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| Anna S and her motorino |
It was four full days before I took my first trip – a
weekend in Roma to visit my friend Anna S. We met in 1982 at U of T, and have
remained good friends since despite the distance and a few years where we lost
touch.
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| Gloria's dinner party! |
Friday night I attended my first dinner party (for this
trip, anyway) at Gloria’s house – the mother of Desiree, a childhood friend of
Anna’s. I think Gloria’s bathroom says
everything you need to know about her, except she likes beer and not wine, speaks English like I speak Italian, is a very
gracious and generous hostess, and an all-around wonderful woman.
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| il bagno di Gloria |
Early Saturday afternoon, we hopped on Anna’s motorino
(scooter) and headed to Il Festival
Internazionale Del Film di Roma, where I got a ticket to see the best picture
as selected both by the Jury and the audience. The Festival had ended on Friday so there was
minimal “action” but everything was still set up, including il tappeto rosso, which was fun to walk
down. In the evening, Anna, Sonia,
Agnes, Neil, Janna, and myself saw this charming Argentinian/Italian production
called Un Cuento chino (A Chinese
Tale). The main language was Spanish, one of the main characters spoke only
Mandarin (I think), the main subtitles were in English, secondary subtitles
were in Italian, and none of the Mandarin was translated. Anna, who speaks Spanish, said she couldn’t
figure out which language to follow! I felt a bit the same, switching between
the English and Italian subtitles. It was a fun night out.
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| Festival Internazionale Del Film di Roma |
When I was in Roma last year, I made a special effort to
visit the newly completed (but not yet open) Museo Nazionale delle Arti Del XXI Secolo, designed by famed Iraqi
architect Zaha Hadid. The MAXXI, as it is known, was the first new museo built in Roma in quite some time,
so there was lots of buzz about it, the architect, the building, and what it
was going to mean for the contemporary art scene in Roma and Italy. The MAXXI was not far from il festival cinema, so we went.
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| Inside the MAXXI |
From the outside, it’s nothing special (at least in my humble uneducated opinion), but once inside, you
see Hadid’s genius. The main exhibit was
called “Indian Highway” which presented a very interesting panorama into modern-day
India and how the country’s changing as it barrels head-long into the 21st
century. It was a fascinating and stimulating 2 hours.
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| Life-size exhibit piece, made from small polished metal disks, from Indian Highway, MAXXI, Novembre, 2011 |
I’ve stayed with Anna on many occasions so I know my way
around her neighbourhood quite well.
Sunday morning was beautiful, so I took myself for a walk. At 10:00 Via del Corso (a main shopping
street) was already busy with tourists and locali,
the Spanish Steps were starting to fill with tour groups, but Piazza del
Popolo was not crowded at all – just people enjoying the warm sunshine. One of the local hangouts where we like to
have a drink is called Ciampini, in Piazza di San Lorenzo in Lucina, where a
few tourists venture, but it’s mostly filled with locals. The people watching
is fabulous!
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| Piazza di San Lorenzo in Lucina, Roma, 6 Novembre 2011 |
The afternoon was spent eating a late lunch, venturing out to
find the Apple store, and driving to the stazione
in the pouring rain. It felt weird to
say to Anna that I had to go home, knowing that “home” was now Firenze. But when I got back, the city and the
apartment did feel remarkably like home.
