Kicking Off a Month of Roman Roamin’

I keep telling my significant other that we should pack up and move to Italy! But so far, he’s not convinced. I blame it on the fact that he’s never been to Europe, never mind to Italy — a situation I’m hoping to remedy as soon as feasible. His parents, on the other hand, know and love Bel’Italia and are planning an extended tour through Venice, Tuscany, and the Italian Riviera next spring. I’m super excited for them, but I do have one itsy bitsy bone to pick: His dad dislikes Rome.

What?!

Perhaps Rome, Like Kimchi, Is An Acquired Taste?

As strange as it seems to me, I know more people than I’d care to admit who are not fond of Rome. And it always leaves me baffled. Perhaps Rome, like kimchi, is an acquired taste? Although, on my very first trip to the Eternal City (circa 1998), I fell in love immediately. Totally smitten. No acquiring of taste needed. (Same goes for kimchi, but that relationship goes back to 1986.)

Sure, the city can feel gritty and chaotic. In the summer, it gets unbearably hot. In pre-COVID times, the swarms of tourists at popular spots like the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, Colosseum, and Trevi Fountain (to name a few) could be overwhelming. Cross any busy street, and you take your life in your hands. (Thank the heavens, there’s nearly always a nun, priest, or plenty of lay locals around to lead the way. Watch them cross with confidence in the face of traffic, where vehicles don’t stop, just merely slow down…enough so crossers can carry on unencumbered by these close encounters of the Rome kind.)

For me, these examples are very easy to look past, because…ROME!

[Insert gif of me swooning here.]

There’s just so much more to love than there is to dislike, IMHO. The chaos is bella chaos. The people are expressive (especially with their hands!), easy-going, full of life — and that brings me joy. My first encounter with my Airbnb hosts upon arrival is a great example, but maybe I’m jumping ahead of myself. Let me fill you in.

I’m in Rome!

For those of you who read my last blog post (“Hey There, It’s Been a While!“) and are wondering what upcoming travel I was alluding to, now you know: I’m in Rome! I just arrived, and I’m over the moon to be here! And, yep, it’s a month-long trip. And, yep, I’m enrolled in an intensive Italian language program at the Scuola Leonardo da Vinci that starts on Monday, which is all molto exciting for me!

In anticipation of this trip, I started learning Italian a few months ago, primarily using the Pimsleur language app (which I highly recommend). Currently, I’m about halfway through Level 2. (I’ve completed — and repeated — the 30 lessons that make up Level 1 and am now on Lesson 12 of Level 2.) Therefore, I won’t be going into the local language program as a complete beginner. I wanted to get a leg up and to make the most of what is bound to be an incredible experience.

Day 1 of Roman Roamin’

I’m staying at an Airbnb near the Vatican City, just a three-minute walk from Piazza San Pietro (Saint Peter’s Square), so I’m very pleased with the location. I’ll admit that with all the extra COVID requirements, I’d been tense in the days leading up to this trip. The week before, I kept hearing about European countries applying tighter restrictions on travelers from the U.S., and I worried that Italy might suddenly require a quarantine period or ban American travelers altogether.

Thank gelato, that did not happen.

International Travel During COVID-19?

With my official CDC COVID-19 vaccination card, my EU Digital Passenger Locator Form, my UK Passenger Locator Form (for my layover in London), and my COVID-19 PCR test results (which I took the day before my flight, and which — thank gorgonzola — came back negative), I was good to go! I’d also printed out the Self-Declaration Form for Travel to Italy from Abroad, which I’d read was required. It ended up not being necessary, though. British Airways provided two different versions of that doc on my flight from London Heathrow to Rome-Fiumicino airport. And before landing, we all had to finish filling out the forms — one to submit to the BA crew, another to present to Italian immigration upon arrival.

Long story short, it all worked out — even with all the extra red tape and anxiety. Heck, it went more smoothly than I would have imagined. (Although, those Italian self-declaration forms did cause a lot of commotion — not I, nor anyone sitting around me on the plane, could figure out what-the-heathen they were trying to ask in the very poorly translated document. Could somebody please write an open letter to the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, suggesting they hire a professional translator and native-English-speaking editor to check and correct their forms?) But that’s a story for another day. And it’s a great example of bella chaos…or perhaps just chaos without the bella.

I’m in Rome and All Is Bene

After finally making it into the city with all those travel worries safely behind me, I checked into my Airbnb apartment. As mentioned, meeting my Airbnb hosts was a great example of that expressive Italian spirit I dearly love. My hosts, a husband and wife team, helped me get settled in. The husband spoke more English than his wife, but they were both animated and friendly — a real powerhouse duo. They gave me a tour of the tiny place with its little balcony (and big view). They wrote down the Wifi password for me — after much discussion about what, indeed, the password was. And, they gave me instructions on how the keys and blinds work and an explanation that the showerhead would need to be repaired! (Apparently, the last tenant never mentioned the shower wasn’t working properly, so they realized only while cleaning the place before my arrival.)

But what was so comical to me was that each time they tried to explain something in English, they’d pause to have animated discussions with each other in Italian — just to be sure they were on the same page with their explanations! The wife, Simona, made such a valiant, earnest, caring effort to explain with her halting, limited English (and plenty of hand gestures!) how the not one but two little espresso makers work. How could I not be enamored with the whole lively interaction? After all, this was all very important information (especially the part about the coffee) so how could I not appreciate that effort? I felt (and feel) totally welcome here in Rome. My trip’s off to a great start, and I can’t wait to share more stories and explorations with you.

Ciao, ciao for now. And grazie mille for stopping by! Stay tuned for more Roman Roamin’ coming soon.