Rome Burns, Even Without Nero Fiddling.

Rome, of course, needs no introduction. It's the Eternal City, the place to which all roads lead, home to some very friendly seagulls.

We found a large, comfortable apartment on the western outskirts of Trastevere, about a 30-minute tram ride from downtown. It is a neighborhood of medium-rise apartment buildings, with restaurants and public transportation nearby.

Most importantly, it had air-conditioning. Rome was just beginning a mini heatwave when we arrived. In the four days we were there, the temperature went from 89 to 103. And the high humidity made it seem even hotter.

Rome is not a great town for food diversity, though it is improving. Still, most restaurants offer minor variations on the same menu. There are the four classic pastas--cacio e pepe, carbonara, gricia, and amatriciana--the last three featuring one of my favorite foodstuffs, guanciale (cured pork jowls).

They also love dishes based on offal, especially tripe.

And then there's another of my favorites, porchetta--a skin-on pork shoulder stuffed (usually) with garlic, fennel seed, and rosemary, slow-roasted until there skin is crispy and the inside is juicy and flavorful.

Romans want what they want. and what they want hasn't changed for a very long time. Done well, the cuisine is truly delicious, but after a while, to us, it becomes a a bit too monotonous.

Since Luciya had not been to Rome, we took in the major tourist sights.

I never tire of the Colosseum. We did however get tired of our guide, an Italian woman who spoke very rapidly in an annoying voice with a very heavy accent. I could understand less than half of what she was saying. It was also around 95 degrees, so we were having difficulty staying hydrated, much less cool.

Still, the place is imposing, an amazing piece of architecture, a feat of engineering, and a horrifying monument to human cruelty. 

The games were free to all. They were paid for by aspiring politicians eager to win the votes of bloody-minded sports fans.

Over a million people and several million animals were killed in the arena in the name of entertainment. Arena means sand in Latin; the sand that was spread on the wooden floor of the Colosseum to absorb the blood. Truly a killing field of unsurpassed magnitude.

Next to the Colosseum is the Palatine Hill and the House of Augustus Caesar, a peaceful refuge between the violence of the Roman games and the political machinations of the Forum.

I have always loved these umbrella pines. To me they are as much a symbol of Rome as the wolf that suckled Romulus and Remus. I found out, however that they are actually a rather recent addition to the Roman skyline. Mussolini planted over 2,000 of them in the 1930s, and they have been ubiquitous here ever since. Probably the most enduring remnant of the Fascist regime.

At this point, several groups of people, including us, left the tour. The heat and the mostly incomprehensible narration did us in. We exited through the Forum, almost too tired and overheated to appreciate its ruined splendor.

Seeking someplace to seat and drink, we ran into a large, loud demonstration. We think it was against the current right-wing government, but we couldn't be sure.

The Victor Emmanuel II monument on Capitoline Hill commemorates the first king go unified Italy. Very grandiose in the Roman manner.

The temperature was headed for 103 on the day we visited St. Peter's. The place was filled with tourists, and the line to get into the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel stretched completely around the vast square. Waiting for hours in the sun with high heat and humidity was not on our agenda, so we moved on.

We found some charming neighborhoods that offered a modicum of shade and air-conditioned shops. It was still bloody hot, but a bit more bearable.

The next day, the temperature dropped by about ten degrees, but by then we were on the train to Firenze.

P.