Early evening when the heat has dropped and everyone is out walking about is a wonderful time and this moment, pausing on Ponte Garibaldi made a sub-optimal day worth it.
Btw, if you’ve had enough of these blogs or you think it’s all pointless, or egocentric or something, please do unsubscribe, no hard feelings. It’s just a rough journal for me and something to do in the evenings to reflect on my day, it’s not compulsory viewing.
People sometimes ask why I’m not travelling with my wife and I think the question says more about the person asking – the assumption that once you’re married you must travel with your partner. I think the question says more about other people’s values. I listened to Suzy Ferguson on RNZ interviewing Lisa Blair who sailed solo around the Antarctic and has a doco out called Ice Maiden screening at the DocEdge film Fest, and she was never asked, “Why don’t you take your boyfriend with you?” It’s because it’s her journey, her challenge and her adventure, and I feel the same way. Travelling on my own focuses my concentration and allows me to pause at things that take my interest and meet new people. So often I see older couples sitting at restaurant tables, both staring off to the middle distance . . with nothing left to say.
On the other had it can go wrong some days. I had a plan to walk a few km of the Attica Antica, the first purpose-build Roman road, but I gave up. The temperature was 36 degrees and I was over-whelmed. I took a Lime bike into the area where the Road begins but its ‘out of zone’ which means all the power cuts out on the bike and it’s like pedalling a heavy analogue bike except harder. I really needed a hat with a decent brim too – it was all too hard. I found some shade, drank my nice cold water, poured half a bottle over my head and re-grouped.
Later I decided to see some live music but the band wasn’t starting for another 3 hours and they were playing rocked-up versions of the Bee Gees, called The Free Gees, not my cuppa, so I Lime-biked to Trastevere near by and had the worst pizza I’ve ever eaten. The restaurant I wanted to go had a long line so I went pot-luck, and lucked out.
Time to head back to Appia Nuovo and that lovely air con.
(Sorry about all the pics, they all look smudgy to me, maybe I need to clean my phone lens?)
