My Roman Holiday

I started the trip by fasting 16 hours before arrival, as recent research suggests is helpful (i.e. it works on rats). I think it did help, because I had an extraordinarily active day rather than spending it bleary, mentally foggy, and having the dizzy spells which are a hallmark of a jet-lagged Vince. I also took melatonin to sleep through the night, which was unscientific (isolate your variables) but effective.

I landed with no issues and with all my belongings, and the only thing I've noticed forgotten so far has been my corkscrew. I'll replace it soon, and it's nothing to get panicked about.

I'm a tourist for this leg of the trip, enjoying a nice hotel room that was a good deal on Hotwire. I decided in 2009 that, while busking has been successful for me in Rome, it's more hassle than it's worth and that I'd only visit on vacation. There is too much competition for space, too much resistance from an audience bombarded by solicitation, and too much ambivalence from authorities who will forbid one day what went fine the day before. The passage of a busking law last year has only added to the hassle, though a local busker said it hasn't shut anything down so much as added a new hoop for jumping.

So what have I done on my vacation? I've walked. A lot. I found Bramante's Tempietto, which I'd never realized was inside a courtyard the previous times I'd gone looking. I sought out the National Museum of Musical Instruments, which I only recently heard about, only to discover it's closed for renovation. And I got myself successfully lost and unlost twice ("I've been lost here before, that's the back end of Trajan's Forum", "that brick monstrosity looks a lot like the Baths of Caracalla, which I've always approached from the opposite side")

It's my habit to reduce any city to it's prettiest walks and there is no shortage of them in Rome. I've walked for two days so far and still only hit a fraction of my favorite sights. My advice to tourists is always the same: unless you're on honeymoon take time out of Venice (and arguably from Florence) and spend it in Rome. There's just too much to see!

And shopping to do. I pride myself on taste rather than fashion, and you can often find tourist shops that sell drastically outdated but very well-made leather goods (ask me about my bloody Florence shop sometime). I picked up a pair of ankle boots I've admired in Toronto for $250, paying €85. ($110) because they're three years behind the style here.

Last night I took my ritual walk, visiting the temple sites of my six Roman patrons (Fortuna, Apollo, Jupiter, Venus, Concordia, and the Pantheon for Mercury). From the Pantheon I followed the tourist track to the Trevi fountain, where I chucked in my €1 to come back to Rome. I don't turn my back and toss it over my head, my tradition is to more casually flip it into the fountain. I did it "wrong" the first time and it seemed to work anyway, so why spoil it now after a half dozen times?

Shortly I'm heading to Naples, where I'll be performing tonight. This trip is off to a brilliant beginning!

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