...lend me your ears. Or, at least, your eyes. Wanted to share my snaps in bits and chunks (otherwise, it's overwhelming). First, the reentry into Rome, which was painless, thanks to my lovely friends Gianni and Federica, who not only hosted me at the beginning, but made my bed every night and drove me around Rome on a motorbike, which was scary at first, then heaven. It felt amazing to explore old streets, favorite sites but mostly just to be back again and say hi to the local shopkeepers, cafe servers and the like. (Who remembered me! I wasn't just the invisible American tourist.) (My friend Sarah did the same at the end--it was so nice to feel as if there are people who care about me (and who I care about) in Rome.
A few thoughts on Romans:
1) When it comes to cappuccino making, they are efficiency experts. Even after all this time, I marvel each time I have a morning cappuccino and cornetto con marmalatta at the speed and grace skill of the people behind the counter. They whip up cappuccino instantly (no funny names for the coffee or inflated prices), slide freshly baked, heavenly pastries on to trays, and whisk it all away when you're finished eating (standing at the counter, the way Italians do). The perfect commuter breakfast. I guess it's not healthy, but it feels so...Italian. I haven't figured out why they're so good at the morning rush hour, so efficient, yet when it comes to doing things like mailing a letter or making a bank transaction, there seem to be a scary number of unnecessary bureaucratic and time wasting and Kafka-esque factors at play that make the experience anything but efficient. And in America, it's the opposite: Going to Starbucks is a Kafkaesque experience: Paying tons of money for bad coffee with funny names, served by people who usually don't quite know what they're doing, yet everything else is super efficient (compared to Italy). Why can't we have the same kind of primo cappuccino making here? Why does it taste so much better there? Thoughts?
Ciao--
Paola
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