Night Reflections 4.27.10

It is 04:00 in the morning and light streams through the open shutters on this crisp and cool night. We are in Rome. I am looking out from the 3rd floor window in this tall and narrow hotel which is down a long and narrow one-way street. The colors on the buildings I can barely see are ocra and yellow with natural patina, shutters astride the windows that are faded and chipped by age. Trucks rumble below, delivering breakfast goods, trays of croissants and fruit for the breakfast room downstairs that is not a restaurant. There are other businesses along the street, a clock shop and also a metalwork apprentice shop down narrow steps and they leave the door ajar for airflow, and a small ristorante with four tables at the end of the block. The rest of the flats are where people live. 

From our window

Amber lights shine down on the street below and it shines back. Everywhere the antiquities are in the midst of delicate excavation and restoration, and Italy must certainly spend most of its annual budget on preservation.

Rome is like a sandwich, they say. Recent digging near the Colosseum unearthed the remains of the School of the Gladiators and it had to be spared. The re-routed metro then unearthed Nero's Palace and it was decided half of it had to go in order to complete the project. In the words of our witty historian and tour guide Daniela, 'Nero squandered the richness of Rome, burned the city, tortured his people, and cowardly took his own life. It is an even trade.'

Look at that parking job!

The cars are tiny because there is no space to park and the streets are narrow. We recognize SmartCars but there many more half that size, sitting just one person with no trunk. We have seen one or two Mini Coopers and there are some Mercedes cars for the elite. Everything else is by scooter. Space has a new meaning in a city 2,000 years old that could never have imagined cars and buses and the volume of residents it has (4M). Sidewalks are converted to cafes, some covered but many more open air, five or six tables, sometimes more. A constant flow of people are on the move and agreeably share what is left of the sidewalks.

Right at the curb
(they don't do windows)

The only gas stations are those at the curb and cars and scooters whiz in and out for a 2 minute fill and are on their way. We were cautioned and it is true that stepping into the streets of Rome is an unwise decision and it is better to wait for a native to cross and run behind them. During daylight hours, there is the constant sound of ambulances picking up those injured attempting to cross. The corners are no better, as streetlights seem to be more of a suggestion than a rule. Randy's backpack was nudged by an anxious taxi driver as he stepped all the way on to the curb on a green light.

Drinking water fountain

Rome is very proud of its acqueducts. Sixty eight percent of the original Roman acqueducts are still in use today. Here is an example of the artistic water fountains which flow constantly. Below the shell is a stream of water to fill your water bottles or fill your hands to drink. The water is completely fresh and limitless and we found these types of water spigots throughout the city.

It is so very different here, the closeness and beauty all around as we go about our day on the streets or stop for pictures. There is faith in the surroundings that remind us that life endures and we each play a part.