The Eternal Urinal

Ah, the smells of Roma. Enticing open air markets tickle our olfactory senses with the smells of fresh baked bread, aged cheeses, deliciously salty cured meats and fish freshly plucked from the sea. Walking down the neighborhood streets, the local trattoria and ristorante seize upon the stomach hunger pangs of tourists and locals alike. Wander past one of the many gelateria and sweet smells of ice cream flavors undreamt of in the United States will accost your nose, wallet, and waistline at the same time.

With all of these wonderful smells, all the time; what could possibly be wrong? I’ll tell you in two simple words: ‘Uriney Goodness’. This ‘Uriney Goodness’ pours out of so many of the lesser tourist trampled areas of the city (pun intended). It lurks around corners and at bus stops to confront the nose with its acrid stench. Of course, these corners and bus stops aren’t the ones most tourists are going to happen upon on their way to the Fontana di Trevi or the Basilica di San Pietro. Trust us, those places are remarkably well taken care of.

This begs the question, is it indicative of the citizenry of Roma that they’ll allow and accept the Eternal City to become the Eternal Urinal? Or is this simply the plight of all of the worlds major cities, Seattle included? We’re not even sure that Romans even care or notice this, I suppose to them it’s like the sun above; it’s just always been there. Maybe in some manner, it’s like a dog marking its territory, in a way (or maybe just in my twisted head), they’re letting the tourists know whose city Roma really is. Maybe it’s the end result of a discontented citizenry and their way to release some anger toward their political leadership.

Nah, on second thought, it’s probably that they simply don’t want to pay 70 cents for using a toilet.