ROME Part 1

10/5 and beyond - Rome

Now, I'm not sure if you knew this about me, but I happen to be a man with connections. Big connections (I kid, I kid). So, it should come as no surprise that I had the ideal setup for me two week sojourn in the Eternal City. Back in 2004, while a senior at UPenn, I found a lovely Italian exchange student named Gaia, who gave me a sorely needed lifeline back to Italy, which I had just left one year prior. When she left at the end of the fall semester, I promised to look her up the next time I went to Italy, and so I did, sending her an email before starting this walk.

As it turns out, she was out of the country when I emailed, so I only heard from her after I was out of range of Milano, where she lived and worked. Still, in her extreme generosity, she offered me her family's flat when I arrived in Rome. I gratefully took her upon this magnificent offer, and she thus arranged for me to pick up the keys from her good family friend, Nancy.

So, the morning after my arrival, I contacted Nancy, and receiving the directions to her house, made my way there. Nancy, an American expat who has lived 40 years in Rome, is a University Professor at one of Rome's many universities, and as it turned out, so was her husband David, himself a British expat. There's nothing I love more than an intellectual household, so I immediately felt at home with these lovely people. Since I had invaded precisely at lunch time, I was graciously invited to join, and I never turn down a home-cooked meal. I found out a bit about their background and their impressions of Rome, and answered some unique and thought-provoking questions about my trip. After lunch, I left them in peace, but not before thanking them for their hospitality, and for holding onto the keys for me.

So, armed with the keys, I walked to Trastevere, where I soon found the apartment, located in an excellent part of town, and full of books and beautiful pieces of antique furniture. It is hard for me to express the feelings of comfort and relaxation upon reaching a stable place of lodging, even if just for two weeks. After nearly three months of changing towns every day, I was in sore need of some stability. HOwever, on this first day, I had no time to linger, so I let the backpack explode, put the beyond-stinky clothes in teh wash, and took a quick shower. I had dinner plans...

Greg

Gregorio met my mother while on a business trip to San Diego. A friend of his works with her, and she immediately introduced them, as my mom spoke Italian. In a 20 minute conversation, she managed to obtain his commitment to take care of her son (as only she can), and he exchanged contact info with her. Next he went to New York on business, and met my sister for coffee, receiving from her some suggestions on what to do and see while in the Big Apple - the end result of these encounters was that I had made a friend through no individual effort, and I was once again grateful for my good fortune.

As soon as I informed Greg of my arrival in Rome, he invited me to join him at a friend's house for dinner. I, of course, eagerly accepted, and so I met him for the first him right by St. Peter's. Together with his friend Rita, a French lady with Italian ancestry, and Sabrina, an Art History Professor, we sped off to Le Rughe, a suburb north of Rome. There I found myself in the company of two doctors (one of which was Greg), a lawyer, a University Administrator, a Real Estate Broker, and an Art History Professor (Sabrina). More importantly, they were all engaging and warmly accepting, boisterous and full of fun. We had a delicious dinner, sang some classic Roman songs accompanied by guitar, told jokes, and fooled around drinking Limoncello until 3:30 in the morning. Not too bad for my first evening as a Roman, right?

Touring Rome

Though I must admit that I spent a large amount of time indoors, enjoying the idea of being stationary, and lingering over meals I prepared for myself, I also spent a great deal of tim walking around my favorite city in the world. Most of my time was spent doing my kind of tourism, namely wandering and walking long distances in every direction, pushing the boundaries of the Rome I had seen before. Gaia had also bubbled over with enthusiastic and specific suggestions (smell the Tiber from the island, visit the Campo in the morning, etc.), showing her love for Rome with a long to-do list. Then there were the obvious sites to revisit and appreciate with a fresh eye, such as the Colliseum, Forum, Pantheon, Spanish Steps, and so on. Finally, one of the many tasty fruits of my friendship with Greg was the introdcuction to Sabrina (pictured, in the middle, with Rita on the right), the encyclopedic explosion of energy and fun and... a passion for art history. Professor of multiple simultaneous Art History courses for the Adult University of Rome (Bernini and the Baroque, Michelangelo, Ancient Rome, etc.), she encouraged me to tag along, and so I did, getting an intimate and detailed view of 2 Baroque churches, the frescoes and mosaics at the Museo Nazionale Romana, St. Peter's Basilica, and Palazzo Spada, a Mannerist architectural jewel housing a delightful collection of works ranging from 15th to 18th century.

Then there was the fulfilling process of learning my way around my neighborhood. Around day five, it all started to click for me: affordably priced fresh fruit and vegetables, an Internet Cafe, the supermarket, fresh egg-based pasta, a classic cheese and sausage shop, porchetta, a cheap 66cl Peroni, water fountains, cool shortcuts, and picturesque side streets. I could get used to this, I thought; there is nothing better than a rich and varied neighborhood fabric to make life interesting. This, I believe, is something most American neighborhoods lack. In the quest to simply, render more efficient, and focus on value instead of quality, the little shops gave way to Walgreens and Walmarts, gas station convenience stores, and one-stop supermarkets. Sure, you save time stopping once instead of seven times, but what's the trade off?