'Stumbling Upon' in Rome

On this trip to Rome we had a vague idea that this city had so much to offer and we had only seen just some of the tourist highlights. Wow, by day 2 we SO knew that was true.

We had previously stayed in a location close to the Termini central railway station for convenience, but this time we opted for an apartment we found on 'AirBNB' which was close to the Vatican and in an area not so populated with hotels. This choice proved to be better than we could have imagined.

Day 1 we stumbled out of the apartment in search of our first Italian ritual, the morning 'cafe latte' in a local bar with a 'bomba', a doughnut filled with a lovely creamy custard. As we settled in on the street and watched the local Italians start their day, we knew we were back in our second home. Carabinieri with their red stripe down the side of their black trousers called in for a smoke and coffee; impeccably dressed Italian men and women everywhere engaging in spirited conversations.

We could see the ancient walls of the Vatican right there, so we decided to wander over - why not? As we entered the Piazza outside the St Peter's Basillica you can't help but get a feeling of awe and excitement. This place in my experience has the most impressive piece of architecture and human endeavour I know of. The design, the scale and the grandeur of it all takes more than one visit to fully appreciate.

A good humoured crowd was coursing towards the in bound security and we decided to join in. Inside the wonder of the place impacted us again, just as in the past. Thousands of tourists were accommodated with ease. The splendour of the architecture - we just had to soak it up.

Next stop was a complete contrast with some lunch at a cafe beside a pedestrian crossing. Traffic in Rome has been accurately described as being similar to rocks in an avalanche. I had re-familiarised myself with the recognised wisdom of how to cross the road, even on a pedestrian crossing - "stride purposefully across, but ensure you get eye contact with the driver and they will stop for you". I laughed as I watched a local pick up a panino and saunter through the avalanche stream across the pedestrian crossing. It simply parted around him enveloping him until he reached the other side, completely unperturbed, nonchalantly consuming his panino all the while!

As I watched I also recalled how the car horn is so much more of a multi function device in Italy. In my native culture it is used pretty much solely to express displeasure at another driver's behaviour or occasionally to say hello to someone you know. In Italy, it does have these uses, but SO much more including a polite, "I'm here, less than 1m beside or behind you" and "I'm happy" and many more emotions of life. Consquently, the horn on all vehicular transport is in constant use!

That evening, we wandered around looking for a place to eat and again 'Stumbled Upon' Dino and Tony's Hosteria. As we indicated we would like a table, the owner separated two tables that lined the street for us. We had not sat down too long when an Italian couple sat down at the table next to us.

Nek minute, the owner re-appears, leans over the table and pronounces "Rosso o bianco; frizzante o naturale?" in a loud voice, right up close to my face! Heaps of assumptions here!! Firstly that we understood Italian, secondly that we would like wine of one of two colours and thirdly that we would like some water as well! Fortunately Kathy responded in a heart beat with our choices, which satisfied him and he disappeared. He reappeared with what we could call a milk jug full of house wine and a bottle of water. "All'antipasto ci penso io" (I'll take care of the antipasto). Somewhat overwhelmed but amused we meekly assented to this. No menus anywhere. When approached, our Italian neighbours selected their wine and water options, but when asked about the antipasto, they responded with a question - "what else have you got?" This was taken with considerable offence by our host who asked why you wouldn't go with the fabulous choices he had on offer! Undeterred, they pressed him until he thumped a brief menu in front of them. They ended up giving in and having the antipasto anyway.

Our neighbour winked at Kathy as his wife perused the menu. We poured a glass of red wine (which was chilled) and he asked what the wine was like. "Possibly the worst wine we have had in Italy!" responded Kathy!! He had a good laugh and told us not to feel pressured - some chance!

Blam! Our first plate of antipasto thumps down on the table. As we begin to sample the quite unusual selection of unidentifiable deep fried items, blam! A plate of prosciutto and salame, then plate three, a pizza, landed on the table.

As we consumed the overflowing antipasto platters, we realised that ALL the patrons of this restaurant were Italian - a good sign - and we struck up a conversation (or Kathy did!) with our neighbours that was very interesting. We were just like the guys at the luggage carousel at the airport (see earlier blog entry).

By this time we had made our way through a couple of plates of pasta we hadn't ordered either and had begun to bravely say 'no' to all the other directions from the restaurant owner. Also by this time he had become our friend and, with his arm around Alan's shoulder, was offering to sell us the Pope and the entire Italian Government for only 800,000 euro if we promised to take them all away from Rome.

Our table was cleared and a bottle of Limoncello was plonked on the table with four glasses, as by this time the people at the next table were also friends and we were exchanging contact details. "The Limoncello is on me" said the owner, and "you'd better have some more of that" when our glasses were empty. We thought we'd better call it a night and so did our neighbours. Tony the host brought his invoice book over and said "i have no idea what you all had apart fom the antipasto, can you tell me?".

What a great night.