'Ignorance can be bliss', THE hackneyed phrase guaranteed to set my teeth on edge,was uttered by the exhausted guy next to me on the train out of Fiumicino. He was American still in shorts,feet in sandals, an open necked shirt and surrounded by his wife and their luggage. She patiently rolled her eyes as his level of angst increased with the telling of  his story. The past 25 hours had not been part of their original itinery. Plane diverted and landed miles from Rome, bused to Fiumicino and now being another sardine in the local train to Roma Tiburtina.They were going to Florence and so we would be on the next train together.
Street urchins 'scugnizzi'  got on and off the train looking for 'pickings' (perhaps), as we ever so slowly made our way from one stop to the next, each suburb looking like a relative of the other but that bit more mauled. I stood and faced off the 'scugnizzo' very bravely  (there is a side that says Don't Mess with Me) even though he didn't look a day over 10.... Ok l have to admit that no else battered an eyelid when he came in twice and had a good look around, BUT at least l thought l had been uber brave.