Rome is Stillll Mellllting

This shouldn't surprise anyone, but uh, its freakin hot. Not, "we can deal with it if we wear comfortable clothes and sunscreen and drink water" hot, but "you are dripping sweat and feel so disgusting no matter how many showers you take hot.

So KK and I have developed a strategy: stay inside during the day or go where we know it will be cool.

Yesterday we went down the Appian Way, the ancient road out of Rome, to the catacombs of San Calixtos. It was delightfully cold down there, it made us so happy that we never wanted to leave. Unfortunately we had to. But while we were down there we learned that not even little KK would fit into those slots where they put the dead bodies - apparently early Christians were tiny little people because they did not have proper nutrition. Oh well, we tried. We thought maybe we could camoflage ourselves into the niches and get to stay down there longer that way, but no such luck.

My review of the Archeobus? Meh. Take it or leave it, really. And on a hot day, definitely leave it, because it is an open-top bus, with no bottom level, leaving you exposed to the sun for the duration. The commentary isn't that great, and they don't go around as often as the (much cheaper) local buses. So my advice would be to see that attractions you want to see on your own time, and take the local bus out to one of the catacombs on your own.

After a nap and a rinse, we went out to dinner with some of KKs friends from her program to watch the Euro Cup finals, which Spain won. The bar we were at wasn't very lively, but there was beer and cheap food, and it was air conditioned, so we were happy.

One thing about the food here though: to all you people who are like, "its Italy, how can the food be bad?", oh my friend, it CAN be bad! Not all Italians learned at their momma's hip the secrets to making that perfectly seasoned tomato sauce. Or they are trying their hand at some American or other foreign foods, and utterly miss the mark. If you want good food, (a) go where you see locals, or (b) use the 2 up and 2 over rule: from any popular tourist attraction, go two blocks up and two blocks over, into the neighborhood, and you can usually find some much tastier, and maybe cheaper!, food.

Today is our last day, and we really have nothing to do. We have done all the sights that we are willing to drag ourselves to (no more old piles o rock!) and are sick of pizza. Tomorrow we leave for Croatia!!!