It is funny, it feels like the semester has just begun, and yet the end is unfortunately right around the corner for me.
What can I say about
Rome?
Well, when the name of the city is mentioned, it no longer feels like a distant country, but a place that once was my home.
The tastes of
Italy have certainly pleasured my taste buds and I officially think that I can say that I am addicted to this place.
No where else have I been so much further from what I know to be home, but yet can still find myself at home.
The attitude of Italy has been an intriguing one at that, where the pleasure of life comes first (besides the passions of Italy: Religion, family, food, wine, art, architecture, and fashion). It is a great feeling when you find yourself drinking a glass of wine or eating a gelato in a piazza and the sights, scents and sounds collide to create an indescribable moment that you can experience every night right outside your door. Who can complain when nights are full of great food that would cost a fortune in the states, coffee that makes Starbucks look worthless, the sexy descendants of Roman gods using the street as their live runway show, and where wine is the same price as bottled water?
Here in Italy it feels like every person plays a character in an old black and white film. Each personality is so unique and distinct, that you find yourself falling in love with the characters and attitudes of the locals that you search for everyday. In the Campo di Fiori where I was privileged to live in I will certainly miss all the market venders: The older woman in the white truck who always gives me the best cheese and salami in the world, who always calls me “bella” when I walk up to her and gives me a huge smile. Or the spice man who stands right outside my door everyday with his tables full of spices where he encourages you to always smell the spices and see his scrapbook of all the restaurants around the world where he sends is items to. Or the old man with spectacles in the corner bakery who has the gentlest of faces and smiles at me when I come in, or his younger co-worker always smiles (laughs) and waits for me to place my order for bread in my poor Italian. Oh, and who can forget about all the musicians in Campo, the 10 year-old violinist who plays his heart out everyday after school, or the 4-6 person band that plays the same set list everyday, and their bassist whose strings are made of gimp. And who can forget the really bad mime, or should I say, horrible? I just love to watch people watch him and observe their puzzled faces as to what he is trying to mimic. Oh, how I will miss the Campo.
I am enamored with the idea that I can walk anywhere in the city and find myself walking through centuries of history, that I can literally touch. (And yes, I have given the Pantheon a fair share of hugs). Walking around the city is a true delight. I purposely lose myself in the back streets, to find a new church, or another alleyway that is lit by the sun so perfectly. I guess it is the little Caesar in me feeling as though I have conquered Rome in some manner. I have seen how much I have come to understand space and my appreciation for architecture and design has increased a huge amount while here. While visiting all these spaces and buildings I find it odd that I have seen so much, but I have seen only a small fraction of what is considered to be some of the world’s greatest architecture. At this point I am on such a high that my skin is the only thing keeping me from going everywhere. I know it is a good thing when I am in a building or piazza looking at a structure and I catch myself smiling. I get the strong feeling that I have certainly taken the correct path with my career choice.
The city has increased in its tourist population, but the lovely thing about it is that I do not feel like a tourist at all; I am home. Rome is a city that has evolved into a city for the pleasure of the senses and no mere photo can recreate that, or even attempt to. I can only now glance back on Rome with fond memories and look forward to my return back to my second home; I will certainly always feel that way about Rome.
