Arrivederci, Roma (at least for a few weeks)

After last night’s torrential rainstorm, I was hoping that today would be sunny. Well, it was for brief intervals between at least five more drenching downpours. After my Italian style breakfast (cafe latte and a cornetto), I ventured out for a stroll of some of the nearby iconic landmarks. From the hotel, it is a short walk to Piazza Navona, a pedestrian-only zone with the famous baroque Four Rivers fountain designed by Bernini. However, there was no drowning Catholic cardinal in the water today (remember the movie, Angels and Demons, based on the Dan Brown book?).

Overlooking the fountain is the church of Sant’Agnese in Agone, designed by Bernini’s pupil and eventual bitter enemy Borromini (note the irony!).

The best time to see Rome is before the hordes of tourists begin arriving around 9:30 a.m. With the dreary weather added to the early hour, it was almost deserted and oh so peaceful – no buskers, no one trying to sell Pashmina shawls ( most decidedly not made in Italy), nobody trying to pawn off a plastic whirly thing that shoots skyward only to disintegrate upon contact with terra firma.I especially enjoy veering of the main piazzas and streets to explore little negozios (shops) and rediscovering places I have previously visited (like one of my favorite trattorias, Da Francesco).

From Piazza Navona, it is quite a short walk to the Pantheon. Most tourists, however, miss the wonderful gem of the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi with the Caravaggio paintings of Saint Matthew.

The Pantheon, built in 27 BC by Marcus Agrippa, was originally a temple dedicated to the gods but now serves as a Catholic Church as well as containing the tombs of Raphael and several kings of Italy.

It is known for the oculus at the dome, the only source of natural light.

By this time, the crowds were emerging and the raindrops started falling with greater intensity. On the way back to the hotel, I stopped in a little shop to purchase a pair of socks and practice my Italian with the elderly shopkeeper. My addiction to bookstores was evident with a second stop – Feltrinelli, a bookstore chain similar to Barnes and Nobles. Of course 98+% of the books were in Italian, but I did purchase a copy of “Piccole Donne” by Louisa May Alcott) – yes, “Little Women”, which by the way was published 150 years ago! Since I have read this book numerous times as a child (and saw the movie versions with Kate Hepburn from 1934 and June Allyson from the 1950s), I am quite familiar with the plot. So I might be able to read it in Italian and understand most of it without Google Translate!But don’t you just love the Italian version of the updated cover! So who is using the Dr.Dre headset – Meg, Jo, Beth or Amy????

The afternoon was a very special time. I haven’t seen my late cousin’s daughter in 20 years – the last time was in 1998 when she was a university student in Rome. Serena has been living here ever since, and with the help of internet and social media, we have re-connected. It was such a joyful reunion and a blessing to see her again, and to meet her partner Francesco!

The Sicilian DNA predominates as I resemble her mother, my cousin. After a wonderful pranzo (lunch) at a trattoria, we strolled by many of the landmarks of the Eternal City – the Spanish Steps

Trevi Fountain (newly cleaned!)

and the Monument to Vittorio Emmanuelle

before we parted ways. I was able to practice speaking Italian (Serena is fluent in English, but it was a great opportunity for me and I believe she and Francesco understood me most of the time!). We will be seeing each other again when I return to Rome in a month.

Since I had some time to kill before dinner, a visit to the hotel’s rooftop terrace sounded enticing since it wasn’t raining. A couple from Harrisburg, PA was enjoying a cocktail up there and we spent quite a while chatting about our travels. Of course it started raining again (actually it was another downpour), almost flooding us out. But the sun reappeared and they headed off to dinner and I took another lap of the Piazza Navona. Of course it started raining again and I headed for my dinner reservation at Cul de Sac, an enoteca (wine bar) that I last frequented in 2012 while visiting my daughter here during her semester abroad. The interior has not changed, nor has the varied and excellent wine selection. A local wine (Frascati) , pasta Siciliana and melanzane Calabrese was on my dinner menu, later to be topped off with the minimum daily requirement of a gelato con panna (ice cream topped with unsweetened whipped cream) after I walked back to the hotel in a (guess what?) torrential rain!

Back at the hotel lobby, I started a conversation with a couple about to start a Rick Steve’s tour I a couple of days. And they happened to be from my hometown! It truly is a small world. We compared RS tours and our experiences in Rome.

After a long (and somewhat emotional) day, it’s back up to the room to pack up for the next stage of my Italian adventure – tomorrow I’m taking the train to Salerno. A domani!