In Rome at Last!

Yesterday we packed up the car, tidied up our rental house and headed off to Rome. It was another lovely day and there was not a lot of traffic on the autostrada. Our GPS (gee pee essay in Italian) brought us right to the little apartment we will call home until October 30. It proved to be pretty much as advertised in the photos except for no TV in the living area (there is one in the bedroom), a horde of mosquitoes on the patio and a really musty smell. There are obvious signs of water damage in the ground floor unit but after quite a bit of rain in the last few weeks it seems quite dry at the moment. Hopefully the water problems are a thing of the past. Here is a link to the website of the agency we rented through. The owner lives right next door so there is someone to turn to if we do have problems.


After getting settled we went out to explore our new surroundings. We are staying in a neighborhood north of Rome called Ponte Milvio, about 1 ½ miles north of Piazza del Popolo. It is largely a residential neighborhood but the Stadio Olimpico is not far away.

We walked around the neighborhood checking out the shops, bars and restaurants. Then we walked across Ponte Milvio itself. It is a pedestrian only bridge and was made famous in a 1970s book because two young lovers put a padlock on the bridge railing and then threw the key in the river. Ever since then lovers have been emulating them. I read that this practice was outlawed but it seems to have been impossible to stop. There was a vendor selling padlocks and scads of them attached to anything possible. It really is a sweet practice.

In the river below the bridge we noticed some sort of canoe/kayak competition taking place. The vessels were rather strange looking and the course seemed rather short to me but it was interesting to watch. The water was rushing fast under the bridge and then there was a series of rapids before the finish at a shell house near the next bridge. We watched for a while and then continued walking.

Across the river we headed downstream to the next bridge passing through more residential streets. Crossing back at the next bridge we found ourselves at the complex surrounding the Stadio Olimpico. Right next to the modern stadium was an older track and field complex called the Stadio dei Marmi (Stadium of the Marbles). It was obviously built to emulate the stadiums of ancient Rome and is surrounded by huge statues, each one bearing the name of a major Italian city. The area seemed to be a magnet for runners and walkers. There were even a few families with children playing in the area.

We continued back towards Piazzale Ponte Milvio passing the huge complex housing the Italian ministry of foreign affairs. A number of busses passed by and we tried to figure out where they were going. We were clueless until we bought a transit map along with monthly transit passes. The latter are only €30 each for the entire month. Given the fact that a single ride on the system costs €1 they will be well worth the cost.

We then decided to join the throngs filling the many sidewalk tables along the Piazzale. Four or five bars are scattered around and each had a dozen or more tables for patrons under large umbrellas. We sat down and for €10 enjoyed a glass of wine and the hors d’oevres that were complimentary. This was no peanuts and chips either but very tasty small panini, pizza bites and other morsels.

The “floor show” almost outdid the food and wine. There was heavy car and foot traffic in the piazza (in contrast to an hour earlier when we passed through and it was pretty quiet). We watched people double park there cars and then the drivers of cars on the curb would come out and honk until the double parkers moved and they could get out. The interactions were quite amusing.

After checking out the prices and menus of quite a few places we finally sat down to dinner at an outdoor table marveling that we were eating outside on October 2. Dom did not even have a fleece on. Our meal was good, especially my spaghetti carbonara, but the gelato afterwards was delicious. I had a cup of dark chocolate plus meringue and caramel. The latter had small pieces of crisp meringue in it and I am still wondering how they keep it crisp.

Back at our apartment we settled comfortably into bed and slept very well.

This morning we slept in until almost nine. Once we got going we went out for cappucini and pastry that we ate at a small bar near the bridge. It was another beautiful day and the place was packed by runners and bicyclists who were finishing up their morning jaunts.

We crossed the bridge and then walked all the way down Via Flaminio until we reached Piazza del Popolo. Later we figured that this is about a mile and a half. Some sort of fair was being held in the Piazza so we went up the hill to Monte Pincio. After admiring the view we found a park bench and read the London Sunday Times from last week.

The park was full of people and this proved to be the case everywhere we went. There were of course lots of tourists but it also seemed to be lots of Romans. No doubt the good weather was partly responsible but it also just seemed that lots of the locals were enjoying their weekend. In a city were most people live in apartments it is understandable that they are outdoors whenever possible.

This meant that by 1 pm most of the tables at sidewalk cafes and bars were full up. We finally found a spot (indoors but by the door) not far from Piazza Navona. Conscious of the hovering specter of expanding waistlines, we lunched on salads and water with a side of people watching. In the large case next to us was a dazzling array of pastries. It was a tough decision to forego these but I made a note of the location for a future visit.

Afterwards we walked back to Via Flaminia and hopped on the trolley that would take us back to Ponte Milvio. It was the inaugural use of our transit passes. In the car with us were a number of young men with their Lazio scarves tied around their hips. Lazio is one of the two Series A calcio (soccer) teams in Rome and the game was held at the Stadio Olimpico. From the apartment we could hear the roar of the crowd and, afterwards, the honking of car horns.

We stopped at a different gelateria and tried out their product (scrumptious chocolate and frutti di bosco) before heading back to the apartment for a quiet evening in.