Day 103
Location 18: Rome
Feb. 11, 2023
In Rome, we encountered and solved two great, ancient mysteries. Here they are:
Mystery #1: "Not A Bathroom"
A few days ago, as we sat for dinner the waiter issued a warning. With his arm extended and index finger aimed at a worn door in the corner, he informed us "that's not a bathroom".
In every great mystery, the intrigue derives not from the information you have, but rather the info you don't have. By hiding what was behind the door, he had thrust us into a strange version of the Monty Hall Problem. Plus his tone communicated an unspoken message: "don't go in there". Naturally, we were all insatiably curious...
...Back to today. We returned to the aforementioned restaurant. This time, with no available tables, we were led through the door to reveal an entire bar. The sensation was how I always imagined it felt to walk through a magical wardrobe portal into Narnia inhabited by a lion and witch. Mystery solved.
With his arm extended, and index finger aimed at the worn wall of books, he informed us "that's a bathroom".
I don't know if his words were lost in translation or he expected us to just pee on the books. Another mystery. (It turned out the wall was actually a hidden door that could be opened.)
What an odd twist of fate. First, a door that looked like a bathroom, but wasn't. Then, a wall that didn't look like a bathroom door, but was. Throughout dinner, we watched many patrons ask "where is the bathroom" and get directed to the wall. Then, they'd invariably walk up to the wall, look confusedly at the books, and return to their table, defeated. Mystery-solving isn't for everyone.
The mystery not-bathroom door | The mystery not-wall bathroom door | Red marking the door's outline
Mystery #2: "Look Through The Hole"
A few days ago, we enjoyed a free walking tour of Rome. At the end of the tour, our guide recommended looking through the Aventine Keyhole, a hidden gem of the city. "What you'll see when you look through the keyhole is...I don't want to spoil it actually." Deliciously mysterious.
Throughout the entire week, we theorized what could be on the other side of that keyhole. Here are some hypotheses that gathered our credence:
A nice view of the city.
A little man is on the other side, wielding a small knife—and when you look through, he stabs you in the eye, blinding you.
Wait, there's more to the last idea: the little guy is actually our tour guide because he gets his jollies from stabbing people in the eye and that's why he recommends this "secret gem" that no one else has ever heard of.
