I suppose I should keep up the tradition and post observations on Rome. I was very ill for the first day and a half so we didn't do much, but...

• The Sistine Chapel is as amazing as everyone says.
  
• There are cute cats in all the old ruins. (I probably have more pictures of them than of actual stuff.)
  
• Trying to communicate in Italian without knowing any verbs can be difficult. But we usually managed; for example, "Dov'è biglietti per autobus" was met with "una tabbache." Of course. Doesn't everyone buy bus tickets at a newsstand?
  
• Hanging out with Sarah M. is a quasi-surreal, and aften amusing, combination of the hyper-intellectual and the hyper-flaky.
  
• I like travelling with people better than travelling alone.
  

I was also stumped by why all these old ruins have just sat there for nearly two thousand years when the city is so crowded elsewhere.