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Buongiorno… from Rome!

Well, this was quite the adventure, so it definitely makes for an entertaining post. This morning, my partner, Ben, and I jogged to the Non-Catholic Cemetery in the neighborhood of Testaccio, right next to the Pyramid of Cestius.
Ben has a Ph.D. in English literature, so he wanted to see the tombstones of two of his favorite poets, John Keats and Percy-Bysshe Shelley. During my Ph.D., I conducted a few months of research in Rome, and I was living in this neighborhood. I knew that there was a stadium with a marvelous track right next to the Baths of Caracalla, just a short jog away from the Non-Catholic Cemetery. So, I told Ben that I was going to try to do a little Sweet 1600 on this track. I left him at the Cemetery and jogged to the stadium. On the way there, I stopped to take pictures of the remains of the Circus Maximus, which is… an old track of sort! Not sure if it would be valid for the Challenge, though, @adamengst? It’s basically an ancient Roman chariot-racing stadium.
Now, the little problem was that the stadium I was headed to (officially called Stadio delle Terme di Caracalla “Nando Martellini”) was closed. I think it’s open in in the afternoon, but you need some sort of pass to run there, and they host the “scuola di atletica leggera” (track-and-field school). I look inside. Nobody seems to be there. I look at the gate and… I cannot resist! I jump in! I take a few shots and then I start running.
In the middle of the second loop… a guy with an orange shirt jumps out of nowhere! “Hey!,” he shouts. “Who the hell are you?! You cannot be here!”
He starts running behind me. I keep running and shout back “Oh, so sorry, what did you say?” I’m headed into the third loop. He keeps shouting at me. I pretend not to hear and keep running. I start the fourth loop. He’s picked up a radio transmitter. Mmm, maybe he’s calling for reinforcements to catch the intruder. Better to head out, I think. So, I head for the fence and, while he is shouting me, I jump out, head for the gate, jump that as well, and I’m out! I look at my watch: 1.61 km. More of an obstacle course, but hey… distance covered!

I continue running to the Colosseum and through the Fori Imperiali, and then back home.
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How does a “pasta alla carbonara” sound?
The pics are from the restaurant Mastrociccia near Piazza Navona, but you guys can pretty much eat everywhere in Rome… the food is delicious!