Traveling Tips

After spending seven weeks in Rome, here is some general advice I have for the fellow traveler (particularly those spending at least a couple of weeks in one location).
1. Develop Some Routine: cappuccino every morning, pasta from the same lunch place, dinner every Tuesday at Cave Canum. Having something you look forward to and having a sever who maybe knows your order is comforting when you are somewhere where everything else seems unpredictable.
2. Your Health Matters: drink plenty of water, you need to stay hydrated, and it helps keep you stay regular :) Eat your fruit and veggies, bring the allergy medicine you might need, sleep enough. In seven weeks, you'll need every trick in the book to stay healthy.
3. Travel Well: invest in a good map and buy a couple of bus tickets just in case it rains, or you shoe breaks, or there is some place far you want to visit. In my opinion, if you always have a good map and an emergency ticket you'll feel a lot better about taking risks and exploring someplace new or walking a little further than your usual destination.
4. Watch Your Money, But Try Not to Worry About It: do some budgeting before you leave or you might spend a lot more than you plan, but also realize that plans change and maybe a trip to Almafi is worth it even though it wasn't in the budget. In my opinion, try to do breakfast and lunch on the cheap side (or even at home) and maybe try to have a nicer dinner out a few nights a week, rather than a cheap meal every night. House wine is pretty good, especially the white, but maybe splurge on a good glass of red once in a while.
5. Be Safe, Not Scared: close your purse, keep your hand on your wallet in close quarters, pay attention to where you are. Rome is a safe city, but there's no need to test things..
6. One Bad Experience Won't Kill the Trip: something will go wrong, maybe something small, maybe something major. In the moment, it won't be fun, but maybe later it will seem like it was. Don't worry if something isn't perfect, you will have other experiences too.

My Nemesis

According to the Knopf guide of Rome, my nemesis is the Herring Gull. Every night, he competes with the traffic, the loud dog next door, the yappy dog down the block, and the random signing drunks to wake me up the most. To be fair, Rome also has the black-headed gull, but I think that the Herring Gull is really something special. For a rather limied sample of his voice, check out the Cornell Ornithology Lab. The link doesn't capture his laughing, catlike, or baby type sounds, which are particularly creepy late at night. To be fair, Dr. Benson has reminded me that at night the gulls often swarm above the Vittorio Emanuele Monument and it can be a rather magical sight. But, in my opinoin, it is also reminiscent of Hitchcock's The Birds! This little arrogant guy hung out on the Trevi all morning.

New Favorites

Rome has several catacombs. The last time I was here my attempted visit to them failed, and I had two failed attempts earlier this trip. But today we finally made it. The main ones are out on Apia way, and it's an easy bus ride to them. Although the area is not far, just outside of the original walls of Rome, you find yourself in pastures with country villas, and the Saint Callixtus catacombs are located in a park like area, with winding paths, and bikers and runners. I'm not sure if it was a because of our guide (P. Owen Mason; he was outstanding), but our tour particularly stressed the religious elements of the catacombs. He explained how many of those buried there were martyred "witnessing their faith" (ie, killed because they were Christian) and how the site was a secret holy place for early Christians in the 2nd and 3rd centuries and later an important spot for pilgrims (9th century). Being shoved between various tour groups all striving to take some posed picture in the Pantheon (or any other location), whose behavior seems unholly, one sometimes forgets how Rome has been a religious tourist destination for two thousand years. Our guide today was a priest (at least I think so, he had a collar, but my knowledge of Catholic practices is limited) and it was interesting to have a reading of a tourist site so clearer grounded in religion. Obviously the site itself invites it too. But our guide also made sure to convey that we shouldn't see the place as sad (there are over 500,000 tombs, many to children) or scary (over 20 kilometers of dark, weaving passages), because for Christians death is not the end and indeed many of the symbols found in the catacombs stressed peace, salvation, and reunification with loved ones. It's a nice perspective, even for a heathen like myself.

The site is a great, quiet destination, close to the city. The grounds are grassy, peaceful, and bucolic. The catacombs themselves are interesting. But if one needs another reason, visit the catacombs because being twenty meters underground also drops the temperature and it is comfortably chilly.

Old Haunts

In an effort to escape the scorching Roman heat, I headed out to Trastevere, the area I lived in the last time I was in Rome. Breeze off the Ganiculum often softens the heat, and overhead trees along the river and those lining many of the streets drop the overall temperature by at least a few precious degrees. Trastevere is often filled with tourists, but its mostly a hot night spot, for dinner and drinks, and Friday during the day its mostly empty. My mission was to find the Corsini Galleria. Located on huge grounds filled with trees, the museum is rather small. For four euro, though, it's less expensive than many of the larger museums, and one gets to spend some almost intimate time (the museum, even on Friday, was largely empty) with a particularly beautiful Caravaggio. Taking pictures is not allowed, and this image is from Wikipedia. Afterward, I winded my way back through the streets to the many cafes and enjoyed some lunch with the various ex-pats (this one English) who tend to inhabited the trendy region of Trastevere.

Tourist Guilt

At the beginning of our trip here, time seemed endless, and now as we have merely a matter of days I have to be more selective about what I get to do in Rome. Here is when tourist guilt particularly sets in. What have I been doing these past six weeks? What haven't I seen yet, what are those places that everyone who visits Rome hears about and always means to see? And I am also torn by questions like what is worth seeing again and which of my favorite places should I go back to? In this last week, I will try to frame my entries to respond to these questions.

Global World

When one thinks of cities, one often considers its international factors. New York is a space of food, shopping, and entertainment from around the world. London too is seen as an international city with a variety of communities and food from allover, particularly its former colonies. Rome too had its colonial ambitions, but the city is cast for tourists as essentially Italian and little else. But with an official population over three milllion, Italy is home to people throughout the world, especially Africa and South East Asia. Pockets of African and Asian jewelry and clothing shops, and Indian and Asian restaurants (primarily Chinese and Japanese) are undoubtedly seen throughout the city. In the streets above Merulana and near Termini (by Piazza Vittorio Emanuele), you'll find one such pocket, where one can buy Bohemian crystal from a Bangladeshi, Black Indian Silver from an Italian, and enjoy Korean food prepared by Koreans. As if Rome wasn't already an overwhelming city with all its great Italian food, wine, and traditional leather goods, there are all sorts of other styles and tastes available just around the corner.

Where to Get Away

If the speed, noise, and endless bustle of the city have you looking for a break, visit one of Rome's many parks, such as Villa Celimontana. On a late Sunday afternoon you'll find it packed with Romans, many with a bambino or two, or at least a small dog. Some have brought various games, some are singing, others just nap in the afternoon sun. Many have brought entire tables and picnics with full roasted chickens and grilled veggies. Bring yourself a blanket and settle in the grass to either people watch or follow the parrots as they fly from the high pines trees with building materials for their nests in the palms. You might catch a familiar word or two in English, but for the most part the park is also tourist free.

The Gatti of Rome

Throughout Rome you will find it's little guardians, the gatti. Stray cats are prominent throughout the city, and you will often see Romans leaving little plates of food out for them. Two places in the city specifically cater to the stray cats, the sanctuary at the Protestant Cemetery and the sanctuary at Torre Argentina. Both places see the cats as guardians. The sanctuaries are different, and the one at Torre Argentina runs a rather sophisticated charity which spays and neuters strays and adopts out former pets. The Protestant Cemetery has fewer cats and they generally seem less feral; more seek out attention. They appear to have been primarily former pets rather than street cats. This photo is of a particularly friendly little cat from the Protestant Cemetery. Of note: should one be concerned about any threat from these cats, Rabies is essentially non-existent in Italy. If they approach you, it's just because they're friendly. To read more of the history of cats in Rome check out "Go Europe".

Where to Park It

This weekend and last taught me a couple of lessons about hotels in Italy. Certainly one can (and perhaps should) use major search engines such as Expedia, but I have learned a couple of important lessons. Read the reviews! Should you pick the cheap place anyway, at least you will know that you need to bring earplugs to deal with the noise. Make sure you are clear about whether or not you will be sharing the bathroom with other rooms--I take private bathrooms as a given in the States, it's not here in Rome. But my biggest piece of advice is pay close attention to the location of a hotel. "In Sorrento" can mean a twenty minute bus ride from the town, and your lucky if the bus is regular or even an option at all. It isn't always clear where the central area in a town is, or if the central area is even what you want to see (because maybe it's "old town" or some other section), but the more informed you are going into it, you're probably better off.

Amalfi Coast

Come to Italy and everyone will seem to mention the importance of visiting the Amalfi Coast--they're not wrong. While a good half day trip from Rome, it's worth a visit. We stayed in Sorrento, about an hour train ride from Naples and a rather bustling tourist destination (although mostly Brits). Tourism is really the only game in town, and there are countless hotels, restaurants, and cheap souvenir shops. Sorrento is much quieter than its neighbor

Naples but still has the lodging and food options to make it a good hub for your Amalfi adventures, especially if you are doing things on the a tight budget. The streets wind high into the hills, giving you great views of the surrounding citrus groves and turquoise ocean--they will also give you strong calves.

An hour ferry ride will also take you from Sorrento to Positano, an even more picturesque hill town. Smaller and more uniformed, its buildings feel almost carved out of the hills. Bright purple and fuchsia bougainvillea spill over terraces and hibiscus, birds of paradise, and amaryllis stand out sharply from white walls in their terracotta pots. Pasitano is also slightly more upscale than Sorrento and you should expect to spend another 20% or so on your food--although it seemed worth it. The town has galleries and upscale boutiques and the tourism feels directed to a wealthier class. It also feels a little like shopping at the Northern Oregon Coast. A half day in town seemed sufficient to wander some beautiful shops, take in a great meal, and realize that no one in town seemed be selling a simple cappuccino from the bar or have a little green grocery or market to make a basic meal of bread, cheese, and fruit. Positano was a beautiful place to visit, but felt a little out of my league.

Just a Small Town Girl

Rome looks so unlike any American city that sometimes I forget that it is in fact a city. However, today was the Festa della Repubblica, and much of the major roadways have been closed this week and particularly today for the events and people came from all over Italy to celebrate in the city. Life in Italy explains: "June 2nd marks the day in 1946 when Italy voted in a referendum to abolish the monarchy and become a republic. Support for the monarchy had plunged because the king of Italy had supported Mussolini. So hostile was the public, that the royal family was exiled from Italy forever as punishment." Events included a bike race that ended in Rome on Sunday and a military parade today. Both these events made traversing back to me home, which is just past the Coliseum and thus major road ways, extremely difficult. Many stores, places to eat, and even the metro were also closed, making everyday details a little more difficult. Traveling tip: pay attention to the major holidays!