Back in Besak

SO. Rain-ancon greeted me with... you guessed it: Rain. Getting off the train, I wanted nothing more than to stowaway to some warm, sunny climate, but barring that, I have decided to hide in my room with the internet and pajamas until bedtime.

Rome and Venice were lovely, and so was the company. Zach and I had a wonderful time scrambling over ruins, picnicking, reading aloud from our guidebook about the least street corner or column and beating a path between our hotel and the Forum in Rome and the Rialto Bridge in Venice. If Rome had a comment box, I would suggest making a bigger production out of the sluggish Tiber, but on the whole the city was the bustling ancient metropolis I always hoped it would be. Better, in fact, because it bristled with orange and lemon trees and charming winding alleyways. Our favorite part was probably the ancient Roman roads and we imagined Roman legions under Julius Gaius Caesar marching their way along, including, of course, our favorite characters from the HBO ROME series.

Venice was expensive and chock full of such heady delights as Tintoretto and Titian paintings for exorbitant admission fees. We enjoyed playing in the labyrinth of the streets, except at lunch time and taking roughly the same picture of a picturesque canal about fifty times. Zach secretly wanted a mask but managed to contain himself. Neither of us wanted any of the "revolting" murano glass figurines or Venetian dolls. The architecture was beautiful and the Venetian empire far more longlived and democratic than I ever imagined.

Zach is now in Germany and I am in Besancon. I hope it isn't raining in Germany. There's no way it could be-- there isn't that much water in the world.