Do in Rome as the Romans Do

Italy.blogpost3

Rome is where I got pick pocketed.

Warned a lot, multiple times, but somehow I did not think it was something I have to worry about. I was wrong. It was on the third day, coming back on the subway from Termini Station to our Menzonni, I did the cardinal mistake of getting in the crammed middle car where it was jam packed. I do not remember anything except that on the steps out of the station I reached for my wallet and it was not there. Luckily the money and the passport were in other pockets. What I lost was my driver's license, and cards including the Capitol One card which does not cost international service charge. So all in all it cost me a few hours of phone calls and made me fully financially dependent on my better half for the rest of the trip; and the anger and embarrassment of why me and how come it happened to me.

Later I learned that it is not uncommon. More than one of my Italian patients laughed and expressed their inherent contempt for Rome when I told them about this episode.

That was however the only bad experience I had in Rome. Romans, if that is what the citizens of Rome are called today, are pretty laid back people. Streets are always full of people and like New York, it is hard to separate the tourist from the resident. Sometime it seems that every one is a tourist. Italians in general have an easy going attitude towards every day life, I am told. There is an expression il dolce far niete (the sweetness of doing nothing) The Punjabi equivalent of that would be /thand ay. ٹھنڈ  اے 

It was early morning on Friday May 29th that we landed in Rome after a long direct flight from NY.  You realize at the airport that there are benefits to be a national of EU countries. They have 'fast pass' and everybody else, us included, stand in the longer line.

The weather was nice and the car ride to hotel was a long one. Nicholas, our driver was as good at English as we were at Italian. Later I realized that to be a prevalent issue. Spain is much better than Italy for English speaking visitor. It is better to learn a few words of Italian to avoid unnecessary hurdles.

Riding through the streets and roads of Rome reminded me a bit like Lahore during 70's and 80's, Wide roads, with small cars, many vespas and a lot of trees. Climate is not much different either. Many times in travel around the city you see the city wall. In fact there are two walls. The earlier one is Servian Wall around 7 miles long and the second larger are the Aurelian Walls, almost 12 miles. Tall as much as 32 feet they are almost 3 yards wide. By now I know a bit about the bricks. The smaller the width and the flatter it is, the older and ancient it is.

English names of the cities are not what they are actually called. I learned that in Spain and the same was true in Italy. Rome is Roma. Florence is Firenze, Venice is Venezia (z pronounced as tz as in Nazi), Milan is Milano, Turin is Turino, Naples is Napoli and so on. 

As I mentioned earlier, you see a lot of Bangladeshis, as much as Africans or more. They are competing with each other on how to sell the counterfeit brand name ladies bags, selfie sticks and other visitor paraphernalia.

Traveling by public transport was very easy. There are only two lines of subway which cross each other at the station Termini. The same ticket can be used for buses. Almost no one checks the bus tickets, it seems to have an honor system. One has to validate the ticket on the bus or on the subway for the first time. Cabs we did not use but reportedly do not cost more than 15 Euro or so for an average trip. A good map helps, but one has to know the names, as one place may be named in more than one ways and there may be a difference between what your guide book says and what map reads.

I never visited as many churches as I did in this trip to Italy. They are a fascinating place to go. More tourists than worshipers but still have a sense of quietness and serenity.

After visiting a few must-see places one quickly feels the sense of saturation and information overload. The best way to enjoy the city in the afternoons and evenings is to get lost in one of the many walking streets of  Rome. 

Walk from The Roman Forum to the Piazza Venezia and lounge in the footsteps of Emmanuel Monument. Then either to Trevi Fountaion to the Spanish Steps or to the absorbing sunlight in the Piazza Navona. Or go anywhere, and make your own discoveries.

Walking along River Tiber is an experience in itself. Once known for its floods now it is confined between high embankments and the riverbed is lined by boulevards lungoteveri. It is walking distance from the Vatican and worth a stroll. It has scenic bridges and unforgettable views.

Let yourself be absorbed in the mood of the city. As they say do in Rome as Romans do. As my favorite travel guide Rick Steve points out, if you fall off your moral horse, call it a cultural experience

Next: House of Worship in Ancient Rome, still intact