Melting in Rome
It wasn’t just the heat - we were melting down in every sense of the word. You could say we hit the traveling wall as soon as we got to Rome. The Aperal Spritzer that had been flowing through my veins 24 hours earlier had been replaced by the fight or flight instinct that undoubtedly still figures largely in the collective mindset of this place - home to the gruesome gladiatorial battles of the Colosseum. So, cheers, I guess to the city for keeping it real.
Rome was intense. Beautiful, historic and amazing but intense. Upon leaving the train station, I feared we had immediately fallen victim to what can only be described as one middle aged cab driver’s balls out audition for a Jason Bourne car chase stunt driver. By the time we arrived, we were tired, hungry and frankly over pizza and pasta. I personally was looking forward to changing into the shorts with the elasticated waisteband that had been advertised as both maternity and not. Regardless there was a sizable gluten baby growing beneath my shirt so I figured I may as well be six months along. Contributing to the sense of “ick” was the fact that some of our clothes had taken on the scent of travel - a sort of stale air, slightly mildewy, body-odor potperie that would frankly, knock the Downy snuggle bear on its fluffy little arse.
We hit all the major sights - Pantheon, Colosseum, Forum, Trevi fountain. We should have seen the tourists riding Segways into the sunset of the Colosseum as a sign of the coming apocalypse, but we ignored the signs and ended up with a melting 6 year old who’s list of complaints was only limited to here grasp of the english language. After coming to grips with the fact that I had sold our ergo baby on craigslist about 5 years prior, it was time to saddle up and carry what was essentially a mass of child stuffed with pasta and butter with a glaze of sunscreen - making the grip all the more challenging. For Noah however, walking amongst the ruins seemed to captivate him. “What is that? How old is that? Can we go walk in there?” Whether it was just his age or personal interests, it was fun to see that sense of awe in our child - for him to begin to see how truly large and old the world is. These memories are what I hope will always give them perspective when they are feeling trapped in the bubble of home.
In the end, Rome was just as magestic and awe insipiring as we remembered even if it will be probably stand out as the most stressful part of the trip. We were ripped off by cab drivers, and at restaurants and when it came time to leave it felt kinda like trying to stealthfully find your underwear in the dark after a one night stand or a sort or walk of shame. Yet walk we did heads held high to the taxi stand and off to the airport.