The Seabourn party is over....Mr. Bubba how are we going to fit all 8 of your bags in the car?? They said you had 4, not 4 each.
Giovanni, where there's a will there's a way....I have been married for 41 years and am an expert at cramming. My wife likes to buy things. Things that we don't need and for the most part end up in the garage. Not to worry G.
New gig....see Italy on land this go.
A few days in Rome to jump start the fun.
We are staying at the Hotel Bernini and the room is not ready- we were early for check in- so Bubs said let's jump on the hop on hop off. We were swarmed by the young men who were like carnival barkers hawking us to board their respective bus. Huh? Bubs and Boca ALWAYS ride the red Hop On Bus...who are these other imposters? Well Rome has a bus rainbow of colors giving heady competition to the red bus. In fact we went with what we were used to (if it aint' broken don't fix it mantra)- wish we would have tried another color. Our red bus was packed to the roof, with hard, small seats, hot down below (1st floor with AC, well not so much) and the bus stopped for 10-30 mins at each stop. Oy. Of course we bought the 2 day pass- we all know Bubs likes to see a city from up top and people watch- must be the old SS Agent coming out in him. So when in Rome, check out the other colors!
The Chief checks out the city- nothing a good bath, some plaster and paint wouldn't help.
At least they are not having a garbage strike.
A Pope statue in front of the train terminal? All roads lead to Rome?
Visitors, like ants, parading up and down the streets with their roll on suitcases. I thought Athens was "mobbed"- oh hail no.
Boca is on graffiti watch:
WHY WHY DOES THE CITY OF ART AND CULTURE HAVE SO MUCH GRAFFITI?
I HEARD..."
the didn't like their dinner?
Maybe they thought the building needed painting anyway?
THEN I HEARD: "I am an art history professor, and I personally loathe graffiti in all its forms (though that Brazilian image is well-done). I don’t respect the argument that it’s “art” as some of my more inane, moronic colleagues might claim. Nowhere is art definitively defined as ‘good,’ but nowhere is art assumed to be acceptable in all places at all times. Art has its place, as does anything else. On the wall of a building or side of a subway train is not it.
Unlike Athens we did notice a lot of painted over (removed) graffiti...why is that?
Ok, I think you're getting the idea.
All that graffiti looking made Bubs "hangry" so time for a cold one and some pizza. What's up with the hair do Bub?
If we saw one scooter/vespa, we saw a thousand...at least!
Parking no issue for a scooter....
And many main streets too1
Another noticeable, many sub saharan Africans here, peddling this and that...
Showing up in droves for jobs, aid and who knows what. Check out what Wiki said:
All over town...most smuggled in on the raggedy boats (some say 2/3 had never seen an ocean before and many die on the way over). How is Italy coping??
and speaking of coping....tourist terror?
A friend sent me this article that was in the Wall Street Journal last week- did you see it?
... Bubs points out a hotel he stayed at in the stone age (yes, Agent days)....well duh. The US Embassy is across the street. Looks like a lot of renovation going on. Your tax dollar at work.
Nothing but the best for Boca this evening....went to the local supermarket "Pam local" and brought some groceries back to the hotel... does that tell you how tired we were?
Tidbits from friends:
Boca also learned about "FIDGET SPINNERS"- Have you heard about these?
Detailed article in Live Science
Ordering a box for the Collins- Pleep picked out the patriotic version. Less calories than wine?
and from another pal....
Giovanni, where there's a will there's a way....I have been married for 41 years and am an expert at cramming. My wife likes to buy things. Things that we don't need and for the most part end up in the garage. Not to worry G.
New gig....see Italy on land this go.
A few days in Rome to jump start the fun.
We are staying at the Hotel Bernini and the room is not ready- we were early for check in- so Bubs said let's jump on the hop on hop off. We were swarmed by the young men who were like carnival barkers hawking us to board their respective bus. Huh? Bubs and Boca ALWAYS ride the red Hop On Bus...who are these other imposters? Well Rome has a bus rainbow of colors giving heady competition to the red bus. In fact we went with what we were used to (if it aint' broken don't fix it mantra)- wish we would have tried another color. Our red bus was packed to the roof, with hard, small seats, hot down below (1st floor with AC, well not so much) and the bus stopped for 10-30 mins at each stop. Oy. Of course we bought the 2 day pass- we all know Bubs likes to see a city from up top and people watch- must be the old SS Agent coming out in him. So when in Rome, check out the other colors!
The Chief checks out the city- nothing a good bath, some plaster and paint wouldn't help.
At least they are not having a garbage strike.
A Pope statue in front of the train terminal? All roads lead to Rome?
Visitors, like ants, parading up and down the streets with their roll on suitcases. I thought Athens was "mobbed"- oh hail no.
Boca is on graffiti watch:
WHY WHY DOES THE CITY OF ART AND CULTURE HAVE SO MUCH GRAFFITI?
I HEARD..."
The short answer: because as long as people in general, and Romans in particular, have been around, we've had the urge to make our mark. That's as true of cave paintings thousands of years ago as it is of "Katie + Tom 4ever" today.
And graffiti isn't always a bad thing. Without ancient graffiti, we wouldn't have the world's oldest example of written Latin, carved into the lapis niger in the Forum in 575 B.C. We wouldn't have nearly as much idea of how literate most ancient Romans were, or of how they actually pronounced their language (both of which we can tell from graffiti's misspellings and grammatical errors).
Graffiti also gives us insights — often both humorous and humanizing — into past cultures. Actual graffiti in Pompeii, for example, includes such winning lines as "Weep, you girls. My penis has given you up. Now it penetrates men's behinds. Goodbye, wondrous femininity!" (bar/brothel of Innulus and Papilio); "Satura was here on September 3rd" (atrium of the House of Pinarius); "Atimetus got me pregnant" (House of the Vibii); "Celadus the Thracier makes the girls moan!" (gladiators' barracks); and "If anyone does not believe in Venus, they should gaze at my girlfriend" (atrium of the house of Pinarius) (and — aww!). Oy Vey!
Ewww to this....
the didn't like their dinner?
Maybe they thought the building needed painting anyway?
THEN I HEARD: "I am an art history professor, and I personally loathe graffiti in all its forms (though that Brazilian image is well-done). I don’t respect the argument that it’s “art” as some of my more inane, moronic colleagues might claim. Nowhere is art definitively defined as ‘good,’ but nowhere is art assumed to be acceptable in all places at all times. Art has its place, as does anything else. On the wall of a building or side of a subway train is not it.
Yes, Rome and Pompeii are filled with ancient graffiti; if you happen to read it, it usually refers to public sexual acts. THAT is no longer acceptable in modern society, so why should graffiti be viewed as such? It is tantamount to littering, and should be be a crime heavily punished".
Unlike Athens we did notice a lot of painted over (removed) graffiti...why is that?
And so Rome's launched a campaign against the practice. A few years back, the city's conservative mayor raised the fine for graffiti from a minimum €25 to €300 and mandated that anyone caught doing it will be forced to clean the graffiti up. Meanwhile, expats and Italians have started to fight the city's graffiti in volunteer squads, armed with paintbrushes and cleaning solution. But still so much around??? Why is that my Italian friends?
And one Roman said "In a city where jobs are scarce and creative jobs scarcer, where architectural or artistic innovation rare (modern Maxxi museum aside), where the old palaces and ancient ruins can make the city feel more like a living museum than an evolving, organic metropolis, where the police aren't particularly notable for being energetic enforcers of the law — that all seems like the kind of place where it's little surprise that a teenager might grab a can of spray-paint and go "tagging" on a hot, lazy summer night. Nor is it surprising that most Romans, as much as many support a "graffiti offensive," both seem to understand the urge to make one's mark in spray-paint — and refuse to let it bother them".
All that graffiti looking made Bubs "hangry" so time for a cold one and some pizza. What's up with the hair do Bub?
If we saw one scooter/vespa, we saw a thousand...at least!
Parking no issue for a scooter....
Per Natalie, an American now living in Rome..."that the road to obtaining an Italian drivers license is long and onerous. The theoretical test has the reputation of being nearly impassable and it can take would-be drivers years to navigate the bureaucratic red tape that accompanies the quest for an official license. With such strict controls, one might imagine that Roman drivers are the epitome of rule-following road users. But few statements could be farther from the truth, especially when it comes to driving a scooter. Roman motorini often swerve into oncoming traffic to beat slower moving vehicles. Moped drivers see red lights as more of a suggestion than a rule, and believe crosswalks and sidewalks are just as well suited for scooters as they are for pedestrians. Looking for a designated scooter lane? Any space between two cars is fair game.
Rome ranks among the cities with the most registered scooters in the world. With congested traffic and little parking, it’s no wonder that the motorino has found such a devoted following in the Eternal City. The Italian love affair with the motorino reaches back to 1946 when Piaggio first debuted the Vespa to journalists in Rome. From there, Piaggio sold 2,500 Vespas in 1947, more than 10,000 in 1948, 20,000 in 1949, and over 60,000 in 1950. Sales exploded in 1952 when Audrey Hepburn joined Gregory Peck for a Vespa ride past the Spanish Steps in Roman Holiday. While the iconic Vespa can still be found on any street, Romans ride a range of modern scooters from brands such as Aprilia, Yamaha, Suzuki and Honda".
You have to be at least 14 years old to ride a scooter in Rome, and it is not uncommon to see young teenagers zipping along through traffic at breakneck speeds. Oh yeah says Bubs, "Butch and I used to ride his Vespa (the dog in front on the floor board, Butch, me on the back holding 2 shot guns) to go out hunting. We were 14 and we had the same rule in Sarasota, Florida- 14 to drive a Vespa. That was the only way we could get around. Course when we turned 16 that was all over." That must have been quite a sight. Do you have a picture ? Nah, no camera, we were poor as church mice". You go Bubba!
Up and down every side street...
And many main streets too1
Another noticeable, many sub saharan Africans here, peddling this and that...
Showing up in droves for jobs, aid and who knows what. Check out what Wiki said:
In 2017, there has been a 40 per cent increase in the overall number of migrants arriving in Italy and in 2014 over 170,000 migrants arrived which represented the biggest influx of people into one country in European Union History. A large percentage of them arrive via Africa.
The African migrants specifically use the coast of the country Libya in order to travel across the Mediterranean Sea in large numbers hoping to land on Italian shores. Although departing from Libya, most of the emigrants are from the following countries: Ghana, Senegal, Nigeria, Eritrea, and Syria. The route is dangerous and often unsuccessful; in 2015 2,000 people died crossing the Mediterranean and the Libyan coast guard intercepted a large number of the boats which were transporting the illegal immigrants from Africa and into Italy. As this route begins to gain more and more publicity and attention, smugglers are using alternate routes such as Egypt, the Balkan route from Greece, and a very risky route from mountain passes in Albania.
In 2017 propositions were made for the European Union to open asylum centers in Libya with the goal being to protect vulnerable refugees. The benefit of these asylum centers would be access to healthcare. One major problem with the refugees’ path to freedom are the detention centers within Libya which the European Union claims violates human rights. A second major problem is that the entire refugee process has fueled the creation of an illegal human smuggling market which earns a profit by granting asylum seekers from Africa access to Europe in very dangerous conditions.[2] There are numerous non- governmental organizations which aim to save stranded refugees by monitoring certain areas of the Mediterranean. This isn't as beneficial as it sounds because it doesn’t allow for legitimate government organizations to record realistic migrant numbers. The influx of migration leads to fear for security, finances, and quality of life.
In 2016, Italy’s finance minister pushed for financial compensation from the European Union for the country’s financial losses as a result of mass migration. As of 2016 the European Union had put forth 1.8 billion Euros for the entirety of Africa’s refugee efforts in Europe which isn't nearly enough.
All over town...most smuggled in on the raggedy boats (some say 2/3 had never seen an ocean before and many die on the way over). How is Italy coping??
and speaking of coping....tourist terror?
A friend sent me this article that was in the Wall Street Journal last week- did you see it?
In Capri, a squabble between two mayors—who are also cousins—highlights a larger debate throughout Italy. While tourism is an important revenue source, many Italians up and down the Italian peninsula would like tourists—at least some of them—to stay away.
Last year, Giovanni De Martino, the mayor of Capri, was fed up. He watched as ferries arrived from the Italian mainland in rapid succession, disgorging tourists—many budget day-trippers—every five minutes, only to face hourlong waits to board the cable car from the port to the town’s center.
Worried that the hordes were endangering the island’s charm and exclusivity, Mr. De Martino launched a push to reduce the frequency of the ferry arrivals to every 20 minutes.
But the mayor soon faced a bitter foe: his own cousin, Francesco Cerrotta, mayor of Anacapri, the only other town on the island. Mr. Cerrotta immediately took up the fight against his cousin’s attempt to slow the tide of visitors.
“Someone in Capri still dreams of Jacqueline and Onassis strolling along Via Camerelle,” Capri’s main drag, Mr. Cefrotta told Italian media. “Capri needs glamour. But it also needs to fill hotels, restaurants and shops.”
Still, recent incidents, such as two tourists swimming nude in the Trevi Fountain and another diving off Venice’s Rialto Bridge, have only strengthened officials’ determination to find ways to keep the hordes at bay. The number of tourists arriving in Italy topped 52 million in 2016, up nearly 30% since 2000.
But authorities are finding it devilishly difficult to stop tourists from coming. Efforts to limit incoming visitors are colliding with legal, business and practical challenges.
In Florence, a 2016 city decree raising the cost of entry tickets for tourist buses was, in part, struck down by a regional court. The city appealed the decision, winning a temporary suspension of the ruling.
The Cinque Terre, the tiny fishing villages on the Italian Riviera, drew 2.5 million visitors last year, 500 times the local population. In response, local officials unveiled a plan this spring to cap the number of tourists allowed onto the picturesque walking trails connecting the five towns. Despite protests, the system got under way in June.
Venice, which each year sees 15 million day trippers pour into an area five times the size of New York’s Central Park, has heard more calls from locals and some politicians to limit access to the floating city. But the idea has gone nowhere, in part due to legal hurdles.
“We don’t want to close the city,” said Paola Mar, head of tourism for the city. “And the law doesn’t permit it.”
Earlier this month, Venetians held a symbolic referendum calling for something to be done about the huge cruise ships that disgorge millions of tourists each year and sail perilously close to St. Mark’s Square. They are angry that a 2012 government decree calling for them to be rerouted is so far a dead letter.
Some smaller destinations enjoy a special legally protected status that gives them a free hand in checking the flow of tourists. For instance Pinosa, a small island off the Tuscan coast, accepts only 330 people a day, while its neighbor Montecristo allows 1,000 a year. Video surveillance cameras help authorities to enforce the limits.
In Capri, Mr. De Martino’s plan to limit ferry service was squelched by regional authorities. But the two cousins have continued to fight over everything from limiting the circulation of huge tourist buses to improving the port to accommodate the flow. “Capri has borne the brunt of unchecked arrivals…we need to do something,” Mr. De Martino argues.
This spring, when a fresh surge in crowds on the island sparked new calls for a cap on the number of visitors, the two cousins were again at odds. Over a long holiday weekend in June, almost 45,000 people, mostly day trippers, came to Capri, three times the local population.
Boca says cap it- it's a freak show over here! I wouldn't mind waiting in a que for a proper visit to this magnificent part of the world...well we join our SEE ITALY land tour tomorw evening- so for the next 2 weeks we will get to experience the lastest cast of millions.
That was as close as Boca wanted to be to the Coliseum today...
... Bubs points out a hotel he stayed at in the stone age (yes, Agent days)....well duh. The US Embassy is across the street. Looks like a lot of renovation going on. Your tax dollar at work.
Nothing but the best for Boca this evening....went to the local supermarket "Pam local" and brought some groceries back to the hotel... does that tell you how tired we were?
Tidbits from friends:
Boca also learned about "FIDGET SPINNERS"- Have you heard about these?
Fidget Spinners: What They Are, How They Work and Why the Controversy
A trend erupts
Fidget spinners emerged this spring, seemingly from out of nowhere, as a must-have gadget. Before December 2016, Google searches for the words "fidget spinner" were basically nonexistent. Now, teachers are posting about their frustrations with spinner-obsessed students on Twitter, and the toys even have their own forum on Reddit.
Detailed article in Live Science
Ordering a box for the Collins- Pleep picked out the patriotic version. Less calories than wine?
and from another pal....
