In which I attempt to visit the Palatine Hill

I think there were more people milling around the plaza between the Colosseum and the Forum than there were in all of Venice. And part of the reason for the milling was undoubtedly that there were are no signs or maps to provide direction to the poor disoriented masses.

I knew what I wanted -- the combined ticket for the Colosseum, Forum, and Palatine Hill, good for two days -- but it took a lot of milling on my own part to find the magic locations where such things were to be had. I asked the young woman behind the ticket window for the combined ticket and she handed it to me. I waited for her to tell me how much it was. And waited. She watched me rifle through my euros with an apparent lack of interest, and finally roused herself to say, "Madam, it's free."

I wanted to ask her if it was still good for two days, but she was clearly on the verge of dying from boredom as it was, and one more question from me might have pushed her over the edge.

Photo: Early tourists in Rome trampled under the determination of the Romans to ignore their existence.