Here I am again writing from Rome; very soon I'll be on my way to the airport to pick you up... so you must all be in the air at this very moment! Excited about getting to Rome? or tired after so many hours in a plane? We shall see. I am posting a few more pictures of views of Rome, places I'll be showing you tomorrow and the next day. The column is at one corner of piazza Venezia, the geographical center of the city, dominated by a huge white monument called Vittoriano and dedicated to the unification of Italy (a fairly recent affair, as we'll learn together). It is an ancient Roman column, depicting the victories of emperor Trajan. Then you have a view of the Colosseum - or Flavian amphitheatre: we'll be going there tomorrow with a wonderful guide called, very aptly, Flavia. And finally a typical Roman view: some ruins, a scooter, and palm trees. We have palm trees here in Rome (of course they were imported) as it never really freezes, so they survive happily in our city alongside the most typical of Roman trees, the umbrella pines or Mediterranean pine trees.