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Italy, On My Own This Time

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In this blog I've covered past trips to Italy. This one is different. Since Gauss died last June, I've thought I should come back here, for several reasons. The first is to immerse myself in the language and force myself to speak it. Before he got sick, Gauss and I had planned to spend some time here after he retired. I'd been hearing him speak Italian with his parents for so long that I understood much of what I heard. But I've had difficulty generating speech on my own. He told me, "If you spent three to six months here, you'd be able to speak." Well, Gauss is no longer with me. I don't have him to lean on, so it's up to me to get around. And I'm happy to report that I've managed. In the ten days since I arrived, I've become more confident (or maybe more desperate!) so I just launch in, knowing that my Italian is lousy. But people are understanding me. Pasta with the Papagnos, first night here. Costanza had to reple...
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When in Rome...

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Gauss and I had been through Rome only once before following our ill-fated flight from Sri Lanka to Italy in 1982. My memories are hazy and few. Back then we landed at Da Vinci airport and had to get to Milano. Nerves jangled, we were not about to board another plane just then, so we took a bus to the train station. I recall rolling past the coliseum and being a little surprised that it was right there , although I was unable to muster anything resembling enthusiasm. This time we vowed to pay attention. I planned only one thing in Rome—a visit to the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican Museum. I made an online reservation a month in advance so that we would not miss it, printed the entrance voucher (NOT TRANSFERABLE printed across it in bold letters) labeled it with a Post-It, and added it to the folder of important travel documents. We had another aim for the day as well: to get Italian SIM cards for the cell phones we'd purchased in anticipation of the trip. Despite the seve...
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Gas Station Gourmet

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Gas station dining at its finest Our next mission before departing for Sardinia was to recharge our phones. After the check in phone debacle, we were skeptical about the existence of a Meridiana counter at the Rome airport, so we left Ostia Antica a bit early to do some reconnaissance. A visit to Da Vinci airport confirmed that Meridiana Airlines actually had a gate at there, but it would not open until 1:30. We also discovered that Vodafone didn’t have a kiosk in the airport, so we ventured into the town of Fiumicino to scrounge for some lunch and, we hoped, to find a way to recharge the phones. We came upon a corner market that could take care of the phones, and when we finished, we asked the clerk if she could recommend a place to eat. She directed us to a gas station a couple blocks away. Luciana circled the place twice before parking—we had to convince her that there was actually a restaurant on the premises. Inside, it looked like a typical gas station/conven...
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