So, Hey For The Sunscreen

I am in Nice! Which is a beach town! That makes me miss Santa Cruz! It's warm and dry and we spent 4 hours sitting on the beach today and we are going to do it again tomorrow. The next day we will do tourist things.
We just came from Rome, which was nice. There are lots and lots of ruins in Rome. There are also all sorts of buildings that were dedicated to the old Roman Gods. For example, the Temple to Venus which stands next to the Coliseum. Vatican City is also in Rome. It never occured to me that Rome is the seat of 2 major religions, one old and one newer. I suppose the old Roman religion maybe only became major when it became a mythology. Then people painted all of those damned paintings, hundreds and hundreds of them, dedicated to the same Glorious Moments in Roman Mythology that all hang in the Prado. It's also hard to wrap my head around all of the things that people did because of religion (I am talking art-wise, not crusades-wise). All of the cathedrals and paintings and stained glass windows etc. that non-Europeans travel to Europe to see. But then, I am kind of an atheist, so if i am ever uplifted or inspired to do something it is usually because there is cake at the end of it. I do like cake.
A note on Venice, where we were before Rome: it's kind of an adult Disneyland. It feels pretty damn artificial. Even the water in the canals is milky and fake green. There is no where on the island where you can go to escape the tourism. What do the locals do? Do they all live or work or play on the mainland to avoid the toursit prices? Is there a special Venice card that you get if you live in Venice for more than 2 years? I don't fit Venices demographic. It's for people who want to genteely eat overpriced spaghetti next to a smelly canal and listen to accordion players play cheesy music. I am nasty because it doesn't appeal to me, though it may appeal to other people.
I will write about Oktoberfest next... it desrves its own post.