Steepest decent | Day 94 of my 2023 Journal

We are in Rome over Easter to spend time with my sister's family. It is a perfect way to maintain strong family bonds. My sister very often allocates her vacations to spend with us, so we accumulate a lot of wonderful adventures together and get to see each other relatively frequently in the context of the nomad lifestyle of my core family.

Easter in Rome is not optimal for peace and quiet. We knew this, and it is okay. We spend a lot of time with people who are on vacation. This means more restaurants, landmarks, ice cream, and mass tourism than we would have chosen on our own. It is all okay. The priority is always to thrive, and to do so; we need our family relations and our friendships to blossom. We cherish friends and family coming and meeting us, and spending their valuable vacations with our family.

On our second day in Rome, firstly we walked to the Spanish Stairs. We took the photos, walked to the top, read the Wiki page, and visited the church.

On the way, we enjoyed a talented violinist in the street and a sculpture that was hard to understand but on our Rome list.

Then we walked to the Trevi Fountain, only to enjoy the concentration of tourists increasing. The fountain is beautiful. Worth it. But it felt crazy.

At this point, my brother-in-law inserted the concept of steepest descent, as we decided to walk the steepest descent of tourist concentration.

Lovely pause at an almost empty piazza did some parkour, and talked in the sun. Next up is gelato, the Colosseum, and Forum Romano.

Epic Rome in all of its former glory, shining through what is still standing.

Walking, talking, listening to street music, taking pictures, and playing games.

Then the rain came, we had coffee and got wet walking back.

Sometimes I feel like a sheep when in big crowds of tourists. Yet at the same time, I am happy for all the other people who get to visit epic places and enjoy the cultural history or the wonders of nature as long as I can find the steepest decent fast when I need it.

Love and light

Cecilie Conrad

# 94 of my 2023 writing challenge - Read them all here