extreme rome
by Sid Heaton
(return to Lazio)

Ahh, Italy, land of beauty! First impressions? The gently rolling Tuscan countryside unfolding under our airplane's wings as we fly into DaVinci airport. The jaw-dropping monuments of ancient history passing our train window as we ride from the airport to Rome. The vibrant sidewalk cafes bursting with couture, culture, and cuisine outside our taxi as we drive to our new home in the Campo dei Fiori. The completely inexplicable lady pulling down her drawers and taking a leak on the front door of the University of Washington's Rome Center as we wait to go inside. We're still trying to find out if the Italian Department of Tourism has been successful in changing their slogan from "La Bella Italia" to "Welcome to Italy -- Mind If We Pee On You?"

All things considered, this was probably the best possible introduction to Rome we could have had. After all, it taught us a number of important lessons. One -- always look down when you're walking. There's an awful lot of poop on the streets. Two -- no matter how annoying the crowds at national monuments might be, at least they're not peeing on you. Three -- although the mimes in Piazza Navona are plenty annoying, they usually don't pee on you, either. Which brings up an interesting point -- if the Romans invented the sewer, why the heck don't they use the damn things?

Our spirits undampened, we managed to grab our keys from the coordinator for Kristanne's art history program and make our way across the Campo dei Fiori to our new apartment. The Campo itself is a pretty wonderful place. Every morning, the square is filled with an open air market with all sorts of farmers and other vendors selling produce, meats, flowers, fish, and other delights.

see also... A Notch Above rthe Rest A Modern Bridge to Ancient Latium Cats of Rome Extreme Rome What do you know? Roman Cooking Visit Latium Visit other Italian regions

The Campo is chock full of interesting history, too. During the 16th century, it was the center of Roman public life, crowded with festivals, the bustle of daily life, and, yes, even executions. Heck, Lucretia Borgia's mother even had an apartment right off the square! No word on whether they were peeing on the square even back then, but we'll keep you posted.

This is an excerpt from the Extreme Telecommuting Web site, where travelogues bear absolutely no resemblance to any you've ever read before. Sid and his wife Kristanne believe that the Digital Age facilitates telecommuting and that if one is going to telecommute, one might as well do it from places one has always wanted to go! They are living this philosophy and have the travel writing to show for it. We at virtualitalia.com are completely in love with their site, which offers no-holds-barred impressions of Italy and a marvelously refreshing writing style. To read more about Sid and Kristanne's trip to Rome, visit this page.

To read more, visit Extreme Telecommuting in Rome at http://www.officeodyssey.com/040599.htm . Many thanks to Sid and Kristanne for their kind permission in letting us offer this excerpt to virtualitalia.com readers!