Well, guess this is the not quite at sea mail, but we should be sailing tomorrow. Thanks for the restaurant recommendations - we have had some wonderful meals so far and have reservations this evening at Il Bacaro near Piazza Navona. Best meal bargain was lunch today in Trastevere - 16 euro for wine, water, individual pizzas (delish!) and coffee. Otherwise prices have been - well - pricey. Can highly recommend Sora Lella and Vecchia Roma (what a pretty place!). The Hilton is out of the way, but they do have a shuttle bus that drops you off at Piazza Barberini, which is within 1/2 mile of the Spanish Steps, and a bit farther to shopping, fountains, etc. We finally figured out today that the best option is to take the bus into town in the AM, and then enjoy your day and don't hassle about getting back (especially if you are down by the river) and just grab a cab. Although, apparently, a lot of folks wait until the afternoon to go into town. This time of year it is dark by 5 p.m., so prefer to be back by then and getting ready for dinner. Susan now has her next Furla (she always has to be one Furla ahead) and we were pleased to see that their prices have actually come down in the past year (while so much here is more expensive). We happened to pass by the government house yesterday when the new PM was exiting after getting his second confidence vote and was being interviewed by local and CNN TV. There weren't any demonstrations, but the police presence was very high. In speaking with some of the locals (who spoke enough English to talk to us) it appears they have a rather laissez-faire attitude about the whole thing, which is really unfortunate since I do believe they will need to make major structural changes to their economy or we will all suffer the consequences. Of course, one could make the same arguments about our economy, but even though things are still difficult back home for many (particularly young families who bought homes 3-9 years ago), I believe most southern Europeans would be thrilled with a 9% unemployment rate and a 2.5% increase in GDP. As much as Monti and his new cabinet seem to have substantially more gray matter than Berlusconi, I still won't be buying Italian government bonds anytime soon. But boy do they make great pasta!!
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Anyway, as much as it was a hassle to change our flight arrangements and get here a day early, it also gave us one more day in Rome, and really, what's the harm in that?!!
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So, dinner tonight, sleep in, have Bob's Limos pick us up at 11:30 a.m. and then off to the Mariner. Until then....Jeff
