -street-salesman side of Rome which can be off-putting. But simply walk around, enjoy the Piazzas and Villas and European sidewalk cafe culture and happy chaos, as it really is a wonderfully beautiful city ideal for those who like to discover places on foot. Not quite entirely the open-air museum that some promise, as much is hidden and unexplained or simply lost to time, but for those with imagination and a sense of history's weight, there are few places that compare to the capital. It also doesn't hurt that the pasta and gelato are cheap and delicious and available at every corner.

Saw the Colosseum yesterday, exchanged the rock from Chichen Itza and took the necessary pictures, crossing "new" World Wonder number 4 off the list. But I do think, of all the Roman buildings, I prefer the Pantheon the best, the way it just sits there in the middle of that square, so dominantly out of place. The hole in the center of the dome to let in the rain, the perfection of its engineering. And Raphael's tomb: "Here lies Raphael, by whom Nature feared to be outdone while he lived, and when he died, feared that she herself would die."

Off for attempt number 2 at the Vatican this morning (Sunday it closed early). Then more aimless wanderings to just soak in the atmosphere. Then to Naples and Sorrento manana. As it continues.