The X5 sat in my garage for 8 days completely idle with the alarm system set and the gear selector light on. Just one crank of the ignition and it fired right up. I had always been wondering what happens when you leave the X5 idle, if the battery drains any. Not on mine. The ignition fired as strong as if I drove it yesterday.

In Rome, I see that invisable bras are very popular. All of the women wear them. The straps are clear on the shoulders and back. I didn't get a good look to see if they are clear in the front.

Rome drivers are nuts. In the 70's cult film, Gumball Rally, Raul Julia jumps in his Fararri, rips off the rear view mirror and immortalizes the line 'Whatz behine me nomatta'. I saw where this comes from. Its beautifully orchastrated, but very high risk. Lots of crossing the center line to pass traffic in the left lane.

I think if I lived in a high density urban European city, Berlin, Rome, Paris, I'd drive one of those Smart cars. Not sure what Europeans think of them. They look lots better than the Peugot, Fiat, and the micro-sized American and Japanese cars. I wonder if they are reliable, and get good highway speeds.

I also saw the BMW X1 motorcycle. Very cool. The driver is in a roll cage with a shoulder harness. I saw on BBC World, a review on the X1. They crashed it headon, broadside, and rolled it. In all cases the driver gets up and walks. Not to be sold in US. Sorry no picture. The Italians get pretty picky on what they let you take pictures of.