Roma, here we go

I think that travel must be in your soul, deeply imbedded, for one to endure its vagaries. I consider myself a good traveler, one who listens to the call to wander. But these first few days have tried my sense of self as a traveler. I knew that it would be hard on 2-year-old Clare and hard on us keeping her happy on such a long journey. She has been a real trooper, taking most of the seemingly endless days with much more panache than anyone could expect of a small child. The weather has been extremely humid. Just the kind of climate I hate. I don’t function well in this mugginess. One expects the first few days to be hard, all that travel, jet lag etc. We also have had to reckon with the news that yet again, we have “lost” our apartments in Rome. The company is working on replacements but we have little confidence in them now. They are disorganized to the point of confusion. They gave us the wrong contact phone numbers for our stay in Positano! Hours later we finally got into our cave. It’s a beautiful cave though. All whitewashed walls and old timbers with an enormous patio. If the weather were better we’d enjoy the outside more. Nevertheless, its home for now, and apart from the damp smell its quite comfortable. We walk each morning and again in the afternoon down the hill to the beach. Everything is very expensive and quite touristy. The art is awful, even less interesting or as competent than in Laguna. But, we are here. It’s the experience we are after. The feel of the Mediterranean, the beauty of the place, even the glorified cave we live in brings some meaning to our journey. We hope to visit some of the ancient sites in the next day or two. I know that will help restore our sense as travelers.

Ciao, Tommaso