Its been almost a week here in Roma – so here as promised is a post from the eternal city…. What can I say – its gorgeous even when it’s raining ( Big mistake not to bring the down coat – but hey its getting warmer – sort of – everyday….. ) All of you gym junkies would be so impressed with the amount of walking we’ve done , well I am anyway about 80 kms so far ( I know that thanks to the jawbone UP super pedometer – wrist thingy ) Mind you I forgot to wear it today and have that funny feeling that if it isnt being measured maybe I didnt actually go anywhere Highlights include being sworn at by the Pope – who accidentally said F*** to the crowd at St Peters . Not that I knew – like him my Italian’s not that good. That makes two popes I’ve seen – not bad for an agnostic. Randomly popped into a church down the road – and there were a couple of Caravaggio’s -like they were nothing special …. And of course we’ve ‘done’ quite a few of the sights – from the Tivoli fountain and Pantheon to the Colosseum and Sistine Chapel …. So much to take in its sort of cultural indigestion . But the best thing is absorbing our neighbourhood – watching life and the people around us…. We are on the Vatican edge of Trastevere – a wonderful old part of town with cobbled streets , shuttered houses , flapping laundry sleepy cats and gesticulating locals not to mention hundreds of enticing bars and restaurants - there are meant to be about 9000 restaurants in Rome – for a population smaller than Sydney’s - we’ve not hit a dud one yet. Out local local is just around the corner – every day a different menu – not very big , but filled every night with the folk I see coming our of our neighbouring buildings . Every morning I open our shutters and watch as people set off to work and school – on scooters mostly , genuflecting as they pass the shrine on the corner of the building . Beginning to recognise faces – like the guy who takes his dog and cat for a walk every day - , or the old lady who take a rest stop every 50 meters up the hill. Mind you I feel that way myself – while cobblestones look great they are treacherous to walk on ( thank god I didnt pack stilettos ) I did provide a great site for a school excursion when I took a swan dive and landed like a starfish in front of them , pride and knee bruised. Shop keepers rushed to pick me up – dusted me off , and insisted I sit and recover …. We’ve now even conquered the public transport system and so our explorations are getting further afield - Thanks Marianne for the recommendations of the graffiti covered outer suburb . Travelling with technology changes things – got a great translation app – which helps me to avoid offal when ordering … and google maps to help work out where the hell we are ( at almost every corner or piazza there’s the sight of tourists - couples of a certain age – arguing as they turn a battered map round and round ) They may say all roads lead to rome but I’ve found all roads lead to the pantheon – even when you think youre miles away from it. Still on the technology theme I will now try to work out how to put photos up - forgive the fb newbie if it goes pear shaped Ciao for now
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 15:25:27 +0000
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