Put the 18" diameter possum you found on the high...uh, wait, I digress.

To tell the truth, I heard about all the scams and pickpockets..many were from Paris..but have not yet seen one that I know of. In Casale where I stayed 9 days they speak disparagingly of the south of Italy, including Rome but maybe it's the off season for crime, too? Still time to find the bad boys with 10 days left of journey but really..I'd rather not. Here again, in Casale, about 40k folks, not a problem. In fact one lovely restaurant owner insisten on giving me some of her preserved zuchhini and onions in olive oil, think like artichoke hearts, when she found out I couldn't eat bread or cheese. Bless her heart!

So far so good on Ristorantes in Rome. But truth to tell I've enjoyed doing my own cooking and have only eaten out twice in the same place. Not much help but even with my bit of Italian words...not language, just a few words...I might never figure out the bill in time. I do find that having even a small effort at Italian opens folks up to better service and such. I even got a compliment on my Italian shopping for noci, nuts, e uva, raisins, for a spuntino, snack that I keep on hand in case I can't find anything else to eat. Of course, she's Polish it turns out but there's a lot of eastern European women in Italy working in restaurants and shops, most of them quite lovely to look upon, I might add.

I found the AAA travel agent to be very helpful in setting me up with hotels and train tickets/eurail pass before I left home. Might have just got a good one but really bent over backwards for me. Of course, I have no idea what I've paid for anything, I just paid the bill and smiled.

I've taken a couple local trains and you buy the biglietto, ticket, at a machine or from a person if there is one handy. It's a good word to know as it turns out 'cuz you buy tickets in a lot of places. Then you have to validate the ticket which is my word as I can't remember the Italian one my friends used. But you stick it in a little yellow box and it is marked and punched. On the local I rode twice no one ever asked to see the ticket. On the fast trains there is a conductor who checks them all and to be sure you have a seat in first class. I have first class tickets on all trains but one I had a 2nd. Better leg room, more comfort. Being six three and 220 I like the extra bit of room. Wish I had enough to fly business or first rather than coach. But I always try to get the aisle seat so I can stretch it out a bit and wander to the tail without too much disturbance. So far so good.

But I digress...