From the Archive: Ciao, Roma

As my time in Rome draws to a close, I find myself thinking of what I will miss…and what I will not. So, I thought I’d share.

What I Won’t Miss

–The Heat – and no, not the Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy movie. It’s been really bloody hot in Rome. I acclimated well enough, but it was still uncomfortable to wake up sweating, go to sleep sweating, and never stop sweating. This leads to other issues; no AC in the apartment I was staying in leads to open windows, which leads to mosquito bites which leads to cranky.

– Pasta – I seriously might not eat pasta for a year. Weird for me.

– Questionable toilet facilities – If you’ve read my previous post, you know it’s something I thought about frequently. It will be nice for a toilet seat to be a constant again. (And soap, toilet paper but ESPECIALLY toilet seats.)

What I’ll Miss (In No Particular Order)

–Suppli – Delicious mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, rice, all lightly breaded and fried.

– Quattro Venti Bisteccheria – Those of us that lived off Viale di Villa Pamphili often visited this particular restaurant and enjoyed some of my favorite food I’ve had in Rome (including the best steak I’ve ever had). I think we ate there once or twice a week and our waiters got to know us. It was the first time I ever felt like I had a favorite-neighborhood-watering-spot.

– The Bakery on Quattro Venti  –  One of the ladies who worked there knew what I wanted when I walked it. That was cool.

– Rome  – I’ll miss Rome in a kind of general abstract sense. I had a harder time getting a hold of its modern urban geography than I’m used to, but in the last few weeks I started to understand it more in my head-map. I look forward to getting to know this city from different perspectives and hopefully in different seasons.

– Art and the Monuments – This should probably be an obvious and IS the most important one. I loved being surrounded by the remains of a culture/civilization/whatever that I’ve researched and studied for a very long time now. It was a long time coming and the past six weeks have allowed my knowledge (I think) to sharpen.

– My CSS peeps –

When you’re in a group of people almost constantly for six weeks, it feels like you’ve known them a lot longer. It was great to be surrounded by fantastic, intelligent people that all shared a common interest in the ancient world. It was a privilege and a pleasure to share this experience with you all!

(Photo stolen from the group facebook page)

This blog was originally posted here.