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Lunchtime Photo

Yesterday's puzzler turned out to be more puzzling than I intended. This was partly because I forgot that it's hot pretty much everywhere and partly because you guys assumed I must be in the United States. But no! This should make everything clear:

July 27, 2021 — Vatican City, Italy

Huh. What am I doing in Rome? Well, a few weeks ago I read a piece in the New York Times telling me that tourism hadn't yet gotten back to normal and Rome was all but empty. That sounded great, so on the spur of the moment I decided to go. Marian was going to come too, but it turned out that her passport had expired, so I decided to come by myself.

Which is just as well, as it turns out. Rome is very, very hot right now, which would make it a bit of slog no matter what. However, this trip was also an experiment to see how much energy I had these days. The answer is: not much. I can walk around the city for about two hours before I need to return to the hotel to rest. I can do this two or three times a day, and to make it worse I fall asleep a lot. This very post, for example, is being written at about 7 pm after I fell asleep around noon. This does not make for ideal touristing.

But maybe things will get better. For now, I think I'll head out to the Spanish Steps or maybe the Piazza Navona and see what's going on there. Dinner is most likely in store.

27 thoughts on “Lunchtime Photo

  1. rick_jones

    Passport expiration is never fun, but as I understand it, is currently especially unpleasant as it is taking several months to process renewals.

    1. Steve_OH

      My wife and I applied to renew our Global Entry passes in the spring of last year, and we finally got our interviews and new cards earlier this month.

        1. Steve_OH

          You can renew it at any time (even if it still has years left on it). Unless you're expecting to need it soon, I'd go ahead and renew it if I were you.

  2. D_Ohrk_E1

    Nice image. Funny thing about stitching photos together, you get ghosts and copies of the same person walking through the scene. Photoshop her out after the stitching.

  3. HokieAnnie

    Heh I was in Rome in late July back in the early 90s on vacation. I coulda told you it would be miserable there!!! I wore a loose fitting linen long sleeved tunic and a long skirt - the have folks at St. Peters looking at your dress, no shorts or tanks allowed or too short skirts for women.

    I hope you are keeping safe, there's risk of breakthrough cases and vaccinated folks being able to transmit the virus 🙁

    1. Steve_OH

      And while it's been hot in Rome, it hasn't been 107.9°F hot. Methinks the thermometer was cooking in the sun, which both raises the temperature reading and lowers the humidity reading.

  4. Traveller

    If possible get yourself to Largo di Torre Argentina...two reasons, this is where Mr. Caesar was assassinated, (allegedly) but more importantly it is the site of the Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Largo_di_Torre_Argentina

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torre_Argentina_Cat_Sanctuary

    Quite the treat for cat lovers.

    Enjoy....(oh, 2 hours of wandering in the heat of Rome is about reasonable...don't be so hard on yourself).

    Lastly, shockingly, I enjoyed both the bus and subway system in Rome. Buy yourself a pass.

    Best Wishes, Traveller

  5. rational thought

    I think that everyone sort of assumed that kevin would not be brave enough to take an overseas trip with delta going around, even while vaccinated. I know I dismissed that idea for that reason myself. And gives a different concept of Kevin's feelings re covid than I expected.

    Steve,

    Is it really true that if you leave a thermometer / humidity reporter in the sun , that the humidity measure will be distorted low along with the temperature high? If so, I did not know that and just messes up all my analysis from yesterday.

    And how the hell was anybody supposed to figure out Rome then. If kevin is going to make them that hard, I give up.

    1. Steve_OH

      It depends on the type of hygrometer, but most make a dew point (i.e., absolute humidity) measurement, and then compute the relative humidity by combining the dew point temperature with the temperature reading. And if the temperature reading is wrong because the thermometer is in the sun, then the relative humidity computation will be wrong, too.

      Here's a dewpoint/temperature/relative humidity calculator that you can use to see how they're related: https://bmcnoldy.rsmas.miami.edu/Humidity.html

  6. bad Jim

    I highly recommend the Galleria Borghese, which has some fantastic paintings, and the unjustly neglected church of San Pietro in Vincoli, which houses Michelangelo's Moses.

  7. golack

    Masks?

    Cases have been on the rise there. Italy is at ca. 10 new cases/day/100K (ca. 6000 new cases/day, 60,000K population)--so better than here (Worldometer). Not sure of variants--presumably Delta is everywhere.

    Have fun!

  8. Traveller

    Back at the computer with one more idea....my premise being that I want to bring to your attention places you might be aware of...though admittedly the experience of being here or there is unique to the person experiencing the place...with that said, Peter and Paul Prison was pretty high on my great things to stumble across.

    Down a bunch of dark steps there are two cells and a small spring with flowing water...I actually ended up baptizing a few people, and probably myself. I am a non religious person but these things can take hold of you, (Canterbury, Jerusalem, Lourdes and Rome)...there is no sin in praying for health.

    Here is the link...this is not spectacular, but sometimes things are meaningful;

    "Originally the complex was much larger, but now only two cells and part of the facade remain. The cell consisted of an upper section (Carcer) and a lower section (Tullianum). The Tullianum was probably built in the 3rd century BC and was connected to the Carcer with a hole. The Tullianum was used as a death row. Prisoners were let down through the hole in the ceiling and executed on this death row. In the end, the bodies were transported via the Tiber River."

    https://romesite.com/mamertine-prison.html

    Just a suggestion

    Best Wishes, Traveller

  9. NealB

    Glad you're in Rome. Wish I was there. Okay. Just watched Biden's opera de Dio in favor of everyone getting vaccinated. And he almost quantified it, but this should be the end game. Get vaccinated quick now and get a hundred bucks. Otherwise be prepared to get and show your passport. I only wish he'd made the timetable a little shorter. He vaguely alluded to the start of school in a month or so. Maybe that's it. If Republican fuckers are still stalling on vaccinations after Labor Day, they're in for a world of hell over the holidays.

  10. fnordius

    Summer is the time when the Italians themselves flee the hot cities. It's often better in July and August to go to Cinqueterre or up to Garda. My favourite two cities, Florence and Siena, will also be blisteringly hot but the Chianti region is still worth a visit.

  11. leftabroad

    Rome is one of my favourite cities! Two hours walking in the heat is enough though. I second the recommendation of Cinqueterre! I am in Tirana at the moment - so in the same climate region and almost everything here is basically Italian. It is a blistering 40+ and no breeze. Lots of shade, but it doesn't help so I would imagine finding shade in Rome is like finding a Republican who believes in democracy. I'm terrible with names but I do remember some beautiful restaurants near the EU offices - I think one was featured in the film "Eat, Pra, Love". Enjoy civilization!

  12. Obstinate Grouse

    Kevin, when traveling to Europe I always recommend getting the Rick Steves guide for that city or country. Invaluable. Lots of tips on how/when to see the sights and even which ones to skip. Lots of background info on artworks, sites, and culture.

  13. MindGame

    Such a fantastic city! Incredible food, layers upon layers of history -- it's unbelievable really. Probably better when it's cooler around sunset (prettier too), be sure to hike up to Michelangelo's urban-design masterpiece, the Piazza del Campidoglio (atop Capitoline Hill). With the heat the way it is, Villa D'Este (in Tivoli, outside of Rome) and its cascading fountains would make a great day trip. Hell, why not try out Italy's quite good high-speed railway to a more distant destination -- maybe you'll become a fan. 🙂

  14. MindGame

    How could I forget?! Just a couple of streets over from Piazza Navona is the small church San Luigi dei Francesi, which contains a couple of Caravaggio's most magnificent paintings, which places them among the greatest artworks period. Discovering this place by chance while strolling by decades ago, dropping a 200 lira coin into the timer at one of the side chapels, and then seeing The Calling of St Matthew light up was one of the most sublime travel experiences I have ever had.

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