A Few Things About Rome

Like any place there are some good and some not so good things here. To me, Rome is both fascinating and frustrating. It's a complex, scruffy yet stunningly beautiful city. I don't love it, but Rome and I are developing a very meaningful relationship.

Lunch from a little visit to the market.

Shopping in markets is a joy. For example when buying meat yesterday I found the butcher to be really helpful, we had a long chat about how he should cut the beef for me, and how I should cook it. The fruit and veges are so fresh and cheap, and you can get great bread and cheeses too. Our daughter and her husband stay loyal to a particular vendor for each type of food - so we aren't supposed to shop around, for example, for the cheapest mortadella. The stall holders all talk to each other too, so it pays to stick to the plan. Competition for the veges must be fierce as I noticed about six different stalls within their small local market.

Some of the older ladies take ages to buy stuff; yet no-one seems to rush them. They talk about each item, then check their list, then chat about something, then buy the next thing. It took us ages to get some bread this morning as we ended up behind two nonnas!

Trying to get official things done is a nightmare. It is hard to understand the unwritten rules here, when to wait, or when to push forward. And the office hours are all over the place. Inexplicably closed on certain weekdays, or only dealing with one particular type of enquiry in morning sessions. Usually you can't ring and make an appointment either - you just have to take your chances and be prepared to wait, often for a long time.

A line-up for the protest

People watching is great fun. We had to get off the tram one day because there was a big political protest going on outside a government building. Thousands of people lined the steps, some wearing red caps and holding placards. We watched the carabinieri arriving in vans and lining up with their shields. The protesters mingled in big groups, chatting amicably and trying on each other's hats or talking on their mobiles. It all seemed rather pleasant, except for a bit of booing and hissing at one stage when an official went through.

Where our daughter lives

For us the best thing about visiting Rome is seeing where our daughter and her family live - an apartment in a good residential suburb on a hill called Monteverde, only about 20 minutes walk into the centre of Rome.

The best cafes ever

They have at least two great nearby cafes where we pop in for our morning cappuchinos (only 1 euro, who said Rome was expensive?) This morning we tried some pastries with a sort of light lemon cream in them and a ricotta and dark chocolate tart. Delicious.

Nice building, no tagging

We love going into the city and just wandering around and looking at the buildings and the people. We found a whole street selling church vestments the other day, and then we went and sat in the Pantheon one more time and marveled about the biggest dome in Rome.

But sometimes the tagging is awful, not clever at all, and we can't help but notice the rubbish and doggy dos left in the streets. But then we come across a sparkling little shop selling antiques or paintings or well designed shoes and we start to love it all again.

Lizzie