It was what one could only call a romantic moment in Rome. And I guess it raises the question whether you have to know the person(s) you share that moment with. I didn’t. Know them. But, it was a shared moment that turned strangers into intimates.
I had just arrived that morning. An overnight flight with very little sleep. I exercised my “get-rid-of-jetlag technique”: stay outside, never stop moving and stay awake until “their” bedtime.
I mixed that with my favorite foods: lots of caffé, un gelato (tre gusti — 3 flavors: panna cotta [obvious taste], Baci [like the Italian chocolate candy] and a wonderful flavor called Nonna’s choice [unique combo of rich vanilla, orange & pine nuts]). A small rectangle of pizza with zucchini flowers and cherry tomatoes (circles are left for personal pies — otherwise pizza here comes in slabs and you gesture when the pizza man gets the right measure of pezzo di pizza).
On about the 7th hour of constant walking, I decided to head to the Piazza Farnese — a charming piazza — and order a glass of vino bianco. In Italy, cocktail hour comes with at least 2 plates of snacks: chips, nuts, olives, bruschetta — house choice.
Suddenly, the sound of the water from the fountains in the Piazza Farnese was amplified, four-fold.
It was pouring down rain! A storm as sudden as the velocamente patter of the children in the square.
And here I sat — in the perfect place under the cafe umbrella. Just a misty hint of the storm on my face when the wind shifted. It was magical. And, yes, just a little romantic.
Benvenuta a Roma. Welcome to Rome!
Janet Eats 