Walking like a Roman

After careful study, I think I've identified how to walk like a Roman. It involves moving very slowly, with either a half-smile or slighly pursed lips, and it looks very relaxing. Unlike Americans, who walk fast as a matter of habit, Romans do it only under duress, and then with a slight, constant frown, as if to indicate that while they might have to, they are decidedly unhappy about it.

In between sitting down drinking coffee and sitting down staring about in wonder, I've been practicing my walk. Its not perfect, but its coming along.

More on crossing the street like a Roman later... for now, suffice to say that it involves staring menacingly at the oncoming rush of traffic, and has nothing whatsoever to do with pedestrian markings or signals, if those even exist in Roma.