Day 1
At a food court in the Termini railway station last night, young men in white chef's coats laughed as they worked dough deftly.
They bantered with customers and each other as they casually shovelled pizzas in and out of wood-fired ovens.
So far, in our dealings with people, everyone has been able and happy to speak English. Thank god.
I've been carrying around a piece of paper on which is written, "Mi dispiace, no parlo italiano.",
but I haven't had to use it.
Rome has changed since I was here 30 years ago. It is much more cosmopolitan today.
So, on our first outing, we visited Rome's Jewish ghetto, a labyrinth of ancient streets dating back to 1555.
Maybe this was an unusual first choice in a city of famous temples, monuments and archaeological ruins ... but we ran out of time to visit the Jewish quarter in Vienna in May and regretted it.
Near the Via del Portico D'Ottavia I took a photo of a plaque on a wall that read Largo, 16 October, 1943.
This is where about 1000 people were rounded up and deported to Auschwitz. Apparently, only a handful returned home.
We had a great lunch in the koscher Ba Ghetto restaurant, ducking inside just as a fierce thunder storm broke over a parched city.
We almost went into the local synagogue/museum but were too Jewish to pay the 11 euro per person entrance fee.
Below, a cursory selection of today's shots ... I cannot believe I have been 24 hours in Rome and not had a gelati.
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| Piazza Venezia |
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| A cute little trattoria in the Jewish quarter |
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| pretty old pub |
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| not the Colosseum |
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| old door with brass knocker |
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| the cool, leafy forecourt of our lodgings |
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| taverna antiquia |
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