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| People throng the monument maybe as always, with the same reverence but now also with electronic flashes (except this very today). |
A cross marks the site where many people, Christians included, took up their death for others' sport. |
A cross subtely covers the Coliseum caverns. |
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| We should have read our Lonely Planet tour book more thoroughly before visiting the Vatican. Here for us was the point of instant return. |
Midday silent shadow. |
Some avenues were empty; others, packed. |
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| I got 9 mosquito bites in 36 hours at Venice. Maybe I should have closed our window. |
On a whirlwind Euro tour, it's hard to see beyond what sticks out. Even then, there's plenty more to see than we had ever imagined. |
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| Now I understand why everyone comes here for honeymoons. Which is why we made it our briefest stop. |
Did I say, "Chinese Laundromat"? Even in Italy we found our roots. |
We had a little difficulty taking this detour. Little did we know, it was the first in a long series of detours to put the "back" in our backpacking. |
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| What was supposed to be a ten-minute transfer point between the London Stansted Express and Liverpool Underground terminal ended up being an all-night layover. Our scouting two weeks prior to hitting the continent proved prescient, as we soon located a 24-hour cafe in which to hole up for the night. |
That night proved to be my first all-nighter. It also proved to be our first rainy night on the trip. |
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| If there's one thing I learned on the trip, it's that traveling with buddies is imperative. The fun, the fellowship are too great to be consumed alone. And as for the tiring moments, the downtimes—is it worth it just to while away the time with a buddy, instead of chasing more adventure? I'd say the whiling is more than worthwhile. |
Take us home, kid. |