4 The Hampton Roads Messenger Editorial


My African American European Vacation: Italy


Part four of a five part series; View photos at hamptonroadsmessenger.com


To my surprise, the cost was very reasonable, approximately $15 when converted from Euros. Tat price did not include the must-have gelato. Te food was so delicious and affordable that I ate there on each of the three days that I spent in Rome.


I caught a bus to my very quaint BY ANGELA JONES When asked what was my favorite


country or city in Europe, I can never answer that question. However, I must say that when my plane landed in Rome, Italy, I was mesmerized by its splendor. I even forgot that Italy was once home to one of the most reviled people in African American and Native American history, Christopher Columbus. From my experience, Italians today are nothing like Christopher Columbus.


When I arrived in Rome, I took


a very long but inexpensive bus ride from the airport to the train station. I believe the bus ride took about 45 minutes and the cost was equivalent to approximately $5. Te bus dropped me off at a train station near the Historic Center or the Centro Storico, as the Italians refer to it. Tis area includes buildings that are between 300 and 2000 years old and has been inhabited practically uninterrupted for 2000 years. Te Historic Center is where most of the tourist sites, such the Trevi Fountain, the Coliseum and the Vatican, are located in Rome.


Rather than go to our hotel, since


it was before noon when we arrived in Rome, or Roma, as the natives say, we took an Uber from the train station to a vegan restaurant that I found on Google.com. Te restaurant had a buffet with a huge assortment of vegan dishes including pastas, potatoes and stuffed peppers. My plate was weighed to determine the price of my meal.


hotel aſter leaving the restaurant. Te bus was virtually free in Rome. I say virtually because I paid for a ticket at one of the bus stops but the bus driver and other passengers seemed miffed when I asked the driver where was the machine where I was to insert the ticket. Te driver indicated that the machine did not work. In the three days that I rode around on the buses in Rome, I never saw anyone else pay.


When I arrived at the hotel, the


staff was very thorough in explaining all of the fees including the “city tax” which had to be paid in cash. Te location of the hotel where I stayed was in the center of the tourist district and I could walk to stores like Sephora. Tere was a grocery store and a newspaper called, Il Messaggero (Te Messenger), across the street from the hotel.


I took a hop-on-hop-off bus


tour around Rome to see a number of historic landmarks. Te Coliseum was old and dusty but fascinating. You can squint and imagine the atrocities that took place within its crumbled walls. For that reason, I did not want to spend too much time there.


Te bus tour was also very


inexpensive and included audio narration. Te bus tour ticket could be used for twenty-four hours. I also purchased a boat tour ticket as part of the package. I was exhausted aſter a long day in the hot sun, although it could have been hotter. Most of the time that


I was in Rome, the


high temperature hovered around 90 degrees. Fortunately, I found refuge from the heat in a five-star hotel where I ordered all of the libations that I could stand. I had a virgin pina colada, a glass of coconut water and a glass of bottled water. Of course since it was a five-star hotel and the drinks


Volume 12 Number 3


are five times what they would cost anywhere else, the waiter also served complimentary olives; hummus and pita bread; potato chips and crepes.


Te hotel lounge sat high on top of a


hill, had walls of windows with amazing views of the city and was sufficiently air conditioned, therefore I did not mind paying for the overpriced drinks.


Having time to relax at the hotel


gave me the energy to tour the riverfront area of Rome. I actually stumbled upon it while looking for the embarkment location for the boat tour. When I saw the sun setting on the beautiful banks of the Tiber River, dotted with shops and temporary restaurants in tents, I knew I was in for a treat. I ate fried pizza, drank peach juice, watched professional dancers and listened to live jazz there. I was having so much fun that I almost unwittingly purchased a KKK ring ( that is a long story).


I took the saying, “When in Rome,


do as the Romans,” literally and stayed on the riverfront past midnight. Te “free” buses, which are scheduled to arrive at approximately 15 minute intervals, were still running at that time and I rode one back to my hotel.


Te next morning I set out for


the illusive Vatican. Our tour bus had a Vatican stop on the map but I never found it. Just outside the walls of the Vatican, I purchased some true Italian shaved ice.


December 2017


the streets inside and outside of the Vatican walls.


I would expect that


with the amount of money and power that the Catholic Church possesses, it would extend some grace to its neighbors and help the poor people who are begging on the streets just outside of its walls.


Te boat tour was very relaxing.


Te water was calm and the breeze was refreshing. We saw what looked like homeless people living under one of the bridges but they may have been some of the people displaced from an abandoned building around that time. When I was waiting for my bus at the Coliseum, I was told that there was a protest rally taking place. I saw large crowds on the bus tour prior to arriving at the Coliseum. At that time, I did not realize that they were protesting the police removing squatters from a building where they had been living for four years. Many of the squatters were refugees from Eritrea, Africa.


Hopefully, the Italian It was made with real fruit


juices and real pieces of fruit. I must say, I was unimpressed with the Vatican. Te neighborhood surrounding it was quite rundown and discarded paper laid in


Jesse Jackson FROM PAGE 1


effects of this disease on me has been painful, and I have been slow to grasp the gravity of it. For me, a Parkinson's diagnosis is not a stop sign but rather a signal that I must make lifestyle changes and dedicate myself to physical therapy in hopes of slowing the disease's progression.


"I am far from alone. God continues to give me new opportunities to serve. This diagnosis is personal but it is more than that. It is an opportunity for me to use my voice to help in finding a cure for a disease that afflicts 7 to 10 million worldwide. Some 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson's every year.


"I will continue to try to instill hope in the hopeless, expand our democracy to the disenfranchised and free innocent


prisoners around the world. I'm also spending some time working on my memoir so I can share with others the lessons I have learned in my life of public service. I steadfastly affirm that I would rather wear out than rust out.


"I want to thank my family and friends who continue to care for me and support me. I will need your prayers and graceful understanding as I undertake this new challenge. As we continue in the struggle for human rights, remember that God will see us through, even in our midnight moments.


"KEEP HOPE ALIVE! "Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr."


government and the refugees have found a solution to the homelessness problem faced by people fleeing other countries for political reasons. As a matter of fact, I met a Canadian couple who said “It’s a shame” that African Americans have been fleeing the US in droves and moving to Canada since Donald Trump was elected. I think Rome would be a nice place for African Americans but I would suggest that they have a decent place to stay lined up before they get there.


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