Can
you love a place to death? I return to Rome for my last day and find the
streets crowded, filthy, trash cans overflowing. But she still has a proud
beauty amid the clamour and crud, a way of getting to you as you turn a
corner and smell a bit of jasmine on the breeze. Turn off any main street to find a quiet vicolo to stroll. Outdoor cafès filled with laughing people beckon. With June practically here, you can feel the temperature and humidity rising and the crowds closing in. Good time to head home.
This is a country faced with almost insurmountable challenges but somehow with a boundless optimism flavored with a bit of cynicism. But seeing how civilization after civilization grew, crashed, overcame obstacles and thrived, I don’t think would take a bet against these people finding a way back into the light.