In Rome, Ronda wandered with some friends from the U.S., while I rested in our room. I felt old and very disappointed that I had trashed my feet the first day. On our last day in Rome, we walked to Vatican City (or maybe we caught a bus -- as I said, this was 10 years ago). We went into the Sistine Chapel. You know, they just don't build chapels like that any more. The administrators, however, need to decide if it is a place of worship or a tourist attraction. When we got too noisy in our admiration of the architecture and paintings, someone would come along and say, "Shhh" with a couple of exclamation points after it. I complied. Some people behind me were speaking French rather loudly, without any regard for the worship thing, so I finally asked, "Comprenez-vous shhh?" I wracked my brain for the French word for "hush" but didn't find it. "Mange merde" I can remember, along with several other words and phrases, but not "be quiet."
We shopped our way back to our hotel. I wanted a gray pullover sweater and a leather shoulder bag. We took our time, and in one shop I tried on a "one size fits all" pullover. The way it fit (or didn't fit) me was our laugh for the day. We were probably in the children's section. A few blocks away, we found a very nice shop, and their garments and bags were stunning. We were assisted by a lady who spoke excellent English, and she brought out a sleeveless pullover and matching cardigan that she wanted me to try. They were beautiful, a "look-at-me-twice" black and brown combination, but I really wanted a simple gray pullover. We were speaking lira here, so I tried to be careful. I found the shoulder bag I wanted, then the sweater. The sales clerk was still trying to convince me to buy the brown and black set, so I finally said, "It's beautiful, but if I buy it, I can't buy the shoulder bag." She whisked the sweater set away and didn't say another word about them. She understood the lira language. A handsome and very nice man wrapped and bagged my purchases very carefully. I think he was nice. He didn't speak any English except "Enjoy your nice purchases," so maybe he was just handsome. I still wear the sweater and carry the bag, and I still don't know how much I paid for them. I don't care.
Late that evening, Ronda said she had a surprise for me, and she thought my feet were up for it. What was at the end of that walk will be the subject of my next entry.
