rome has survived invasions from the armenians, goths, visigoths, vandals, cartheginians, samnites, sulla, marius, et cetera (more latin!), and they're still around. jeff and i tested to see if they can survive the invasion of the big guys.

the good thing about travelling with jeff is that he's easy to spot. i can't lose him in the crowd - he towers over everyone else around. we planned to rendesvous at a mcdonalds near the train station, and i had no problem finding him.

we ate breakfast, we checked into the hotel, and we took the subway to the vatican, and we saw the vatican museum (details in separate email).

we decided to have italian for lunch (when in rome...) so we found a restaurant, and ordered a meal from our waiter, named "mario, mario". the restaurant was neat - it had pictures on the wall of kids, old people, and other customers, all eating italian food.

we're big guys, and we attract a lot of attention. mario was very attentive. but the owner of the restaurant - he was REALLY attentive. every time mario brought something to us, the owner came over to supervise. "mario, mario, bring the pasta". mario brings the pasta. "mario, mario, bring the formaggio". mario brings the cheese, and sets it on the table. "mario, mario, put the formaggio on the pasta". mario scoops the cheese onto our plates. "mario, mario, bring the pepper". mario puts the pepper mill on the table. "mario, mario, put the pepper on the pasta". mario... you get the picture. the owner liked us.

finally mario is told to bring us the check, and is told to take our money, and is told to bring our change. we get up, and walk out, very happy with our service, and very happy with the meal.

as we step out of the restaurant, the owner comes running after us. "please, please!". we stop. the owner is holding the arm of the restaurant's very own big guy - one of the cooks from the kitchen. he's big for an italian, but a pipsqueak next to jeff. the owner smiles, and pulls a camera out of his pocket. "mario, mario take a picture!". jeff stands next to the local "big" guy, and both smile. "mario, mario, take another picture!" jeff stands between the owner and the big guys, and all smile. the owner shakes our hands, "mario, mario, say goodbye".

mario says goodbye, and we leave. next time we're back, we're going back, so jeff sign can sign his picture on the wall. you know it'll be there...

we're going out this evening, looking for more adventures....