Roma.

We're preparing to head out tomorrow, after having spent our last days in Rome.  It's been raining on and off, but without great consequence -- we've been here before and seen most of the tourist destinations. Apart from some walks near the Colosseum and Forum, we've been visiting some of the quieter museums with art and antiquities of special interest to us.  The Galleria Nazionale D'Arte Moderna is a place of special interest, encompassing as it does art from the early 1800s to the present, and therefore has things of interest to every working artist.  One can only take so many crucifixions and Madonna-and-childs at a stretch, and we've seen plenty during the trip.

Fortunately Nancy found us a very good deal on our rooms here in Roma.  I say fortunately because most everything else here has proved quite expensive, especially the taxis and restaurants.  With the latter we've had to be vigilante for over-charging, both the integrated variety and the covert, and every meal out with a bill under 30-35 euro has been counted as a small victory.

Nancy and I think that this may have been our most enjoyable trip to Italy thus far, and I am confident it has been the most productive for me in doing research and photography for my work.  Our Italian skills have served well, perhaps apart for a few instances in south of Napoli where we were a bit flummoxed  by some local accents (and dialects?),

We think now that we have touched enough of the bases on the Italian peninsula, and assuming we can return in the next two or three years we will be happy to spend the entire visit in Lucca, in an apartment.  Apart from the savings of having a kitchen and a washing machine, and perhaps not renting a car, we felt most at peace in that situation.  It is a conceit, perhaps, but living in the guise of being residents --trying speak Italian as much as possible, eat local food, and dress and behave in a manner so as to be (we hope) inconspicuous -- is very gratifying to us.