do as the Romans do. Dress warmly! Unlike friends who complained about the sweltering summer heat, we have been freezing. And we are not alone. Even the statues are are dripping icicles. Yesterday's train ride from Milan looked more like a scene from Dr. Zhivago than Roman Holiday. Rome is covered with gray "city snow," peppered with cigarette butts and other detritus. Sidewalks are like skating rinks and icy droplets fall from the rooftops.
We are staying near the railroad "stazione," not the most upscale location but it's conveniently located to the metro and within walking distance of many of the sites. There is a supermarket just around the corner and the number and variety of affordable eateries should satisfy our hunger.
Rome is not Florence. It isn't clean, but neither is Chicago or NYC after a snowstorm. The train station has none of the grandeur of Milan's "stazione." Pickpockets, we have been warned, abound and there is no shortage of seedy-looking characters around the station after dark. Traffic, as you might imagine, is ferocious and pedestrians seem to be fair game at all times. But this is the price one must pay for the art and culture, the history and architecture, and everything else that makes Rome the "Eternal City."
