ROME

may 12, 2013

i can't leave this place without putting a few words on the page.  rome is overwhelming in so many ways, above all for its beauty, the magnificence of the buildings, ruins, churches, the piazzas, fountains & statues, the ancient black cobble stones i walk on as i traipse from place to place.  i've never seen such crowds, tourists from everywhere, eager to see the splendor of this great city. 

no need to study my maps too much; just follow the crowd, they know where to go and sweep me along in their zeal to see everything.  and, as people make their way around, every single one of them is eating ice-cream.  there must be an unwritten rule in rome that people must lick that frozen sweet delicious stuff throughout the day & night, as well as eat pizza...  irresistible savory fragrant melting slices of pizza.

don't get me started on food.  each meal i've had, in restaurants recommended by friends, has been so spectacular that i must declare i've never eaten better.  antipasti of fresh vegetables, pickled fish, fresh seafood, prosciutto, mozzarella... last night, alongside of a dozen other tasty morsels, i had a plate of fresh peas and fava beans so simply prepared yet so perfect in natural flavor, it could not have been better.  i can barely go on to the home-made pasta offerings, so delicious & perfectly sauced they’re impossible to resist.  i can't find a better word than "perfect."  i want to return to each of these places but keep trying new ones, which continue to astonish me by being better than the last.  i want to eat my way through rome.  if i stay any longer than the 11 allotted days i will need to buy new clothes.

my apartment is in the historical center of the city, in a restored 15th. century palazzo on a quiet street just minutes from the campo di fiori.  it's comfortable, luxurious, furnished with antiques, everything done with great taste.  so much is within walking distance, a pleasant stroll to the piazza navona, and in the other direction the ponte sisto over the tiber, and the ancient winding streets of trastevere.  i've also learned to take public buses.  just follow the crowd...

i sit in cafes trying to read my guidebook, but am distracted by the marvels around me.  hard to study the history of rome when i can watch how the light changes the facade of ancient walls, stare at the madonna looking down on the square from a dusty gilded frame posed on the corner of a crumbling building, the domes, spires, marbles and gurgling fountains.  and the crowds...

on wednesday, I’ll take the train to montevarchi,  a little town in tuscany where i'll spend a month roaming around the region.  but the food can't possibly be so good...  can it?

amor & baci

Pasted on the wall on my street in Rome