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Published: November 10th 2006
Well, maybe not. But we can all dream ... and I can think of much worse ways to spend your 30th birthday!
The approach of thirty had caught me a bit off guard. Always used to being the young one, I started to feel a bit old when we moved to London and I befriended some spring chickens at the ripe old age of 25. Things just continued to get worse as I met more and more people who I presumed were my age, only to find out they were also in their mid-twenties. Eeek! I decided that ignoring my turning of age would be the best tactic, but husband dear would have none of it!
Some things never change with age and I am still as indecisive as ever (which I do like to blame on the fact that I am a true Libran!) so I was very pleasantly surprised when Andrew decided to make an executive decision and book a surprise trip away to celebrate my birthday weekend. Once I suppressed the control freak in me I began to really enjoy leaving over all the decision making to someone else and having everything organised for me. I
felt very spoilt to be treated like such a princess and the envy of my friends also helped this! Unfortunately for poor Andrew a little email from home just a few days before the weekend put a stop to the surprise ... as one of his client's said: 'You amateur - you should have known better than to tell your mother!'.
So, the day before my birthday it was off to Rome. After a blissful morning off work (I've decided my goal for the next decade is to be a lady of leisure 😉) and a lovely chat with my friend Emma in Sydney we set off to the airport and were whisked south to this imposing, ancient city. We arrived quite late and after checking into our hotel, a quaint little place surrounding a tiny courtyard sandwiched between the Pantheon and Piazza Navona, we made our way through the cobblestoned streets to a highly recommended pizza bar. It was so popular that we had to wait in line for a seat ... but the wait was worth it. We settled in to our cosy table for two set out on a paved street with a bottle of red
wine and two of the best pizzas I've ever tasted. We sat late into the night eating, drinking and watching the crowds walk past. After the conservative crowds of London it was quite a treat to people-watch the eccentric Italians enjoying their Friday evening. We tried our hardest to walk straight past the gelati bar on the way back to our hotel but resistance was useless. And it was officially my birthday by this time anyway!
Saturday the 14th October finally arrived and we woke to a crisp, sunny morning with not a cloud in the sky. Unfortunately there was no phone in our room and I could not get my phone card to work in the public phones so I didn't get to talk to any of my family on my birthday which was a bit disappointing. It is hard to be so far from home when you are marking such milestones. The little black box containing a pair of diamond earrings did cheer me up though! I couldn't believe I had been so spoilt and every time I look at them they remind me of Andrew and Rome.
Having seen most of the sights in our
whirlwind one day tour of Rome in 2001 we decided that this weekend we would just soak up the atmosphere and try to discover our own parts of the city. We spent the morning walking through the Piazza Navona and on to the Capitoline, one of Rome's seven hills that overlooks the Roman Forum and is topped with a piazza designed by Michelangelo in the 1530s. This site also holds Rome's City Hall and this morning it must have been welcoming some famous guests because there was papparazi and enthusiastic fans everywhere. We could well have seen someone famous walk past us but we wouldn't have known who they were.
We wandered along the banks of the river down to the local foodie area, complete with its own market ... selling not only enormous tomatoes, glossy purple eggplants, huge strawberries, fresh fish and crispy slices of pizza and sweet treats, but also loads of Italian leather shoes. This was my kind of market! The jostling Italian women and piles of shoes did seem a bit too much like an effort for my birthday so we bought some strawberries, pastries and pizza slices and wandered to the local park for
a picnic lunch. The sun was shining brightly and it was quite warm by now which made for a nice change as the weather in London had started to turn slightly Autumnal by now (a fab word which I have picked up from the English weather broadcasters if you have not heard it before ... it always reminds me of Mr Tumnus from The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe!). Peeking through the trees was the Pyramid of Caius Cestius which he had built as his own tomb between 18 and 12bc. Now that's not something you stumble upon everyday! It was lovely to sit there and watch what the Romans do on a Saturday afternoon away from the tourist hordes. We walked back towards the centre of town, passing on our way the Hippodrome, the Colosseum and the Roman Forum.
Although we had already been to the Fontane di Trevi and the Spanish Steps on our last visit I felt the need to pay them another visit, so we fought our way through the ancient paved streets, which are now lined with the most expensive designer stores and absolutely teeming with people. The area is very beautiful and
atmospheric but by now I was feeling a bit tired and jaded at having to fight the crowds (I get enough of that every day in London) so we found a quiet coffee shop and sat down for a drink. The coffee was amazing .. I had grown accustomed to the coffee in London and forgotten until now just how bad it is! On the way back to our hotel we walked past what is reputed to be one of the best icecream shops in the world so of course we couldn't walk past without testing its credentials. Yum! And we did wander into a shoe shop or two!
That evening Andrew had booked us into a lovely restaurant called Il Convivio Troiani which was in a tiny little side street just around the corner from our hotel. The decoration was very opulent and old fashioned and you even had to ring a door bell to be let in. We decided on the degustation menu which was made up of seven small courses chosen by the chef. Our waiter was very welcoming and funny and was more than happy to let Andrew have an alternative dessert to the chocolate
one which was part of the set menu. He did however turn up his nose at the choice Andrew made and promptly recommended something else, which turned out to be delicious! We finished off the evening drinking port at an outside table of a little bar set right in the middle of the square containing the Pantheon, with the most amazing view of this imposing building lit up against the dark night sky. I think this was made even more enjoyable by the fact that splurging at venues such as this was something we could just not afford to do when we went backpaking around the world. It doesn't get much better than this!
Sunday was another sunny perfect day and we started the morning at one of the city's best coffee bars, which was minutes walk away from our hotel. We had a streetside table in the fresh morning air and drank coffee and tea (for those who don't appreciate the good stuff) and ate yummy pastries. From here the day just got better as we discovered what I think is the most beautiful part of Rome with a much more local and laid-back feeling away from the
hustle and bustle and crowds of tourists.
One of the most amazing things about Rome is that around every corner there seems to be another beautiful atmospheric square decorated with an incredible fountain designed by Michelangelo or Bernini, or adorned with a 3000 year old Egyptian monolith. This morning the squares were full of Romans going about their lives, enjoying a Sunday morning coffee, buying their Sunday paper or fresh flowers from the local stall or walking their dog. We wandered to the river and across the bridge to a tiny little bustling market selling jewellery, scarfs, records, soap and other trinkets. Around another corner and along another cobblestoned street we came to Piazza Travestere where a painting at tiny little art gallery caught my eye. We went inside for a closer look and met the artist who explained all his paintings to us in his basic English. His paintings were beautiful and his stories so sweet that we couldn't leave without buying a print to remind us of our visit.
This area was called the Travestere and reminded me of the Marais area in Paris. It was our favourite part of Rome and we were so glad
we came back and discovered it: we often think that we shouldn't go back to a place we have been before but sometimes it is worth it!
We continued walking up a small hill to a fountain nearly as impressive as Fontana de Trevi that also had a great view out over the city before making our way back down to a busy little Trattoria in Travestere for lunch. The Italians really do know how to live. The long, lively Sunday lunch with family and friends, comforting food and good red wine is such a good way to spend the day and we enjoyed being amongst the friendly, cosy atmosphere.
After lunch we walked along the river - which I have to say is very disappointing compared to the likes of the Seine. It could be really lovely but is quite disused, dirty and has been made a home by many homeless people who have spread their belongings out over the side walk (but hey, I guess they have to live somewhere!). We stopped to look in awe at the Castel Sant 'Angelo, an enormous cruise-liner-like cyclindrical tomb that was built between 123-139AD by Emporer Hadrian (of Hadrian's
Wall fame), which was later turned into a military fortress. It is such an imposing and bizarre looking structure that I couldn't believe I had not heard of it before. We continued along the river and past the top of the city's major shopping strip - which I successfully managed to keep myself away from!
We spent the rest of the afternoon in the expansive Villa Borghese park. It was once again a lovely sunny afternoon and the park was full of families with children riding their bikes, couples strolling slowly along the road, young people playing football or lying on the grass, old men playing boules and people laughing as they rode past on the motorised carts you can hire to drive around the park - it is really that big! The park is dotted with beautiful fountains and statues, like the rest of Rome, including a 'Globe Theatre' (a replica of Shakespeare's Globe on London's South Bank) and the art gallery Villa Borghese. We sat in the sun and people watched, strolled through the gardens and had fun playing with our camera in front of Villa Borghese. It had such a relaxed atmosphere and was a great
way to finish the weekend.
We strolled back along a big wide boulevard that reminded me of the Champs Elysee and through countless more piazzas and ancient monuments and fountains before farewelling Rome with an icecream on the steps of the fountain at the front of the Pantheon. Bliss!
I should really end the story here as this is where things went a bit pear-shaped but nothing can spoil the story now. After waiting forever for a bus to get to the airport bus station we squeezed onto a bus so full you had to breath in to get on (and I thought the tube was bad) and Andrew had to foil an attempt by a pickpocket to remove his wallet from his trousers. Our already late plane was delayed by more than an hour and we finally made it home to bed about 2.30am for a few hours sleep before the week's madness began again. You wouldn't want to do it every weekend but for a special occasion it was worth it!
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Mum Virginia
non-member comment
Wow
I especially like Andrew's arty photo and him with the busts in the park. What a great birthday, wandering a famous city is such fun.