Roman Holiday

The renter of a piccola casa in Toscana says to his Italian landlord/maintenance guru, 'There is no hot water in our shower,' and the landlord/maintenance guru says, 'I'll take care of it.' The renter says, 'How soon?' The landlord says, 'Today or tomorrow.' Renter replies, 'Today would be better.' The landlord states, 'Today is impossible.' (Doran's- 'The Reluctant Tuscan')

After reading this passage in a book by Phil Doran who, along with his wife, came to Italy to purchase and fix up a house in Tuscany, I laughed out loud. I have been in Rome now two weeks and one day and can see this way of 'getting things done,' is both frustrating and hilarious. If you can manage to not let this style get the better of you, you can see the humor and general simple pleasure in the fact that, in Italy, sometimes nothing is more important than enjoying a nice long passeggiata, a great cup of coffee or il sole on your face. Coming to this country as a general type A personality, I maybe leaving a lesser intense type. And for this, my heart and health thank me in kind.

This weekend had the making of Roman Holiday with one of my favs Gregory Peck and one of my Dad's favs, Audrey Hepburn. On date two walking around the awe-inspiring Pantheon, this dome to the heavens, I learn, is the largest of its kind in the world. With a center opening in it's roof welcoming the weather. Rain escapes through small drains in the marble floor and as with all things Roman, this building is simply amazing. Giampiero (date for evening) and myself sneak a peak thru the slightly ajar, enormous, bronze doors as the structure is closed at this hour. I press my cheeks on the cold, antico, (ancient) surface and think how many people have gone through them. GP shows me, near where I am pressed, what looks like large dents in the bronze. He thinks they are from military personnel during WWII. And 500+ years ago Michelangelo is said to have stood perhaps where I am standing when he proclaimed the building was of, 'angelic and not human design.' AMAZING!

We exit from under the darkness and surrounding granite columns and head in the general direction of the cafes, nearby, where Peck and Hepburn sat for a drink in Roman Holiday. I sip a red wine and Giampiero, Prosecco. And like Peck's character, Joe Bradley, Giampiero is already scheming. We have walked too far he says and we need to take a taxi. He begins to talk with a cab driver nearby on the street and before long the two appear to be arguing, voices raised. Some time passes while I pretend to be none the wiser until the two Romans seem to finish with their bravado and have become fast friends. We are then off in the taxi with this 'new amico.'

Next stop, Piazza Navona, one of my favorites. It is here that I can gaze for hours at Bernini's "Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi" or "Fountain of the Four Rivers." The incredible detail of the man who respresents the Nile, with towel over head, is incredible. I never tire of looking at him.

Then onto nearby Campo dei Fiori for 'cin-cin' a toast with Prosecco. (from Valdobbiadene, which I'm told is the best - produced in Veneto) Tastes just like champagne! Topped off with delectible snacks like mozzarella, oregano paste and tomatoes in a glass. It's delicious and nutrious?

We run into some of friends of Giampiero and I struggle to remember their names, beautiful and Italian. Nowhere else in the world, I think to myself, can a very handsome, masculine, man be called Ameliano (Emily in the States) and have it sound and seem perfectly fitting and natural.

Last stop, overlooking the Tiber on a bridge near Castel Sant'Angelo where GP tells me the Italian pronounciation is, Tevere. I commit this to memory.

When our date comes to an end GP asks me, for the fourth time, why I sometimes don't answer my phone when he calls. He is not happy with this and I can see where the Roman man is used to getting his way. I tell him, for the fourth time, that I rely on expressions, body language and eye contact a lot and that talking on the phone, without these things, in a language I'm not used to puts me at a disadvantage. (Or at least I say something equivalent, I hope, as GP speaks almost no English.)

Like the renter in 'The Reluctant Tuscan...' Giampiero tries to confirm once again, 'Will I try to answer the next time he calls?' 'Yes, I will. Tonight or tomorrow,' I answer. 'Tonight would be best,' he adds. 'Impossible,' I reply.

Maybe I'm turning a bit Italian, afterall?...

Ciao tutti! A domani.