Feedbag & Foolish
Back in my room, back on the internet, I heard from the one person I know in Italy, Michele, who generously agreed to meet with me on Tuesday.
After a bit of a sit-down, a breather, a relaxing break, I got anxious, and realized there were only so many hours I had in this foreign land, and had to return to walkabout.
A different direction, a prayer I might better recognize my home base this time around, and off I flew.
I found the Colosseum. One of the great ruins I came here to see. Finally: culmination. I'm pretty sure it was the Colosseum. It looked like the Colosseum. It was at night. Maybe it was Venice. There were a lot of people around, including the omnipresent salesmen.
While sitting there, a friendly African fellow came up to me, very hale and hearty, He wished me well, handed me a wooden turtle statuette "for good luck," and asked if I was married.
"I ain't got nobody!" I said.
"You got a mum?" He asked.
I nodded.
"Give this to her." He handed me a similarly sized elephant.
"Thank you!" I said.
He mentioned his family needed money in Senegal, and could I provide anything. All I'd gotten were sown twenty Euro notes, so I threw a couple of those at him, and immediately regretted it.
"You got taken, boy," I said to me, then shrugged. That's what vacations are for? Maybe. I got on my feet and headed up the hill back to my place.
I found the block of my hotel but literally passed it by twice before checking its name and realizing I was in front of it. I am hopeless without GPS, the internet, my phone, and all the comforts of home.
Before heading into the room, I thought I should get something to eat. I'd had the pizza, sure, but was worried that sometime in the night, I'd regret not getting more of a meal in me.
I ended up at Chicken Hut.
Basically a bodega take out place, they had fried chicken, burgers, pizza, everything a bad man could want for his failing heart. I ordered curry chicken, which, while in now way Italian, is at least ethnic, and napped for a bit as I waited on my plastic table for the tray to be delivered to me. It wasn't bad.
I found my room soon afterwards - the Hut was very near my room - but not before another African (this one from Kenya, passed an identical elephant to me, and asked for a donation for his family. I asked if he'd accept US currency since, I claimed, "I just arrived and hadn't gotten any Euros yet."
He accepted six bucks, and I got a much cheaper elephant that I didn't want.
On the bright side, somebody's getting a useless stocking stuffer.
Your welcome, generic Secret Santa recipient.
I was in sleep by ten. I had big plans for the next day. I hoped I was up for them.
He mentioned his family needed money in Senegal, and could I provide anything. All I'd gotten were sown twenty Euro notes, so I threw a couple of those at him, and immediately regretted it.
"You got taken, boy," I said to me, then shrugged. That's what vacations are for? Maybe. I got on my feet and headed up the hill back to my place.
I found the block of my hotel but literally passed it by twice before checking its name and realizing I was in front of it. I am hopeless without GPS, the internet, my phone, and all the comforts of home.
Before heading into the room, I thought I should get something to eat. I'd had the pizza, sure, but was worried that sometime in the night, I'd regret not getting more of a meal in me.
I ended up at Chicken Hut.
| Don't judge; before this, I stepped into a KFC - that, you can judge. |
I found my room soon afterwards - the Hut was very near my room - but not before another African (this one from Kenya, passed an identical elephant to me, and asked for a donation for his family. I asked if he'd accept US currency since, I claimed, "I just arrived and hadn't gotten any Euros yet."
He accepted six bucks, and I got a much cheaper elephant that I didn't want.
On the bright side, somebody's getting a useless stocking stuffer.
Your welcome, generic Secret Santa recipient.
I was in sleep by ten. I had big plans for the next day. I hoped I was up for them.
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