Seize the moment

We live here now and I have proof. Yesterday we go to the gym and are given membership cards. So exciting. Last night, we go to a restaurant for dinner where we have gone before for lunch. We are recognized by the waiter and are given the list of specials for the evening. The restaurant is just a simple trattoria with red checked tablecloths but the vibe is so sweet and the pasta perfectly al dente. The waiter shakes our hands when we leave.

Today NIcoletta outdoes herself. I want to take her picture but don’t want to embarrass her. She totters in wearing 4” stiletto boots—amazing how she walks on these streets without falling flat on her face—a leopard printed dress that leaves nothing to the imagination except a lacy black bra. She’s carrying a leopard printed handbag and a Versace shopping bag. And let’s not forget the accessories—leopard printed gloves, matching scarf and an entire collection of coordinated jewelry. Despite the fact that she dresses like a prostitute, she is intelligent and serious and, most importantly, a wonderful teacher with a passion for Italy and the language.
Late in the afternoon, I walk Steve across il Ponto Sisto to Wonderfool, a men’s salon where he is to be transformed into a new man. While he is getting a massage, hair cut and beard trim—he now looks like Julius Caesar—I wander up and down the district checking out the art galleries, antique stores and boutiques. Fortunately or unfortunately I discover Joan Shepp in Roma and do some serious damage. Nothing like retail therapy wherever you are.

Soon it is time to rendezvous with Steve at Parco dei Principei, a hotel near the Borghese Gardens where we have been invited to have an apertivo with some sketchy Italian politicians. (Italian politics is scherzo to say the least. These people are all for Berlusconi and big fans of Bush!) I start out on foot thinking I have time to walk there. I stop into a church where I find myself all alone with a fantastic altarpiece with chubby cherubs by Reubens. Further on, I walk up the steps to il Campidoglio, a magnificent piazza designed by Michelangelo with romantic views over ancient Roman ruins. It’s absolutely gorgeous especially under the full moon but I am hopelessly late for our appointment. I grab a cab and have my first experience of a Roman traffic jam. Cattivo!

One prosecco later, Steve and I head back to Trastevere and have dinner at a restaurant just minutes from out house that I’ve had my eye on since we’ve been here. Seafood is the speciality. We share a plate of crudo, then split an order of pasta with baby octopi. Molto bene. Steve’s tuna is overcooked and the service is not as good as the food but nobody’s perfect and now we know.