"Laundry Service"

Today was a nothing day - on purpose.

Michael Jackson puppet show

Rob and Liz headed off to catch a 7am train to Pompeii for the day and, although I should have been a good tourist and done the same, I elected instead to spend the day "at home". Being a tourist full-time is becoming like a seven-days-a-week job. Even the days sitting on trains and planes are tiring after queuing and lugging suitcases up and down stairs.

It was good to have a sleep-in, a bathroom to myself and time to do simple house-keeping things like charging the iPod, checking the email and doing a load of washing. All with my favourite music playing on the laptop. I did go out for a couple of walks during the day in attempt to explore some more of Rome, but only some cafes and gelati shops were open. I'm over ruins and the sun was fierce. One glove puppeteer in the Piazza Navone was noteworthy for his Michael Jackson moondance performance, complete with puffs of smoke.

Piazza Navone Art Market

I retreated, cranked up Mark Knopfler, The Whitlams and some Chisel, made a coffee and started reading up on Taipei.

A simple veal dinner at the pavement cafe downstairs and gelati for dessert. The new standard for gelati is pesca - peach - and ideally peach and champagne. If peach is not on the menu, the shop simply doesn't rate. Macdonalds have a McGelati bar in their enormous marble-lined store at the Spanish Steps, but no peach. Blue "Puffa" gelati instead...

A good day - even though I didn't really carpe diem!

"Laundry Service" - Shakira

The ultimate blend of Rome - nun and gelati