Arrivederci Roma

Our time in Rome has come to an end.  It’s been a great three months and we’ve enjoyed every minute of it.  We’d love to stay in Italy but since we were refused a Visa we’ll have to get out of the Schengen area for 90 days before being able to come back to most of the EU countries.

If you ever get to Rome here’s some of the things we think you shouldn’t miss…

1. Best Catacomb: Saint Sebastian (Appia Antica Park)
2. Best Necropolis: Saint Peter (Vatican City)
3. Best Museums: Vatican (Vatican City), Borghese (Borghese Park) and Capitoline (Capitoline Hill)
4. Best Palazzos: Doria-Pamphili and Colonna (Both are Near Piazza Venezia)
5. Best Gelato: Ciucculà (Near The Pantheon)
6. Best Cappuccino: Polveriera (Near Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli)
7. Best Budget Restaurant: Carlo Menta (Trastevere District)
8. Best Scenic Overlooks: Giardino degli Aranci (Aventine Hill), Terrazza del Pincio (above Piazza del Popolo) and Janiculum Hill (Near Faro degli Italiani d’Argentina)
9. Best Churches besides the four Major Basilicas (you must see these too): Basilica di Santa Prassede (near Mary Major), San Luigi dei Francesi (near Piazza Navona), Santa Maria Sopra La Minerva (near The Pantheon), Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri (near Piazza del Republica) and Basilica San Vitale (on Via Nazionale)

During our stay we learned a lot about this society.  In no particular order here are a few of the observations that we’ve made…

1. There is no such thing as a schedule.  Any published timetable is really just a suggestion.
2. All restaurants, including small mom and pop pizza stores, make everything entirely from scratch.  There are no ‘Sysco’ trucks that deliver prepared foods here.  The food ranges from terrific to wonderful.
3. Smoking is still very popular in Roman society.
4. Romans uses military time.  Personally, we prefer it.
5. Latin is everywhere.  Even on modern buildings and monuments the inscriptions are written in Latin.
6. When exasperated they really do say, ‘Mama Mia’.
7. Peas are really good here.  They’re firm and sweet.  Even Deborah likes them.
8. Roman’s eat lunch and dinner later than 12:00 and 17:00 respectively.  Many restaurants will not be fully prepared to serve at those times.  14:00 and 19:00 are much better times for non-tourist centric restaurants.
9. American style shopping malls don’t exist.  Large department stores are few and far between.
10. Many common items like vitamins and aspirin are only available in drug stores.  The prices are insanely high.
11. Much of Rome’s economy is based on tourism.
12. Beware of ripoffs.  Besides the well known street hustlers and pickpockets store owners and taxi drivers have been known to take advantage of unsuspecting tourists.  You have to be on guard.  We’ve managed to avoid any issues.
13. Most of Rome observes the siesta.  Many churches, restaurants, shops, etc. are closed from 14:00 to 16:00 every day and most everything is closed on Sunday.
14. Romans cannot deal with words that do not end in a vowel.  Usually they’ll add an ‘AH’ sound at the end of such words.
15. There is a massive amount of art in the city.  Some of it is in museums.  A great deal of it is in the churches.  Many of the palaces of great families like Borghese, Colonna and Doria-Pamphili still have incredible private collections.  Fortunately they are open to the public.
16. Modern Rome has very little in the way cultural arts.  The visual arts are well represented but there is almost a complete lack of performances in music, opera, dance, theater, etc.
17. Rome is a great place to walk.  Yes, there are many hills and walking on cobblestones can take some getting used to, but most of the main attractions are close enough together to make walking very practical.  In three months we never took a taxi and used the buses only occasionally in futile efforts to save some time.
18. There’s good gelato and better gelato.  There’s no bad gelato.
19. Pastries and desserts usually contain very little sugar.  Very few foods are actually sweet.  Roman’s prefer dark chocolate over milk chocolate.
20. Drinking a cup of coffee while standing at the counter will cost about €1.00.  Drinking that same coffee while seated at a table will cost 2-4 times as much.
21. It is normal for restaurants to add a service charge to your bill so it is not necessary or usual to leave a tip unless you are in a very expensive restaurant.  If you want to show your appreciation leave a couple of Euros on the table.  American’s find it difficult to leave without tipping.
22. Bernini is everywhere in Rome.  You can find his hand in sculptures, fountains, paintings, frescos and architecture at every turn.
23. There are no straight roads in Rome.  Most streets are small, winding labyrinths that twist and turn in many directions.  It’s easy to wind up far from where you intended.

Our next stop is Sofia, Bulgaria.  We plan to stay for six weeks before moving on to Varna, Bulgaria.  We’ve never been to either place before and have no idea how we’re going to deal with the Cyrillic alphabet.  It’s going to be a challenge.

We love seeing your comments on the web site.  Thanks for all the kind words and suggestions.