Roma, the City of Romance

In a quick 15 minute taxi ride, two Romani can learn everything there is to know about each other and their families. Such was our taxi ride from the train station upon arriving in Rome. When asked where Robert and I met, the driver’s response was, “Rome, the city of romance”.

Everyone thinks it’s peculiar that Robert can talk to anybody about anything. It actually seems to be a trait of most Romani. They truly have the gift of gab. Just listen to conversations between strangers in a Roman coffee bar and you’ll see what I mean.

As usual, just walking around Rome is a cultural and historical experience. There’s something interesting at every twist and turn along the way. This town is packed full of good stuff. It’s easy to take it all for granted when you live here and just rush from one place to another. On a leisurely walk you find things you’ve never noticed before.  Here are some photos from my walk around a lot of the historical center. These are some of my favorite places in Rome.

We had dinner with Marcy and Steve who I worked with during my CARE days in Bangladesh in the 90’s. They’ve just moved to Rome from Geneva. Their dog, Bernie, named after Bernie Sanders, is a big hit in Rome and they take him everywhere.  We had a wonderful dinner of baked porcini mushrooms. So good!

Around the area of Aventino there are beautiful parks that overlook the Tiber river. It’s said that this area has some of the most expensive property in Rome and much of it is owned by the church.

Italians spend loads of money on wedding dresses and then after the ceremony have their photos taken at every monument and park around town by the time they’re done the dress is filthy. Sitting in the park for an hour on a Saturday several wedding parties came through.

Many parts of Rome which were open to the public to walk around now require tickets, which is a real drag. Can’t just walk into the Pantheon anymore and the outside of the colosseum is also off limits. Still lots of tourists in town as seen in front of the Pantheon.

Here’s a photo of the Bocca di Verita, mouth of truth. And then I came across another similar one. Could these be the same artist or just a common subject matter? Looks like the second guy ate something bad for lunch.

Only in Rome do you find these shops for clerical robes. Many are really beautiful and I’ve always wondered if they check for IDs or if anyone can buy them. They would be great costumes or useful to impersonate a priest.

This area might have been an old bathroom or something. I must have walked past this a million times and never noticed these sinks. It’s also possible they have only recently been uncovered. They are always finding new things.  A new metro is being built and when it’s done they will also display all the antiquity that they’ve found. If done well it could be a cool, new museum. What a brilliant idea.  

In the old Jewish Ghetto I noticed this wall with historical references to what happened to the Roman Jews during the war.

That’s it for now. Still in Rome for another ten days or so.