10-13 September 2022
We drove from Serra back to Rome using Waze to navigate. Three years ago, Waze was sketchy in Italy, but it has improved, so Robert will no longer need to bring the Garmin navigator. Robert did have one hiccup on the drive back: at the toll booths, he entered the telepass lane. No paper ticket, although he is sure they photographed his license plate. Ticket to follow . . . .
The weather in Rome is cooler. Today, 12 Sept, the high is 87 Fahrenheit. But, when you think of it as 31 Celsius, it feels cooler. (BTW Bonnie does not agree.)
Rome is much the same as in 2019. There may be a few less tourists, but our cousins do not think so. Americans are everywhere this week. Credit cards are more widely used, and most city stores use touchless payment. (No pin necessary although the gadget may request it.) This is not true in small stores outside of cities, where cash is the norm; in Serra Robert always paid cash for morning pastries. Covid masking is a mixed bag in Rome. On the bus, about forty percent wear masks; in stores less than that; in the crowded Zara store in central Rome almost none.
We took several excursions into the center of Rome. The first by car with Luciana and Adriana Mollaroli; the second by bus. The car ride from the cousins’ apartment on a Sunday took only thirty minutes; bus on a weekday about an hour. The bus is 1.5 euro for a ticket that lasts 100 minutes. The new buses are very clean and lightly air conditioned. Going in, about half full. Coming back at rush hour, quite crowded.
10 September 2022
11 September 2022
12 September 2022
11 September 2022
Fashion
The September fashion issue of the women’s magazine Grazie features clothes in neon colors—a huge change from the head to toe greige/taupe they featured three years ago. Rinascente, the Bloomingdale’s of Italy, is already selling these colors, and a woman wearing fuschia and turquoise sat next to us at lunch.
In central Rome near the government buildings, dozens of men wear dark blue suits or sports jackets, white shirts (maybe light blue), a simple tie, and black leather lace-up shoes. Absolutely no variation seems possible. A few blocks away, the mature professional men are still in dark blue, but possibly with dark sneakers and a black backpack. A few Roman men now wear shorts, which we never saw in the past.
Sneakers rule. On everyone of all ages. There is quite a bit of variation in style, although more fashion conscious men and women prefer white.
I Cibi
Our routine has become having a large meal 1-2 pm, followed by a ”lighter” meal 8-9 pm. Robert is still figuring out what works with his new diabetic constraints. Not eating a lot of pasta is one of them!
Hawaiian Poke bowls (raw fish, vegetables, etc. on top of rice) have emerged as a popular dish in restaurants. Riccardo Marchesin mentioned this during his visit to San Francisco last month. Robert thinks they need an Italian spin, with angel hair pasta instead of rice.
We have not been using any restaurant guides. We just walk and look.
11 September 2022
