The del Balsos are in Rome

We just arrived in Rome and spent the day walking around and immersing ouorselves in Roma! What a difference from France (or Germany or the UK for that matter)! Here everything just comes at you in waves of smells and tastes and language and TRASH! I've been here maybe 10 times for short stays, mostly on business. Every time I leave with a sense of having been welcomed with open arms. The people you meet just want to help you find what you need or want. There's a strong sense they feel sorry for you that you don't live here and they just want to help the less fortunate.

In France, Germany and the UK everything (or as much as they can manage) is neat and organized and cared for. The paradigm is the neat English or French garden or the German window box. There is also a sense that the visitor is less fortunate, but the effect is more one of disdain than welcoming (NY has some of this sense too).

We are staying in a small Inn near the Spanish Steps (about 10 feet!). It's charming with a lovely roof garden for breakfast and evening cocktails. It's very centrally located in walking distance from all of central Rome and the night noises make us feel like we're in our own apartment. We're on the Via Condotti (the Madison Avenue of Rome) which begins at the Spanish Steps. It's a Saturday and the hordes of tourists are somewhat disconcerting. Everything in Rome is all jumbled up together. You leave the Via Condotti and turn a corner and you come upon the Panthenon, built in 40BC(!) and still open to the public! Another block or two and we're at the 16th century Piazza Navona filled with artists, fountains and cafes (and benches!) then turned the corner and came to the Campo del Fiore (60 BC) where there's still a market every morning. In between these major sites every block was filled with little shops and interesting buildings. Romans still live and work in all these neighborhoods. Chris, of course, had to look into every shop and building along the way. It takes a long time to get anywhere but what great way to see the city.

We're here for only three more days before we go to Paris and are thoroughly enjoing ourselves. It's a real change from New York and Paris. This is like standing in a waterfall with sensations crashing out at you from every direction.

September 15, 2007