The ride portion of his tour was first. For three hours the bus drove around Rome, stopping frequently allowing passengers to get off and take pictures. The tour guide was named Sergio and was very informative and had a great sense of humor. At the end of the drive portion, they stopped at a large plaza that was surrounded by shops and restaurants. Sergio had instructed them to eat in the plaza and he would come back for them in an hour to start their walking portion of the tour.
John stepped out of a small sandwich shop holding his sandwich and drink while looking around for an empty table in the busy plaza. He spotted quite a few empty tables two-thirds the way across the plaza. As he walked toward them he heard his name being called out by a female. He looked around and saw a blonde sitting fifty feet away waving at him. He walked in her direction and then as he got closer she took off her big sunglasses and he recognized her, it was Jennifer sitting at the table. He smiled at her as he got to the table. "Hello. I wondered who was calling out my name. How are you?"
Jennifer squinted, raising her hand up to shade her eyes from the bright sunlight as she stared up at John. John noticed her discomfort and moved to the left to block the sun from her face. "Thanks, now I can see again. I'm good. If you're not sitting with anyone else, would you care to join me for lunch?"
"I would." John sat down at her table. "It would be nice to be able to carry on a conversation in English with someone without having to resort to hand signals to get my idea across to the other person. You would think these restaurants would speak English, we can't be the only Americans to have come here." John un-wrapped his sandwich and began to eat.
She smiled at his remark. "I agree, I unfortunately had to sit next to Bill and Flow from Texas all morning. You don't know what it's like to sit next to a good 'ole boy that compares everything you see in Rome to something in his grand old state of Texas. And for the record, his record that is, there version is far better there than what is here."
"What are you up to today?"
Jennifer finished chewing a bite of her sandwich and wiped her mouth before answering. "I'm on a ride and walk tour of Rome today. We just finished our ride portion, after lunch we start a three-hour walking tour. Here's where we see if all the money I spend at my health spa each month is worth it, heaven knows I don't take long walks at home."