Rome: DAY 14

FOURTEENTH DAY

September 26, 2005

The contrasts between life at home and life abroad continue to be a source of some surprise to me even though I knew it or know it from other times in Europe.  Sunday is a day that every small shop is closed.  Most restaurants are not open, and the supermarkets are only open in the AM.  In Italy that is all true, but and in Rome, that is a big but - there is a flea market at the Porta Portese that must be several miles with countless stalls and hordes of people all milling about.  I estimate the crowd at over 50 thousand walking around buying everything from used Jeans to Motorcycles.  The street vendors alone make it a difficult place as they clog the center of the walkway with their fake Prada purses, Rolex watches and mechanical toys.  As we were walking by a clothing stall, Kim forced me into the space and said I needed a sport coat Italian Style if I was to fit into Rome.  Forty-Five Euro later we were back on the street, I am a new man.  Kim bought a scarf which all Italian women over thirty wear.  My son Buddy always says Flea Markets are where people come to trade each other’s junk with each other.  Maybe, but lots of people must be trading lots of junk.  Luckily, no pickpockets tried to take our wallets, as the crowd was deep and very pushy, lots of jostling and shoving.  Not my cup of tea, but we went once.

With no real restaurants open we walked into our neighborhood hunting for a bar.  We landed at Pizzeria Arrostica la Legna.  If only fast food in the US was so good.  Because of the time 1:30PM and the fact that no places are open, the crowd at the counter was three deep.  I waited until finally a guy asked me what I wanted or I think he did.  I pointed at the Roasted Chicken, Greens and asked for due Coca Cola Light.  He walked over and quartered a chicken, grabbed the greens and sliced up the bread and we were in business for about 10 Euro.  Besides being fantastic, it was quick, cheap and pleasant.  We sat at an outdoor table and really, it was one of our better meals. 

Later after returning to our home on the hill, I went with one of the Fellows to an Alberti exhibit at the Capitaline Museum.  Albertti was a 16^th century genius who was first a philosopher and finally an architect and one of the original restorers of old Rome.  His drawings of various parts of antique Rome are seminal for every architect who comes to study in Rome.  The Fellow I was with, Janna, is studying that very period and she was an outstanding guide.  There were lots of old manuscripts in the show, which were both paper and skins and beautifully decorated.  The view from the Terrace of the museum is one of the best in Rome.  It will be a great place to take friends for a drink.  Busses and walking, busses and walking, more on the motor scooter wars tomorrow.