here's a list of what big guys do and don't do in rome:

1) big guys don't get pickpocketed. not that it wasn't attempted, but the big guys were smarter than the gypsies were, and we retained our wallets.

2) big guys don't take tours. that's because big guys are too impatient to wait for the right times to take the tours. big guys miss out on the in-depth detail of each place, but they do get the big picture.

3) big guys give directions to people. that's because big guys carry big maps. we gave directions to so many people - including local romans. obviously, big guys are approachable. and big guys can even give directions in local languages - we helped this filipino group find their street. when our english and their italian collided, i used my 20 word tagalog vocabulary (i hope i told then the right thing!)

4) big guys get rained upon. well, so do little guys, but big guys attract a higher percentage of the rain. it poured while we were waiting to go through the palatine and forum. so the big guys bought two books on the forum/palatine, and read them while it rained. after reading the books, we decided that big guys don't see things that they've already read about, and decided that what big guys really like to do is find a nice restaurant to eat at.

5) big guys get lost. even with their big maps. after seeing the pyramid (built in 1640), we made a couple wrong turns, and ended up walking an extra three miles. then we headed for a train station, and found out that it was closed. the big guys got soaked before finding the subway.

6) big guys wake up late. we had problems getting up both mornings. i think this is related to the fact that big guys don't get enough exercise, and that we were pretty tired from the walking.

7) big guys have fun. we really had a good time in rome. it's still standing (it is the eternal city), but we feel we've conquered it. venamus vidamus vicamus (or something like that).

dennis/jeff