Rome airport - a crossing of cultures

Two weeks ago in Rome airport I was sitting by this giant Samsung ad for the World Cup when I noticed several Orthodox Jews praying. I took several shots, all from the hip as I didn't want them to see me. I will post a few here.

On the plane I overheard two people behind me, talking about these Jews. "What are they?" a woman asked the person sitting next to her who seemed to be a stranger to her. "I think they're some kind of sect. Don't get near them. Don't touch them." "Why?" the other woman asked. "I heard they don't like that." All of which is true, but it was interesting to hear what people who didn't know anything about this group had to say. I was just struck by the contrasts. I will post a few pics of them over the next few days.

I have a lot to say about my time in Rome. I went there for the first time with my mother in the mid-60s and I've found some old pictures from that time. It was my mother who first brought me to Europe. My mother who made me throw my coin in Trevi Fountain. I called her just after I got home and she didn't remember much of our journey together. Not the Baths of Caracalla where we saw Aida, not the Hotel Flora where we stayed. But then I reminded me that, having lunch in LaSpezia over the bay of Genoa, she threw her old cultured pearls into the sea. She laughed, remembering that. "Yes, I did," she said. "I threw my pearls away."

Anyway sitting in Rome airport with time in my hands. Thinking about all of this. And taking this picture.

Meanwhile a word to my readers. I've gone deep into writing mode. A new book that I am quite excited about. So this blog for the summer will be more a visual than a writing experience. I hope to resume the narratives in the fall. But don't go away...And let me know your thoughts about this and anything else.

And on another note I am heading to Morocco in the fall and then India in the winter. I would love tips from any and all!

Happy Trails wherever you go.