Pages

12 March 2011

That Audrey Hepburn Movie

This was the view out of our apartment window on our Roman Holiday. There seem to be hundreds of this shot on our camera cards; dawn, dusk, morning, afternoon, night. If you stuck your head out from the balcony and looked to the right, you could see the Coliseum at the end of a long narrow street.
For about a week now, ever since my mother arrived in Venice and spotted her first Italian fountain, she's broken into the chorus of "Three Coins in the Fountain" every now and then. I felt bad about not getting the 1954 film reference, until I looked it up and found that it was about "three American girls looking for love in Rome" and starred nobody special. Being as we weren't going to scoot around on a Vespa, get our haircut or try our first cigarette like Ms. Hepburn in that far superior movie, we figured we might as well go down to Trevi Fountain and each throw a coin in. It was fairly mobbed with tourists, but still really beautiful. Barely anyone was talking in a collective attempt to listen to the water rush.
My mother's coin-wish must have come true, because the next day she fell in love. With this sandwich. Two hours after enjoying one at lunch, she already wished she had bought another for dinner. The selection at this cafe was pretty impressive, squash blossoms, sauteed spinach, shrimp, really colorful, inventive combinations filled the premade selections, piled up behind the counter. Mom's was eggplant, some breaded, some not, with mozzerella and prosciutto on olive bread. She asked them only to 'panini' it halfway, so that the eggplant would retain some of that refreshing, cold gushiness.
It's definitely not peak tourist season here right now and the vendors and photo-opp guys around the Coliseum mostly sat around reading the newspaper, looking up to shout out things like "You can pay with a kiss!" every now and then. I'm not sure if that's the most savvy business proposition, but most of the poor guys are dressed up like Ben Hur outfitted by Ricky's, so they've gotta brighten their day somehow. Snacks available for sale included roasted chestnuts and fresh coconut water. Next to the Berlusconi and Pope Benedict bobbleheads were lions and Santa Claus.
In an effort to see something by Michaelangelo before mom left Italy, we headed over to the Cordonata, a staircase he designed leading up to 'capital hill.' We walked up and down the empty staircase looking for the staircase. It couldn't possibly be it, we figured, because there weren't any tourists. On our way back home, a hoard of school children filled the stairs and we realized our mistake. We tried to get a picture with as few people in it as possible.
We decided to walk along and across the Tiber River to find the Porta Portese flea market. We figured, if we were going to contend with a crowd, it may as well be haggling old ladies instead of international undergrads. The walk was beautiful, but the market didn't appear to be running on the other side. Nonetheless, it was nice to see a more local side of things and a different sort of ruin before turning back to cross Monti toward home.
Another type of crowd altogether met us in the streets, the very beginning of a nationwide labor union strike. Apparently, it went on to cripple cities all through the country for at least twenty-four hours. Subway operators, government workers, airline attendants, basically everyone except for school employees took part in it. Luckily, it all appeared to settle before we delivered my sun-kissed and sandwich-full mother to the airport back home.

For the record, our Roman Holiday did include a photo shoot at the Bocca dela Verita. Something we only remembered after seeing a calendar featuring a movie still of Gregory Peck with his hand "bit off." We waltzed right in, waited for two people in front of us, then nerded it up like true tourists. As we walked out, a tour bus unloaded and a line formed around the block. Perfect timing.

5 comments:

  1. My name is Mrs Aisha Mohamed, am a Citizen Of Qatar.Have you been looking for a loan?Do you need an urgent personal loan or business loan?contact Dr James Eric Finance Home he help me with a loan of $42,000 some days ago after been scammed of $2,800 from a woman claiming to been a loan lender but i thank God today that i got my loan worth $42,000.Feel free to contact the company for a genuine financial service. Email:(financialserviceoffer876@gmail.com) call/whats-App Contact Number +918929509036

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello Everybody,

    My name is Bhagwan Kumawzt by name and I live in the POLAND and i am a happy woman today? and i told my self that any lender that rescue my family from our poor situation get any kind of loan you need today, thank you, as you read greatest testimony of my life. with whatsapp+919667837169

    Testimony of a serious loan acquired, thank you very much Dr. Mark for your loan assistance of 100,000(US DOLLARS) without any upfront fee,that you give me. I will talk about your services to those around me who need a loan or financing. I am happy with the loan you have granted me Do not hesitate,if you need a loan and a real legit loan lender so just kindly contact him now and get your loan via:: markthomasfinanceltd@gmail.com whatsapp number: +919667837169

    Whats-App no +919667837169
    Company Name Ronnie Finance Ltd
    Dr. Mark Thomas

    ReplyDelete
  3. Need a Debt Loan To Pay Off Bills?
    Take control of your debt today
    Available Now Business Expansion Loan Offer?
    Do you need a loan to pay off Bills?
    Do you need a loan?
    Do you need Personal Loan?
    Business Expansion Loan?
    Business Start-up, Education,
    Debt Consolidation Loan
    Hard Money Loans
    Loan for any thing ?
    We offer loan at low interest rate of 3%
    Loan with no credit check,
    Email us: financialserviceoffer876@gmail.com
    Call or add us on what's app +918929509036

    ReplyDelete
  4. Are you searching for a very genuine loan at an affordable interest rate of 3% process and approved within 4 working days? Have you been turned down Constantly by your Banks and other financial institutions because of bad credit? Loans ranging from $5000 USD to $20, 000, 000 USD maximum LOANS for Developing business a competitive edge / business expansion. We are certified, trustworthy, reliable, efficient, Fast and dynamic for real estate and any kinds of business financing. Contact us for more details and information.
    Thanks & Regard
    Call/Whats App +2348073858684
    (Whats App) +2348073858684

    E-mail: Tonytekinvestment@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Do you need funds to settle your debt or pay off your bills or start a good business? Do you have a low credit score and you are finding it hard to obtain capital services from local banks and other financial institutes? Here is your chance to obtain financial services from our company. We offer the following finance to individuals-

    Commercial loan
    Personal loan
    Business loan
    Construction loan
    Business loan And many More:
    at 3% interest rate;

    Contact us via email:ronniefinancehome247@gmail.com

    Ronnie Finance Ltd
    apply@ronniefinance.ltd
    Whats-App on +91 9311856893
    http://ronniefinance.ltd/fastloan
    Dr. Mark Thomas

    ReplyDelete