Somehow, we dug out a tattered printout from some web page containing a number for Maurizio B & B. And that was the end of our anxieties. Maurizio, certified mensch and a bike touristąs guardian angel!

The B & B is an apartment in a working class neighborhood near the Tiburtina station where our bus came in. We were an hour late but Maurizio waited for us patiently. The three bedrooms, two baths, and kitchen were newly-renovated, spotlessly clean, and luxurious--great beds, pillows, thick towels, etc. Maurizio had waiting in our room:

1. two strong bike boxes,
2. a couple good hunks of bubblewrap,
3. a magic marker, and
4. packing tape.

This meant that we had our bikes packed up within an hour and were able to use the rest of the day sightseeing in Rome instead of madly blithering around bikeshops in search of boxes. That evening, Maurizio cooked us risotto, mushrooms, and roasted potatoes with rosemary for supper and showed us slides of his New Zealand bike trip.

Then, the next morning, the kindest act of all: For a ridiculously small extra charge, Maurizio strapped our bikes to the top of his car and drove us and our gear out to the airport through heavy traffic. He even hung around in case we had any trouble getting Alitalia to honor its commitment to take the bikes as a regular piece of luggage. (We didnąt).

Check out the B & B at: http://www.mauriziobeb.it/
Contact Maurizio by email at: bbmaurizio@fastwebnet.it