My friends Carolan and Andy are going to Rome for the weekend. I am very jealous of their Roman roamin'. Although it has given me the opportunity to commit that heinous crime against puns.
I haven't been away on a wee trip like that for ages - a few years ago I went away to Budapest for four or five days - it was marvellous. What a grand city, the feeling of being part of something with such a rich legacy, faded grandeur and chipped glamour. It's so wonderful to be able to spend time somewhere else and let it soak in, like a long bath. A weekend probably isn't enough to do Rome justice, but then it is full of Italians so you don't want to be there too long.
I spoke to Carolan yesterday on the phone - I wanted to know if she actually knew what the Romans do. I've looked. It's practically a law that you have to do as they do but nowhere is there any particular guidance as to what Romans specifically do. Not even the CIA website, which is normally so helpful, can aid you in this futile quest.
Perhaps the Romans do normal things, like walking around, going to work, eating stuff - those I've been practising for a goodly while. They might do other things, like rifle shooting on a Thursday night, self-flagellation, chugging espressos - those I would need some notice for to be on top of my game.
I'm guessing, though, that if it's a hard and fast law there would be some sort of guidance available at the airport. At any rate, I'm hoping if we ask very nicely that Carolan will put lots of cool pictures on her marvellous blog for us when she gets back.
58 minutes ago
Oh Sam I'm terribly sorry, I'm only just catching up. I think the photos are still on Andy's camera, but as soon as they're not, I'll put them on my blog pronto. Damn, I was trying to be witty there, using some Italian, but I've just checked: pronto is an Italian word, but it means ready-made. Pronto in the prompt sense is Spanish.
ReplyDeleteI did wander around observing what it is the Romans do so that I could do it too. They do quite a lot of different things, but notably they drink very small, very strong espresso (which I was happy to do too), they rip off tourists (I didn't manage to join in), they sell umbrellas on rainy days and sunglasses on sunny days (I didn't have any umbrellas or sunglasses to sell) and they drive in a terrifying manner (I didn't have a car with me, do you think it's too late to try it now I'm back?).
I can't remember, have you been to Rome, Sam? I know you've definitely been to Italy ... can you explain about crossing the road? The green man says you can cross, but cars continue to drive through the pedestrian crossing (which even has black and white stripes on it, it's definitely the right place to cross). Was I doing something wrong?