We Do Culture

Another gorgeous, sunny day in Rome—our second Sunday in the city. Full of energy we leave the house for our first Official Cultural Excursion to the Via Appia Anticha, Rome’s oldest existing thoroughfare. It’s quiet and very green here, like being out in the country although we are only a 15 or 20 minute taxi ride from the city center.

The Via Appia Anticha is paved in volcanic stones, some with grooves created, I imagine, by chariots and carriages that passed here in ancient times. Tall cypresses and pine trees line the road and on the grass on either side there are literally bits and pieces of ancient funerary monuments and tombs. The road is absolutely straight and seems to go on forever. Among the fields that stretch on either side are picturesque remains of villas over 1000 years old. There are modern day villas here, too, mostly set back from the road and guarded by gorgeous but imposing gates or archways. We peer enviously down the tree-lined entranceways wondering what it must be like to live amid such beauty and antiquity. ( I am channeling Henry James here and make a silent vow to reread "A Portrait of A Lady" while in Rome.)

We’re not alone by any means but it’s not crowded—some tourists but mostly families with young children and couples slowly strolling arm and arm or picnicking by the side of the road. We walk about 4 miles but finally decide to head back to town. This could be tricky since there is no sign of a taxi. However, thanks to my overwhelming command of the language, I am able to ask someone how to get back to il centro and we successfully negotiate a bus ride and transfer to the la metropolitana (subway).

Which lands us at entirely different scene--the famous Piazza da Spagna, the Spanish Steps, mobbed as always with tourists and Italians out for a stroll on a sunny Sunday afternoon. The narrow streets in this neighborhood are lined with chic cafes full of equally chic people smoking away like there is no cancer, drinking coffee or wine and eating luscious looking pastries but somehow not getting fat.

After our mandatory stop for refreshment—in this case, a gooey four cheese pizza—we decide to walk along the river back to Trastevere. It’s late in the afternoon and the sky over the river is turning pink and gold. There’s even a tiny crescent moon. We walk past the Vatican, past the Indian vendors selling cheap religious souvenirs and the Africans hawking fake Prada bags. Closer to Trastevere the sidewalk is lined with massive chestnut trees that bend down towards the river. I imagine how beautiful it will be in the spring to take this same walk when the trees will from a shady arcade over the street.