The past couple of weeks have been a frenzy of frenetic finagling and flippant alliteration. Leaving Tunisia when I was mentally prepared to stay another year has left me in a decidedly ambivalently altered state. Yes, I can't believe I am now living in Portland, a city I have wanted to be in since I moved to Oregon 6 years ago and I can't believe I have been offered an assistantship for grad school, but I am walking away, for a time at least, from many new friends, a fantastic work environment, and a fascinating culture that has taught me several lessons about the person that I want to be.
How does one reconcile himself to the heartbreak and disutopic awakening of impending graduate level studies? Well, of course, with a micro-holiday in Rome! I had to give the cats a break on the long series of flights back home anyway so why not do it in one of the world's most impressive cities? Besides, this was the motherland largely responsible for the destruction of Carthage. I NEED to understand Rome in order to understand Tunisia right? Yeah I do!! You bet!! I hear the food is pretty good too....
I had one day in Rome. We arrived after noon on Monday and took a little time to catch our bearings. Around two, after squeezing the cats, cages, and a couple bags into my lovely shoe closet of a hotel room, I began the difficult journey of negotiating an unknown public transportation system where I speak less than ten words in the local language.....Hasn't my abuse of Arabic and French over the course of the summer been enough?
While waiting anxiously for bus 508 to take me downtown, a young couple, map in hand, approach me asking for directions in Italian.... I respond in French - why I don't know - that I don't speak Italian. The guy then asks me if I speak English in English. Yes, I say, in English. Together, the three of us, guided by a very helpful Romanian girl working as a chamber maid in Italy, make our way onto a bus, then onto a train, and finally to the Coliseo train stop.
Pouncing up the stairs, out of the darkness of the subway, into a bright and warm Italian end of summer day towards probably the world's most recognized landmark - the Coliseum - was a bit surreal. See enclosed picture of maddened lunacy. After the three of us had spent about 40 minutes together on the train and another 45 or so snapping billions of pictures of one another in around the immediate vicinity, we decided to spend the day together, as travelers often do.
Their names are Andre and Stephanie and they are from the capital city of Portugal. It was a lot of fun experiencing the sights, smells, and tastes of this city while getting a little personal flavor of the country that crafts the best wine in the world - Port and Madeira. My two companions were a fantastic couple and because Stephanie's English was none too good, we spoke to each other in French, I spoke to Andre in English, and they spoke to each other in Portuguese. Andre had the best Italian of the three of us, so he did all the direction asking.
Knowing you only have one day, well half a day to be precise, to take in Rome is like having a half hour to appreciate the Louvre. I'm game for anything though. Even though my new friends were there for two weeks, they certainly felt pressured to make their itinerary of sight-seeing. I was just along to catch everything I could...which really was a lot given the amount of time. Landmarks, Italian cars and motorcycles, fashionably-attired Romans, gelatorias and pizzerias, endless kilometers of black-tiled streets, all whizzed by in what seemed to me one the most timeless afternoons turned evenings I have known. Rather than go into a blow by blow of the day's chronology, let me just run through some of the experiences/sensations:
If Paris is the city for lovers, Rome is more like the city for conquerors. Every noble edifice, every ancient but pristine street, every perfect business suit, the audacity of the fashion, and the profound awareness of history gives this city its character. It hits you like a club, this preeminent grandeur, as if to say to you -- "Your civilization, your land , and your history are meaningless..... THIS IS ROME!!" Or something like that.
Majestic is an adjective which hardly captures any individual element here, much less their sum.
Yes, its cliche, but so be it.... I have had amazing pizza in my life.... Chicago deep dish that takes an hour to make, thin New York style that somehow captures the pizazz and efficiency of the city of its creation, but Italy wins the contest.... We asked (Andre asked) a few locals where the best pizza was, and so we went. A picture of the shop is enclosed if you want to look for it. It was perfect. The crust was dense and chewy without being too thick or filling and the meaty toppings were superlative. I knew I had reached pizza nirvana at Remo's Pizzeria. That's all I can say.
Amen.
Rome has the most diverse and interesting police force I have ever seen or can imagine..... From the commando-like Carabinieri sporting berets, assault rifles, and steroid-addled biceps to the plain-clothed, tie-wearing, unmarked cars of the anti-mafioso, and, who can forget (see picture) the tall boots, tight pants, and lip-draping cigarettes of the simple polizia most reminiscent of the Village People cop persona-- Italy has some fascinating security.
Sooooo..... Day 1 was complete after a final dinner with my new friends and a promise that I would make a trip to Portugal for a visit some day....which I am totally doing.
Upon awakening, I find that the temperature in Chicago is going to be in the high 80s and that is too hot for cat travel according to American Airlines regulations. A change of routing through New York the following day and I *grudgingly* found myself with a second day in Rome.
I immediately made my way to Vatican City. To my chagrin, the line to get inside the walled city was literally a half mile or so. And I wasn't about to pull a Mission Impossible 3 over the wall.... so I settled for a walk over to St. Peters Basilica..... which also had a half-mile line to get in. So much for Michelangelo.
The second day was cloudy and I was alone.... still great to be there but a little less mind-blowing than Day 1. The Church of the Gesu - Home of the Jesuits - was probably the highlight of the second day. Built in 1584, it has a beautiful interior and some darkly mesmerizing enclaves within it. Best of all, there is an absolutely awesome Irish Pub - Scholar's Lounge -- right across the street from it. Whatever you do though, don't put your feet, or legs, on any of the stools. Don't ask.
Pretty much though, the whole of the second day was a prelude in anticipation to my planned 7:30 dinner at the Traittoria der Pallaro. It was only during this five course "home-cooking" style of Italian food that I nearly saw the face of God. Almost. Dessert was OK but the custard pie was uninspiring. Perhaps, also by this point, I had consumed enough food to feed the average day-laborer pulling a 16 hour shift picking beans with no lunch. Either way, the proscuttio, veal, bread, wine, Italian spiced vegetables in fine olive oil, and everything else were amazing and exactly why I have always wanted to come to Italy.
So that's that. Check out the pics!!!
