Other states, other lives, other souls

My husband Phil and I had signed up to spend two weeks on a guided trip to Iran last November, via a round trip flight from Minneapolis to Vienna, followed by a short round trip from Vienna to Tehran. I thought it would be fun to extend our Vienna layover four days for less than $100 and fly to somewhere known, warm, and unguided when the trip was completed.   Rome looked like the best bet for mid-November. It had been 50+ years since Phil and I had visited Rome–separately.  There was a pretty cheap flight on WIZZ airlines (Hungary) and it was far past the tourist season.

With little current knowledge of Rome, I started looking for “centrally located” Airbnb-type lodging on Booking.com.  I found a cute-looking first floor studio apartment in an old medieval building in a neighborhood called Campo dé Fiori.   It looked like a good walking location and the neighborhood was old and very popular during the summer tourist season.  In fact, too popular.  Mid-November, however, was a different matter. We made a reservation for three days at the Domus Campo dé Fiori.

Lucky, lucky, lucky.  In mid-November the tourists are mostly gone. The temperature is great for walking, but we were glad we brought umbrellas and raincoats.  We got a few sprinkles and one downpour during our 3 days. The old cobblestone streets leading to Campo looked especially pretty wetted by sprinkles. The location was terrific.  The central square of the Campo is full of restaurants and bars.  One of the best bakeries ever is just steps away from our apartment.  The market is still operating with loads of fresh food and other items.  Our apartment had a small kitchen, so we could save money on breakfast or lunch if we wanted.  No tourist fatigue on the part of restauranteurs. In fact, the first night we were promised free wine and dessert if we came to a guy’s resto.  We said yes and we weren’t disappointed.  Even though it is a touristy area, there were lots of arty shops and practical clothing shops too.  After two weeks under theocracy in Iran, I enjoyed the statue in the square honoring

Giordano Bruno, a free-thinking friar who was burned at the stake during the Inquisition for holding many beliefs, scientific and otherwise, considered heretical by the Church.

I had forgotten how walkable central Rome is.  From our neighborhood we walked to the Parthenon, the Colosseum, the old Jewish neighborhood, and strolled along the Tiber River.  Nearby buses were easy to fathom, even though we don’t speak Italian, so we were able to add in the National Gallery of Modern Art and the beautiful, large Villa Borghese Park on the second day. Continuing to walk after dark also felt very safe and romantic.

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Walking in a new big city is always exhilarating to me, because the process of gaining a mind map and moving about on my own makes me feel confident and ready for more.  I have to remember that the first day usually has its share of confusion and uncertainty, but overcoming those feelings is part of the exhilaration.  Bangkok, Paris, Amsterdam, Phnom Penh, New Orleans: all the same thrill. We all have somewhat different reasons for traveling: learning another language, seeing famous historical sites, having challenging physical adventures, volunteering. I share most of these, but above all, I want to feel comfortable outside my comfort zone and see the world outside of the US as pretty safe, pretty friendly, and pretty wonderful. So far, it is.