Rome, July 10. Linda and I started out the day with a nice breakfast in a nearby bistro. The food in Italy -- Rome at least -- is quite a bit different than at home. The eggs are similar but cooked differently. After going to the Roma Termini, we asked the folks where there was an English language movie house in the city. They found one for us, and we plan to take in a movie at 5:30 this evening. It should be cooler and comfortable.

We bought a day-pass on the bus/subway lines and made our way to the Vatican for a visit to the Pope. You may recall that last time I was in Rome, I met the Pope face-to-face. That didn't happen this time, but we did get to see much of the Vatican and wandered the grounds for a couple of hours. There was a nice shaded area where it was cooler and more comfortable in the heat.

At about 2 p.m. we wandered back into the Ottaviana section and I was able to locate the falafal shop I had found in 2008. The shop has been there for about 6 years and it was petty much the same. Linda and I had a neat falafal sandwich in pita bread and it was ju

st delicious. It's about the best falafal I've tasted anywhere. After we jumped the train for a ride to the Spagna station to try to find the movie theater.

As is the case, the maps are good but not great -- but after a bit we were able to find the theater and saw we were a bit early. No problem -- an hour at the local air conditioned cafe with a couple of beers hit the spot perfectly. At about 5:00 we found our way back to the movie house. A couple of minutes later, the line started to build up,

and we struck up conversations with all of those around us. One women was living in Rome working for the U.N. food program. Another couple had lived in Rome for 20 years

or so. Even though they maintained their U.S. citizenship, they found Rome a great place to live -- although, they said, it was a bit expensive. Still, they loved it in Italy.

After the movie (we saw The Conspirator with Robin Wright), we walked to Piazza Venezia and boarded a bus back to the Termini and hotel. Dinner was light but refreshing and we got to sleep around 10:30 after a very busy day. Tomorrow we plan to do our laundry and then enjoy the city from one of the many double-decker tour buses.