CONIGLIETTO = BUNNY

Shoot. In my last post from Umbria I forgot to include a ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY so at the end I will give you two.

Where am I now? I am in Napoli and it is Easter. After two weeks in Umbria I headed to the big city of Rome. I had an Argentine friend there trying to get her Italian passport. She saw me on Facebook and said COME TO ROME FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY. I did but she could not connect to me. We will have to wait until Buenos Aires to reunite and have a very belated birthday toast.

Having changed my plans to arrive a few days earlier to Rome and then be without housing with Laura had me scrambling to find a host or hostel. I wasn't too panicked. I came up with Plans A through E. I have learned that when something comes up you just take care of it. Not just in travel but pretty much everything. I put a post on Couchsurfing's Emergency Couch forum and was contacted by Marcello, a cyclist, volunteer EMT, karate instructor, runner and all around straight laced honest guy. He met me at the station in Rome on my birthday, got me settled in my own little room, introduced me to his two Russian roommates (girls studying in Italy for a year), handed me the keys and a pile of maps and off I went to the catacombs nearby. It was a perfect introduction to Rome outside the historic touristy area. 

Friday was another fantastic day. I dressed in layers and peeled them off as the weather got warmer and warmer. I had taken a subway into the Colosseum stop very early as there was a transportation strike beginning at 8:30 am. This is my first photo of the old city as I emerged from the station.

It felt quite surreal to me. My last visit to Rome was 33 years ago. I was amazed at how much the Colosseum had shrunk. In fact the whole city shrunk. I think the vast amounts of tourists dwarfed things. Thirty years ago there were definitely less tourists. You could actually go to the Trevi fountain and take a photo without a ton of camera totting foreigners getting in the way of the shots. I am so glad I was here before the onslaught but still if I had to find one word for Rome it would be IMPRESSIVE. There are layers upon layers. You take a photo of one thing and another is peaking through your frame and that really is IMPRESSIVE.

Into my fifth hour of walking I was down to my second layer. I had been thinking, “What a great day for a motorcycle ride.” My cell phone rang and it was a Peruvian couchsurfer living in Rome with the afternoon off from work and a motorcycle. He came to pick me up and we went to the beach. I have never thought of Rome as a beach area but it does have beaches and sailboats.

On Sunday I joined a group of Marcello's fellow GEOCACHERS at a lake, the one by where the former Pope now lives, the summer residence. And Monday Ii was contacted by a Swiss war correspondent living in Rome for 25 years. He also had seen by SOS. Though I did not need a place to stay I told him a tour would be nice so we met early in the morning and I was taken by car high above the city  We then visited some nearby lakes.  Of course I had a lunch of porcetta.

The story beyond the story.  The accordion player counts his change while the lovers count their kisses.

Rome was pretty busy for me but I was done after a week. Easter meant locals leaving the city to spend the weekend with family in other regions of the country.  I lost my couch in Rome but I did find a decent hostel in Naples. I also made a new friend. Valeria is also a couchsurfer close to my age. She has a photograph news agency. We had dinner the other night at her home.  I ate my first rabbit. I am not sure how I feel about that having raised them as pets as a child. Well, I will get over it. Valeria has also invited me for Easter dinner with her family. It will be a typical Neapolitan menu. I will sleep there tonight. I already have an amazing cake from the bakery. It is sitting here next to me. When the rain stops I will head over to her place with my backpack and cake. I am really looking forward to it.

So that is it for now. I am out of time. As promised the ITALIAN WORD(S) OF THE DAY - PASQUA = EASTER and CONIGLIETTO = BUNNY. Enjoy!

PS  I like Naples.  While Rome is impressive Naples is gritty and chaotic.  I don't want to make this post too long.  Perhaps I will write a separate article.  I feel as if this is where the Argentine Italians came from.  (Maradona just left the other day.)  People are so friendly, boys play futbol at cocktail parties while the girls in their high heels act coy, people are louder and they talk with their hands and yell, and the men catch your eyes in the streets.  Yes - I feel my Argentina here.  I so wish I had brought my national rugby shirt.  Perhaps I can find a little flag to sew on my day pack.  Valeria tells me that I would be hugged everywhere I go in the city.  Saluti!