Saturday, March 11, 2017

My Newest Roman Holiday!

Diario di Roma Tre (3)
Saturday March 11, 2017
 Sunny 69°F/21°C in Roma, Lazio, Italia 00143
Buongiorno,
It’s the first full day of my newest Roman Holiday. As you know from reading my earlier Rome Diaries, this is NOT a Rick Steves travel blog.  I spend most of my time OFF the beaten path.
Il Colosseo, Roma
  So, you’re not going to get the latest  scoop on the five star hotels or the newest “foo-foo” resort to catch the fancy of the Zagat Guide. My blogs are more of a survival guide for American travelers venturing out of their native land for the first time. And, in this time of political turmoil, it might be nice to have some alternatives in case Uncle Donald sends you a tweet cancelling your American citizenship. I can’t help but think as I make this particular trip that I am also seeing my vacation journey through the eyes of a potential refugee. Since I am writing this entire blog series from outside of the country, I won’t know for sure if anyone is government follows my blogs until I am asked for my passport a month hence at JFK International in NY. So then…..
After a three hour flight from Austin’s Bergstrom International Airport to JFK International in the Borough of Queens, New York and a five hour layover for a grilled reuben sandwich (pastrami, swiss cheese and kraut grilled on Rye) I spent the next eight hours on an Alitalia flight from NY to Rome in an end seat across the aisle from a colicky infant who screamed all the way across the Atlantic. This was somewhat offset by the kid behind me who expressed his opinion of the screaming baby by keeping time with the cries with kicks to the back of my seat. After I glowered at the tyke over the top of my seat, his mom banished him to an aisle seat at the opposite end of the row. (Most Italians talk with their hands. I don’t know what this little twerp’s ethnicity was, but his feet spoke a language all their own). So, I spent most of the flight with the headset clamped tightly over my ears with the sound off – like earmuffs – while I watched the little cartoon airplane on the video screen in front of me traverse the map of the Atlantic. After a stop at Michael and Laura’s house for coffee and the obligatory Benvenuto a Roma “selfie” with Sofia the family’s black Volpino, we drove over to a il Mercado for a few domestic supplies. The grocery tab including a packet of Lavazza coffee came to about 28 Euros and change ($28.60 USD), which I paid for with a crisp, new 50 Euro bill ($52.87 USD). Michael headed off to work to let me get settled in. He had already unpacked my one suitcase, so all that was left for me was .to arrange the voltage adapters and plug in my laptop and my Sonicare. I awoke two hours later stiff as a board – the effects of Rome’s cool weather on my arthritis, and 14 hours sitting in a cramped Economy-class jetliner suite in my own imitation of a sardine packed into an itty-bitty can.
Obligatory Selfie 
neighborhood close by to get me settled into the sixth floor apartment where I will be staying for the month. We took inventory and then headed up the street to
My first evening was spent with Michael and Laura with a delightful home-cooked meal and lots of catch-up family chatter. Since my first visit in 2005, Rome has become my second home, and I long ago decided that in spite of the language barrier, I would not mind at all becoming an expatriate and settling down for the duration, whatever that may be.  Toward the end of the evening Laura and I made plans to have lunch the next day while Michael went to work, so she could show me around my new neighborhood. I returned to my vacation pad, and shortly after I got home, decided to hit the feathers so Morpheus could sooth my jet lag. When I regained consciousness it was almost noon the next day.
Sometime between my departure from JFK and my arrival at Rome’s Fiumicino International Airport, Laura’s sister, Chiara gave birth to a baby girl, a big first for Chiara and Maurizio. Little Noemi thus made Laura La Zia (aunt Laura) and Chiara and Laura’s parents, Sergio and Annamaria first time Nonno e Nonna (Nonni = grandparents). That makes Michael il zio. But he’s a veteran at being an uncle – his sister has five children – two boys and three girls. So, I am Nonno, too.  Chiara had Noemi in a maternity hospital that is part of the Italian government health system. Unlike many American hospitals which seem to encourage family picnics in the delivery room to promote family togetherness, this hospital was decidedly Old School. Visiting hours are short and strictly enforced. The newborns maybe viewed by family and friends through the windows of the nursery where the tykes are on display for onlay a set time. Noemi was #41 and was five rows back in the gaggle. Nonno, Nonna and la zia are rightly proud of la nipoti.
Sergio and Laura and I left Annamaria to visit a bit longer with Chiara, so we decided to walkespresso. As we left the hospital I asked to take Sergio and Laura’s picture in front of the graffiti which covers the façade of the hospital. This is big city graffiti with a decidedly Italian touch, and only an Italian mind would tolerate any graffiti on the front of any hospital. But, this spray art is special. Instead of LA-style gang graffiti with gang signs and slogans, these scribblings are greetings and congratulations to the newborns and their parents. If this occurred in LA, SWAT would be summoned.
Nonno Sergio e Zia Laura 
across the street for an
It was over coffee a few minutes later that Sergio asked me the question that I most feared, but one that I fully expected, because it is a question that every European is asking every American that they run into.
SERGIO: Cosa ne pensi di TRUMP? (“How do you feel about Donald Trump as President?”)
I thought for a long time, and chose my words carefully before answering the inevitable question. After all, Sergio is family.

MIKE: Non ho imparato abbastanza parolacce in italiano per dire cosa penso di TRUMP! Io ho votato per Hillary Clinton! (I have not learned enough Italian swear words to express to you how I feel about seeing Donald Trump as President. I voted for Hillary Clinton.

SERGIO: Gli italiani hanno eletto Berlusconi. L’America sopram vviverà Donald Trump come Presidente! (Italians elected Berlusconi. America will survive Donald Trump as President).
I just know I will be asked about this many times while I’m on this trip, so I’ll have better polling to report in the near future. But I can tell you this: Italians, who had their own lapse of sanity when they elected and re-elected Silvio Berlusconi, the womanizing media mogul, take our election of Der Trumpenfuhrer as the Great American Joke. But, the Italians, who have seen some 62 governments come and go since World War 2, see our election plight as a mere blip on history’s radar screen, while many Americans  believe that the end of civilization as we know it, is at hand.
It always takes a few days for me to get my land legs back after traveling for 4,000 miles through seven time zones, so I always allow myself time to adjust before any further adventures. That’s why the first few days are spent getting to know my new surroundings, especially since I’m staying in a rental apartment, and not at the Hilton or another hotel with four or five stars. I can’t simply call down and order for room service. If I am hungry and want to eat, I either have to go up the street to the market or il ristorante. So, in a way I find myself identifying with the refugees that are pouring into Italy from North Africa and the Middle East. I know only a few words of Italian. But, I have family here and I know when I’m returning to hearth and home. The refugees don’t necessarily know where their next meal is coming from. It’s a big story here, and I’ll be sharing some of my observations as we go along.
Next time – No Funny Stuff, LIVE at TIFF, and a visit to a famous World War 2 battle site. But, for now….
Ciao,
MikeBo

[Mike Botula is the author of the wannabe best-seller LST 920: Charlie Botula’s Long, Slow Target!  (Amazon Books)  MikeBo’s Blog is a wholly owned subsidiary of his web site www.mikebotula.com ]
© By Mike Botula 2017




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