Rome: Random Observations

Drivers in Rome are surprisingly courteous. While I’ve seen a few hand gestures (not nasty ones) thrown at other drivers, as soon as I step into a pedestrian walkway, all traffic amazingly comes to a stop. It’s incredible. I’ve tried using the tip I read somewhere – to cross the street in a group and preferably with a nun, but even when I cross on my own, they stop.

Italians know how to eat. That’s pretty obvious, but I thought I’d say it anyway.

My question is why they are not fat. I see very thin women walking around with humungous cones of gelato with large dollops of whipped cream. Where do they put it?

Rome is in need of a good bathing. I love the rustic buildings, but there is a lot of graffiti and some of the older marble buildings could really be cleaned up. Just a thought, though I guess all of the dirt and scarring kind of add to the charm.

Tourists add to a place economically but subtract a lot in terms of atmosphere. It is hard to appreciate the beauty of something like Trevi Fountain or the Pantheon when it is jam-packed with tourists all posing for pictures in front of it. I’m as guilty as they are, but at least I am only one person – not a group of 50.

The transportation system is incredibly tourist-friendly. Bus lines all have all of the stops listed at the bus stop. The two subway lines are also clearly marked with all of the stops, not just the final destination. It makes a lot of sense and other cities should do as Rome does in this regard.

No one seems to pay to ride the bus. I know some people have passes. I have a weekly pass. But the driver never checks to see who has a pass and who doesn’t. People enter from the back door. I don’t get it, but it works for me.

Italians talk with their hands even more than I imagined. For some people, every single word is punctuated by a complicated hand gesture. This is not just moving the hands all over the place, but deliberate gestures almost like sign language.

Smoking is a really filthy habit. It seems that more women are smoking these days than men. It not only pollutes the air and people’s bodies, but also leaves lots of litter on the street. It’s just not a cool habit anymore.

Italian police officers are very sexy.

Italians have an amazing sense of style (that is also an obvious one).

People are surprisingly polite. I think the gruff, rough Italians in NY and South Philly and elsewhere need to learn some manners from their paisanos. Lots of please, thank you, you’re welcome, etc. and not a whole lot of yelling (except from a few drunks I’ve seen).

Rome does not seem to be the place to be if you want to learn to speak Italian. Everywhere I have gone, I've started in Italian, but when it gets to a point where I don't understand, people immediately switch into English. They seem to not mind speaking English. In fact, when I was in a restaurant tonight and a Russian couple came in who spoke no Italian, the waiter tried to speak to them in English, and they could only gesture and say "porcini"