Saturday 14 June: A visit from Penn State friends

It was Saturday, and I had visitors coming! Two friends from the Libraries at Penn State, Jennifer and Sylvia, were on vacation in Europe. They had been to Dublin and Amsterdam, and were now kicking around Italy. Their flight back to the US was Sunday morning out of Fiumicino, so they were coming down to Rome from Tuscany for their last night. They knew that I was in Rome, and had emailed to see if I’d take them around town for one-afternoon whirlwind mini-tour. I was excited to have guests again, so I caught the bus to Termini and met their train shortly after noon. They were staying with someone they had never met in person: Emma, the friend of a friend who had stayed once in Sylvia’s house. By coincidence, I had the same mutual friend (my buddy B) and I had corresponded last year with Emma when I was looking for a room in Rome. In fact, it was Emma who directed me to the web site that led me to my apartment. It really is a small world.

It was great seeing familiar faces again! And the first thing I made Jen and Sylvia do was break the law. It wasn’t intentional: we had money for the bus, and some of the buses on the route we were taking to Emma’s place had ticket machines on board. When we got on the bus, though, there was no machine, and the bus started rolling. I thought, oh well, with my luck, this will be the first time in nearly two decades I’ve been on a Roman bus and they checked for tickets. However, Fortune smiled on us, and we got off the bus without any trouble. We went up a couple blocks and found Emma’s apartment. She has a fantastic place on the upper floors of a building near the Campo dei’ Fiore. Among other things, Emma is an artist, and her colorful canvases and other works decorated the walls of her beautiful and airy apartment. Best of all, she has not one, but two rooftop terraces, one about the other. Amazing views of the rooftops of the Centro Storico! Sylvia and Jennifer got settled in, and then we sat down for a drink with Emma. She’s Australian by birth, and a long-time resident of Europe and Italy. It’s always fascinating to discuss world affairs with people other than Americans, especially when they’re as interesting and well-informed as Emma. She had some work to do, and we agreed to meet her back at the apartment in the evening for dinner. Jenny and Sylvia had also graciously brought along gifts for both Emma and me. I got a box of extremely savory waffle cookies from Amsterdam, and a collection of samples of Irish whiskey from Dublin. I was pretty sure I could put both to good use.

Since we were on foot and only had a few hours, Jen and Sylvia and I decided to hit a few of the most famous and impressive sights in Rome. We walked up to the huge, hideous Victor Emanuel Monument and around it past Trajan’s Markets and strolled along the Forum Romanum. The afternoon sun lit up the marble of the ruins, adrift with wild flowers. The poppies of the spring were now joined by wild borage, and the blue and red blossoms blazed against the stone in the golden light. We walked the length of the Forum and approached the Colosseum. You can’t go to Rome and not see the Colosseum! The crowds were just starting to thin out, and we walked all the way around the huge amphitheater. In need of a snack, we crossed the street and headed in a couple of blocks (you never eat right across from a major monument; the prices are too high). The snack ended up being salad, pizza, and the local white wine Frascati. I had also told Jennifer and Sylvia about my favorite Roman junk food, suppli, balls of mozzarella surrounded by rice and tomato, and deep fried. They were intrigued, so we had suppli as well. Sylvia and Jennifer agreed that they are addictive!

From the caffè, we headed back along the Via dei Fori Imperiali for a look at the imperial forums and Trajan’s Market and column. Heading back into the Centro Storico, I led Sylvia and Jen to the Trevi Fountain. They each made a successful coin toss into the fountain, so they’ll be returning to the Eternal City one day, hopefully for a longer visit! Trevi was filled with visitors as always, and we wove our way through them and out into the maze of medieval alleys in central Rome. Crossing over to the Piazza della Rotunda, we made a quick stop into the Pantheon. The cool, vast interior was filled with late afternoon light from the single opening, thirty feet across, in the top of the dome. Our walk back to Emma’s place took us across Piazza Navona, so Jennifer and Sylvia were able to experience one of Rome’s favorite gathering places.

Back at Emma’s apartment, the three of us joined Emma and a Roman friend of hers for a glass of wine on her amazing rooftop terrace. The sun was getting low, and a nice breeze cooled us as we sat amid the plants, looked over the rooftops, and discussed EU politics and the US election. I love hearing non-American perspectives on these topics! We finally left for dinner at about 9 pm, which is normal for Romans. Emma took us to a great place nearby, where we had a huge variety of antipasti, including breads and grilled vegetables. The food was excellent, and the conversation better. It was great, having dinner with two friends from back home, plus a new friend whom I had previously known only virtually. We all had a blast, as well as some outstanding food and great wine. After dinner, Emma led us to her favorite gelateria for ice cream. It was a perfect way to finish a great day! Being late, I left Jennifer and Sylvia in Emma’s expert care, walked through the Campo dei’ Fiore and across Ponte Sisto, and home to Trastevere, where the evening was just starting up.

This had been a great day! I had a fantastic time showing off the key points of my favorite city to Sylvia and Jennifer, and I think they had fun, too. It was nice to have visitors from home again.