September 22, 2000 - Rome, Italy
Ok. I’m sitting here in Rome, in the villa of an old family friend, writing to everybody on a word-processing program that is displaying words such as ‘visualizza, strumenti, and tabella’ to me. And I’m expected to be able to complete this successfully? We’ll see…

I can’t believe I’ve actually started this thing - I’ve spent the last few months telling my friends and family that, while I’ve experienced a full range of emotions while preparing for this trip, I’ve never once actually doubted that I’d really do it. But the past few days have been an emotional roller coaster and for the first time I found myself wondering if this was really the right thing for me to tackle. It was an unsettling experience, to say the least.

But all that is history now. I’m currently in Rome, in the wonderfully welcoming house of Silvio Bonanni and his family, wrapping up a few loose ends (I can’t believe there aren’t more of them!) and preparing to hit the road. Had a scare at the airport when the bike and gear didn’t show up on the baggage belt. Turns out they put them out at a different location, and not until after I’d spent 30 minutes communicating with the lost baggage attendant. Of course, he personally escorted me straight to the spot where I’d been a few minutes before, and I SWEAR the boxes weren’t there when I had been! (Stupido Americano…)

Back to his house, I’ve been passing the time doing a little sightseeing with Silvio and eating some of the best food I’ve had in a long while. We tramped to the Vatican City in time to catch the Pope giving a little address to a HUGE multinational crowd as part of the 2000 Jubileo. We also visited the Castel Sant’ Angelo for a beautiful vista of the city. It continually boggles my mind that I’m gazing upon history and architecture from over 1000 years ago! And of course, the four course lunches have to be sampled to be appreciated. Silvio’s daughter and niece accompanied me on a night-time tour of the city sights – his niece, Tazania, is an architect here and was able to give me the Crouch-style lowdown on the buildings, including a candid opinion of Mussolini’s infamous structure (‘ its cheesecake…all white and garish’).

All in all, its been a wonderfully relaxing start to the journey. I’m taking advantage of the hot showers and great food, as I realize that they may not last too long. But now I’m looking forward to hitting the road and making a little progress. I’m sure I’ll be letting you all know how it all unfolds, in its glorious and lurid detail. Drop me a line and let me know how things are going, and what you’d like to see or hear about - my route is always flexible and I’m open to suggestions for locales.

Ciao! Mark
A view from the house I'm staying in, very near central Roma. The Victor Emmanuel Monument (now the tomb of the unknown soldier) despised by the locals because of its garish exterior that stands out much more so than all the other historical sights.
A great example of typical Roman architecture: old (1500 yrs or more) beside new (100 yrs old). This exists all over the city and is the main reason construction here proceeds at a snails pace. You can't dig a flower bed in your window box without stumbling over an archeological find. The famous Colosseum. Great Caesars ghost! you wouldn't believe the number of tourists! I like seeing these things but will enjoy the private moments much more...