When in Rome….

Disclaimer: We spent a week in Rome (when we only planned on 3 days). There is a lot to share but it’s probably not what you are expecting. There are very few details of the main city of Rome and its sights, just so you know. Also, please note, this is an extensive entry that might be compared to the length of a short novel, so prepare yourself.

I didn’t read anything about Italy before coming here so I really had no idea what to expect. Maybe the guide books explain to you the meaning behind the phrase “When in Rome” and maybe they prepare you for a bit of culture shock, but as I said, I did not read anything about Italy before we came. If I had to describe the country in one word I would say “Chaos”.

A little bit of simple, loose history: Italy was, until relatively recently, a collection of separate cities (if you will); not a united country. So Italians basically look out for themselves and their family. I heard one description as “The only thing that holds Italy together is the Football team”.  That was one of the first things I learned when I arrived, but it didn’t make it any easier to adapt to the blatantly rude attitude I got with every encounter while navigating the city. So, if you are up for a little more adventure and less convenience during your next trip to Italy, I would strongly suggest staying outside of the big cities. Italians in the big city do not have time to waste on other Italians, let alone pesky tourists. If you stay in a small town about 30 minutes or so from the big city, the odds of the locals speaking English are lower but the odds of finding inexpensive, tasty food is higher and the people are much nicer and willing to try to communicate with you.. Language barriers are nothing a couple of simple words/phrases and sign language can’t fix. We had a great conversation with the owner of a bar/restaurant one night. I’m not sure what the conversation was about because he didn’t speak any English and we didn’t speak any Italian. We figured out some things he was saying (at least I think we did), he gave us a tour of the restaurant kitchen, and then invited us back to have dinner with him and his wife the next night. Sadly, we could not join them for dinner the next night but that conversation (and other small encounters around that quiet town) changed our perception of Italy. It’s the encounters with the people that really make a trip memorable; and that is what we are looking for on this trip.

As I hope you can tell, we are staying in the outskirts of Rome. And when I say outskirts, I mean a 45 minute bus ride up a mountain, outskirts. From the center of Rome we have to take the metro to the end of line A (there are only two lines, A and B) and then hop on a bus to the city of Monte Compatri. It was a bit of a challenge to find Monte Compatri because Italy doesn’t post the names of very many streets and most of these mountain towns look the same (no exaggeration).  But our host gave us pretty good directions so we were able to find his flat without too much difficulty.

In my last post I mentioned that we would be staying with a guy who was remodeling his home. In all fairness, he did warn us that it was a bit of a mess but that he would clear some space for us as long as we were ok with sleeping on a hard surface.  So I’m thinking it should be fine, we can handle a little home remodeling since both of our parents have remodeled parts of the house. Well, remodeling parts of the house would not have been an issue. He is remodeling the entire house at once.  We couldn’t believe our eyes when we walked in and saw a very raw construction site. The floors are covered in building materials from sand and cement to planks of wood and metal poles.  He has ripped off all of the previous drywall to reinforce the original brick and mortar walls with rebar. He has begun to replaster most of these walls but, because he is doing most of it on his own, it is a loooonnnnnnggg work in progress. 

I could describe to you how there is a cement mixer next to a small hill of sand and over a dozen bags of cement in the room where we sleep.  I could describe to you how the boards of wood and metal poles are stacked up along the trail we call a walkway. I could describe to you how the bathroom, which can no longer be called a room, is a space in the back corner of the flat with a partially enclosed area we call the shower, a toilet next to that, and then a bidet where we brush our teeth, wash our hands, and clean dirty dishes. I could tell you the make shift kitchen is complete with just enough space of two people to stand next to each other in front of the camping stove, and that there are no cupboards or drawers but it doesn’t really matter because he only has a few dishes to use and reuse each day. I could tell you that we are sleeping on a plank of board in a loft type area (he has made) that we have to climb a latter to (which is a little too short). And I could tell you that every room, including the roof top terrace is covered in construction materials and swimming in a constant cloud of dust. But nothing I could say would capture what its like to be living like this for a week, let alone the 8 years he has been doing it.  

…..Although, I might venture to say that the spectacular view from his terrace is worth the sacrifice of comfort.

Like I said, we were only planning to stay for 3 nights, and at first sight we didn’t know if we would even be able to hack it for that long.  If it wasn’t for his wonderful personality we probably wouldn’t have stayed. But Patrick, our host, has a heart of gold and has been as accommodating as he is able. We have enjoyed our morning tea and toast with him as well as late night pizza binges. We can also thank him for our new friends from Vancouver, Washington, Jennifer and Sam, who were staying with Patrick as well when we arrived. They were sleeping in the same situation just a different loft area in the next room.

On our first night there Patrick took the four of us to a secret restaurant. It’s a secret because the laws in Italy are a little messed up, especially the taxes on businesses. Basically, they tax businesses so heavily that most start ups need to charge high prices to accommodate for the cost of doing business, but high prices don’t bring in much business. As a result, small businesses don’t have much of a chance for survival. The man who runs the secret restaurant actually makes a living refurbishing things. His love for cooking and entertaining guests led him to open his shop to people for dinner on Saturday nights (but only if he lets you in). It also gives him a chance to show off his work, as the seating area is surrounded by various beautiful pieces he has refurbished. We enjoyed a delicious traditional four course Italian meal, complete with desert and a drink to help with digestion (for just €10). Several large groups were there celebrating various occasions, which set a happy mood, and was later accompanied by 70’s music when one of the cooks played the part of amateur D.J.  It was the perfect atmosphere to break the ice and get to know Patrick, Jen, and Sam. Just for the record, they all get a big stamp of approval.

We got along great with Jen and Sam so they offered to take us sightseeing the next day. We spent that day seeing various places in Rome. We braved the infamous bus route 64 which is supposed to be a hot spot for pick pockets because all the tourists ride it. We hopped on hoping to see a little pick pocket action but by the time we reach the next stop we were all too crammed inside the bus to even reach our own pockets. It’s amazing how many people can pack into a bus or subway car. I was pinned up again the window to the driver (who brought his little girl to work that day) while Jen and Sam where backed up against the isle way wall and Randy was pressed up next to the door which he had to move for every time it opened.  What an experience. I wish I could have taken a picture but I couldn’t move my arm enough to reach my camera.

 We went to Pompeii with Jen and Sam the next day, which was such an amazing place to visit and probably my favorite on the trip so far. I had no idea Pompeii was such a large city with so many buildings still intact. We only got through about half of the city in five hours before we had to call it quits because we were all exhausted.  We saw the famous brothel they show on the Pompeii National Geographic special. Throughout the city there are penis carvings on the walls and the cobblestone streets to point the way to brothels so the men didn’t have to ask for directions (or so I’m told). There are tons of ancient snack bars around the city, especially near the arena and amphitheaters. We saw some huge estates (and smaller houses too) that still had paintings on the walls, beautiful fountains and statues, and mosaic tiled floors. There are still several vineyards on the property that are kept up and currently ripe with plump purple grapes on the vine. Ancient Pompeii always welcomed dogs so the organization that keeps the city today has kept that tradition alive. There are several friendly stray dogs roaming Pompeii that are available for adoption. You can find them everywhere; from playing in the grass in an old temple to sleeping in an old pot base. Very cute! The eerie part of this trip was when we came to the plaster casting of bodies, which were in the position each person was in when they died. There was even a plaster cast of a dog’s body. It is so sad to see some of the agonizing and frightened poses some of them left. How scary it must have been to experience such an event.

The entire experience of exploring the city was almost surreal.  There was an underground tunnel which I really wanted to explore but it was cut off to the public.  We did get to look down an old well which went down much farther than we could see. It makes me wonder how much of the city still lies below.  Simply amazing.

Later that evening Jen and Sam hopped the metro to the airport to head home. Randy and I headed back to Monte Compatri where we stayed for a few more days. I ended up coming down with a cold while we were in Pompeii on Monday, so on Tuesday I slept most of the day. I don’t know what was worse, the sinus pressure or the lack of a soft and comfortable surface to lie on. Randy helped Patrick take care of some things around the house.

On Wednesday I was feeling a little better so I went out with Patrick on his Vespa to get some groceries. Well, I don’t know what happened during that ride but the rise and fall in elevation put too much pressure on my ear and it plugged up. By plugged up I mean I can still hear but its muffled, like when you climb elevation quickly and you need to pop your ears. The only difference is that my ear wouldn’t pop and it started to hurt very badly. Of course, this was the time that Patrick realized his Vespa had a flat and I had to wait an hour for him to get tools and change the tire. By the time we got back to his flat I was laid out by my ear. After a lot of aspirin and a heat pack strapped to my ear I managed to get the pain to stop.

Thursday Randy and I were determined to be useful and helped Patrick around the house. Randy helped him with some plastering while I tried to organize the kitchen area. On Friday we wanted to wake up early (5a.m.) and help with the grape harvest (Vendemmia) in the nearby vineyards. Once we found out how muddy and wet it would be, from all the recent rain, we decided it wouldn’t be good for my cold to be out in those kinds of conditions. That was the second grape harvest we have missed. We really wanted to help with a grape harvest when we arrived in Europe. But we missed the one in France shortly after we arrived because we had reservations to be in Austria, and now we missed the one in Italy because I got sick. Maybe we will make it another year. Since the vendemmia was out of the picture we made plans to do some more sight seeing in Rome.  By the time we got around and down to Rome, we got about an hour of speed sightseeing in before we had to head back up the mountain to Rocca di Papa. We met Patrick there for the Chesnut Festival, where we ironically ate no Chesnuts. We did, however, eat some very tasty Italian food at a restaurant that one of Patrick’s friends was opening. Patrick brought two other friends with him who grew up in Germany and we enjoyed some hilarious conversation with them. One was Italian and one was German but they both grew up in Germany so they gave us some insight on the difference between the two countries (Italy and Germany) and some tips for our visit to Berlin. We left for Berlin early the next morning. 

That is how we spent our week in Rome. I’m sure we could have utilized our time a little better but we are mostly happy with the results. We have seen some really fascinating things in Italy and we had a chance to really learn about the culture from people who live there.  We will make an effort to come back to Italy when we are older and have money to see the country in true tourist fashion.

Pictures from Pompeii:

Pictures from Montecompatri:

Pictures from Roma: