Roma 01
Já tinha chegado com o meu Clio até Florença. Pensei que seria o meu limite em Km's de distancia percorrida a cavalo da minha maquina Françesa. Quando começei a traçar a rota do meu Interrail "Before-30-or-Else", Roma foi uma escolha óbvia para primeira parada. Lisboa-Hendaye-Nice-Roma. A última parte da viagem, desde Nice até Roma quase perdia o comboio que chegou muito muito atrasado. No night Train (nome real) para Roma, conheci um Californiano (John) que viajava por Europa sozinho. Os seus amigos tinham vindo para o continente uns meses antes e ele nao tinha viajado com eles porque estava em estágio. Quando terminou, veio para aqui. Sozinho a passar pelos mesmo sítios. Os americanos ás vezes sao esquisitos. Cheguei a Roma ás 7 da manha. Lembro-me de os 3 (Eu, o Okapi e o John) sairmos de Termini pela porta grande, respirar-mos fundo e dizer/pensar : "Uma nova cidade, Uma nova capital ... bora lá!". Pequenos Almoços a preço de Ouro. Cocktails de garrafa nos Spanish Steps e o encantamento de vêr uma cidade como creio que nao há em lado nenhum. Mais história e monumentos por metro quadrado que qualquer sítio no mundo. Roma SPQR.

Roma 02
Coming out of a challenging 3 week trip to India, i felt compeled to treat myself to a western world SPA on the form of a 3 day stay in Rome. No Xamuças. No cows, camels, monkeys or dozens of kids running around and into you. No more feeling like a film star. Just an anonymous soul wondering around. No questions asked. I spent an entire day on St. Peters square. Taking photos. Stopped for a Panino aroung noon. Photos and more photos. Of religious people. Of kids running over MiguelAngelo's floor, diving on Bernini fountains ... screaming beneath Pope John Paul II room. He never came out the window complaining. Nice guy. Saved a bunch of Czech girls from Italian policeman .. who were more than helpfull. I stepped in and said i was their boyfriend. They were 9 .. but the policemen understood what i meant and left. We all walked around chatting and eventually parted ... they left me a Czech coin. Went on to visit a Warhol exhibition and that finish my western world welcoming home party.

Rome 03

Res millor que tornar a Roma per un cap de setmana. Sugestions :

Dormir : Orange Hotel
Menjar : Da Baffetto

Beach boy. That's what i am. Although the place i used to go as a child / teenager and young adult didn't have the sun has one of it's strengths, it was still quite sunny during those 90 days. I set myself apart from others that shared the same sand under our feet, by not using, not wanting to use, refusing absolutly .. the Sunglasses. The Sun is our friend. My eyes don't suffer that much from the sun ... i did 350000 Kms with my Clio, with at least 30% of the time having the sun shinning right at me .. with me ? That's more than 100000Kms my friends! I never felt the need of having a pair of those things. (...)

It all was about to end last September. I was a young man, enjoying a fast weekend in Rome. Wonderful City. Among the top priorities were a Lemon Gelato, a stroll through places i hadn't been and enjoy a day full of Photos. Coming out of the Termini train station i find a Congolese guy (i can't be more specific about the actual country of this person), selling handycraft. Gucci Bags, Dolce & Gabana Gold Belts and several Sunglasses, all with certificate of authenticity (Authentic Fakes from Rome). Strangely enough i stop myself in front of the man. We stared for a minute or two and i pointed out one of the sunglasses. I had finally found my symbiotic eye friend. I tried them. Most people in the area looked at me in trance, most of them, excited woman and a young Togo kid wanting to sell me "Rome by Night" postcards. I declined. Somebody not feeling the same trance as the whole Termini Square pointed out that the Logo was not perfect on one of the side of the glasses. "Throw them away, the woman said. You'll find thousands like these everywhere you go. Every step you take, every move you make... (i understand much later she was singing a Police song). I let them be. The Utopic Sunglasses. Needless to say .. i've never found such beauties in my whole life afterwards. I still suffer. Not anymore in silence.
I shall go to Congo and find Étienne Tshisekedi wa Mulumba, the man with glasses.