One of the things I look forward to the most when I go over is seing my friends; we always get together for at least one dinner and never fail to have a great time. Since I have seen so much of the city now and many things a dozen times or so (such as the Colosseum and the Pantheon) I want (and maybe need) to see my friends more than sightsee.
The core group got together my second night in town at a place that has become a favorite of ours now; Taverna dei Mercanti, in Piazza dei Mercanti in the Trastevere area of the city. My neighbor Patti (who is an FA for American Airlines) was also in town so she joined us and everyone had a good time.
I only realized that night that Piazza dei Mercanti is immediately adjacent to Santa Cecilia, one of the featured churches in my second book when Bruna parked her SmartCar in the piazza in front of the church and then we walked literally just a few steps to the restaurant. The restaurant across the street includes some sort of theatrical perforance in the summertime; an actor throws open the shutters from a second story window and starts berating the musicians playing below. Quite funny even if I couldn't follow the dialog.
Paolo and I had dinner at another place in Trastevere the last night I was in Rome. We called Bruna and invited ourselves over to her place for dessert afterwards.
In the last few years Rome has done an all-night culture and arts celebration called "Notte Bianco" which literally translated means "White Night." It runs from 8 PM on Saturday to 8 AM on Sunday. The core of the city is open all night - shops, restaurants, museums - and they also have multiple stages for live entertainment along Via dei Fori Imperiali.
I was interested in doing this; it seemed like fun, so I went down to the Capitoline Hill at 8 PM to watch Roberto Begnini open the festvities with some schtick. People were laughing so I assume it was funny. But in typical Italian style it seems that some of the busses that run along Via di Teatro di Marcello and into Piazza Venezia had not completed their run before the show started; they were slowly plowing thier way through the crowd to get to their last stops before they were off the streets. It was a little dangerous, actually; lots of people, numerous curbs, roadways and islands and large busses trying to push their way through the masses.
By 8:45 PM Roberto was finished and I had worked my way over to the closest stage, a smallish one set up near Trajan's Column. The first act was a kids' music and arts school recital and they were pretty good. But, just as I was enjoying the show the heavens opened up and the rain came pounding down. I was without umbrella or overcoat; just jeans and a T-shirt. I ran for the nearest low hanging and heavily-foilaged tree for cover along with dozens of others. The wind kicked up to 30 mph or more. I was soon soaked to the skin. Since it made no difference to my current state I started down Fori Imperiali to the Colosseo metro staion. When I got there it was packed with people escaping the storm; I needed to get to the turnstile so I pushed my way through, fought my way down the stairs and got on the train dripping water the entire way.
I called Paolo as I was approaching the Colosseo station. "Fuck Notte Bianco," I said as he laughed at me.
I changed clothes and decided to wait out the storm; I had all night after all. At 10 PM the rain stopped so I went back downstairs. Just as I was exiting the hotel the rains started up again; back to the room. I slept for a bit and woke up at 1 AM. Again I went downstairs and again the rain started up as I was out on the sidewalk. Back to the room and back to sleep. I awoke again at 3 AM; it was still raining. "Fuck Notte Bianco," I thought and went back to sleep for the night.
I stayed at Paolo's place for two nights after my return from Ravenna and to celebrate he invited a bunch of his friends over dinner. Max brought the homemade tiramisu (which translated means "pull me up" apparently) which he has wrapped by a profr\essional tiramisu wrapper somewhere in the centro and Patti joined us again (since she there that week, too). I got to hang with Paolo and enjoy his place and I hope to have him here at mine soon.
I also saw my friend Laura and her husband and toddler. We had a very good visit one afternoon; I walked over to her place from Piazza di Spagna; we went shopping for lunch and then spent a few hours discussing our lives and plans. I enjoy going to her place; it is very nice and she is always a very gracious hostess.
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