Rome!  In my lifetime, I have spent a total of about 5 days here counting our first two trips to Italy (an incredibly small amount of time).  This place was the stage of many events in world history.  In fact, there are many publications here that refer to this city as the eternal city.  I don’t know much about that, but in my own mind, I call it the “lost city.”  The streets are so narrow, the buildings so close, the layout so random, that typical location finding skills that I have relied on all of my life seem to simply abandon me when we get to Rome.  It is now Wednesday evening and we’ve returned from an amazing meal at Virginiae Ristorante Cucina Romana.  This was one place we wanted to hit and it didn’t disappoint.  Since our arrival yesterday afternoon, every time we leave our hotel to go out to explore, despite each one of us in our own way leaving a stream of bread crumbs to find our way back to the hotel, we end up taking extra turns or twists or have to reverse course because we’ve gone the wrong way.  Every time!

Barb and Doug went out this afternoon to do some exploring and excitedly they told us as we were preparing to leave for dinner, that they had discovered the secret to Rome and there was no more getting lost.  The secret I am told is to turn right out of our hotel instead of left…and everything and every place we are looking for and/or wanting to visit is to the right.  The left is the long way around to everything good.  WOW, I am excited for this.  So, as we leave for our 7:30 dinner reservations at the Cucina Romana, we decide that Barb should take us there.  Confidently, she steps on out in the lead.  The three of us follow.  To the right we go.  Barb rounds one corner after another with the rest of us happily talking as we follow her lead.  As we waltz on past the Via di Parione, I speak up and say isn’t the restaurant down this way on Via di Parione street.  Nope, I’m told.  It is straight down here.  (Now I know the address for this place is 41 Via di Parione, so what do I do?)  Barb and Lynda stride out forward, I slow my pace because I know we’ll be turning around, and Doug sort of splits the difference continuing on in support of his wife, but….  When the ladies turn around after another 100 yards, the four of us walk down the Via di Parione Street until we arrive at our appointed destiny.  It was an absolutely lovely meal.  We head home…….with Barb in the lead and sure enough, she gets us back home without a misstep.  Maybe this going to the right sort of thinking is the better way to go!  I still feel lost in Rome but with guides like Barbarita here to help the less fortunate out, we are way ahead of the game.  It is late now on Wednesday, and we have our early morning 7:30 am “really small tour” of the Sistine Chapel set for 8 hours from now.  Ciao!