On Monday we had two long art history presentations that involved walking all over the city in the intense heat. Afterwards, I was immediately in a rush because I was supposed to meet up with four of my middle school teachers for dinner at 6 PM (an ungodly early hour for dinner in Rome). The restaurant was over near the Campo, and we were now at the top of the Quirinal hill, on the other side of the city. The group was stopping by the Trevi Fountain to toss in coins (in order to ensure a return to Rome) and then getting treated to gelato by Lisa, but I had to toss my coin and run. Taking off from the Trevi and dashing throught the streets of Rome, I had absolutely no hestitation about which streets to turn on. I even took a shortcut past the Pantheon (never pass up an opportunity to go past the Pantheon) and made it to the Campo in record time. I haven't spent too much time alone in Rome, but navigating my own way across the city on side streets without a second thought was definitely a milestone. While I may not have looked like a local, at least I felt more knowledgeable than the average tourist. At dinner I was struck by the differences between my experience and that of the group of teachers on a tour of Italy. They had 3 days to spend in Rome, and I had 5 weeks and still feel like I haven't seen enough. Actually living in a city, in an apartment, buying food from the grocery stores, and generally rubbing shoulders with Italians is so infinitely superior to living out of a suitcase and struggling to pack as many famous sites into one day as possible. Of course, this place would come to feel like home only days before I leave!
No comments:
Post a Comment