Day 64 When in Rome

When you think about it, there are many sayings that mention Rome. Probably the most famous is the saying “When in Rome do as the Romans do.” We were excited about getting to Rome and consistent with our trip’s philosophy we were keen, to not only see the sights, but experience a bit of what it is like to actually live in Rome. With quite a bit of research and planning we found and booked an apartment to rent. It was advertised as being in walking distance from the station and also to the major sights. Compared to hotels, the price was very reasonable and we were quite excited about staying in ‘Walter’s Studio’.

When we arrived there were a couple of surprises. Firstly we buzzed the doorbell and were ushered into the building by Walter himself. It seems that this 60 year old man, who lives alone in his studio apartment, is letting out his place for the first time – and he seems more nervous than us. Nonetheless he shows us around his place and then heads off for 6 days to his country retreat.

The second surprise was that when we went for a stroll around the neighbourhood later in the day we found that this part of Rome is not quite what we expected. It seemed that there was more Indian and Pakistani being spoken around us than Italian, and curry seemed to be more common than pizza. The streets are lined with cheap jewellery and sunglasses shops and we have a building supply store next door. Still this is modern Rome and, like most modern cities, it has a diverse ethnic mix.

Finally after unpacking we visited the local supermarket, which again was a real treat. Local pasta, cheese, coppa, ice cream, bread and baked pork filled our trolley. On the way back to our place we saw a sign outside a street side ristorante that really made us laugh–“Turistic Menu”. We are much happier when in Rome to do as the Romans do (rather than the Touristico’s).