Rome via Brooklyn

711 words. 4 minute read.

Wow. I’ve been doing this for a hot minute. I realized I first visited Italy 30 years ago Christmas/New Years of the 1995-1996 academic year during my own first study abroad experience and first time out of the US. I tried to DO IT ALL, mostly travelling solo on a rail pass, staying in youth hostels, eating lots of bread and cheese to save money, and bagging highlights from all my Art History courses. I didn’t sleep a wink on my overnight train from Paris to Venice and when I saw that Italian winter sun, I knew everything would be ok.

Last night, I didn’t get much sleep. I lay there, but the anticipation, excitement, and even nerves kept playing in my head. What could go wrong? Was I really prepared? How would it all work out? Will you like each other? Will you like me? How can I still be like this after all these years?!

I love it and yet until we’re all together I’ll still be a bit nervy. Writing calms my nerves. I’ve got 25 minutes before I leave my apartment to go to our Rome partners’ local offices to pick up all the things. Tickets, headsets, public transit passes, etc. etc…

So what can I tell you? Let’s go with some random facts.

You’ll notice that plastic bottle caps don’t detach here. This is handy as you won’t lose it but mostly it is an any litter initiative to make sure the caps get into the recycling stream with the bottles. This is typical of the whole EU.

See the words on this bottle. It is telling you that unlike a NYC Seltzer that is carbonated mechanically, this water came out of the ground with bubbles and the bubbles in the bottle are just from that original source. Each spring tastes slightly differently and many Italians have strong opinions about which springs they enjoy most. I like tasting the difference. In Italy you always have to pay for water at a sit down restaurant or cafe. There was even a recent supreme court case about that! If I’m paying for water I like to get something different that feels special so I always order ‘con gas’ or ‘frizzante’, i.e. sparkling!

The Italian sun is intense and thus Italian construction is heavy duty. Walls are thick and windows all come with blackout blinds that double as extra security.

In older buildings you might pull these down with something that looks like a seatbelt cord next to the window, but most people have upgraded to electric controls and you’ll have to find a wall switch. It might even be across the room. Mine looks like this.

Lowering the blinds can help you sleep better and keep your apartment cooler during the day. BUT it can also be so dark you sleep forever. Leave them up the first night to help you wake up naturally tomorrow. After that you do you!

This is called a Moka pot and every household has one. It is how one traditionally makes coffee at home. One also always heats the milk in a metal pitcher as shown. I still use these.

However many many Italians have now fallen in love with the machine below. It is like the a keurig using pods, but instead of gross watery coffee it makes a single perfect espresso. May brands now advertise that their pods are pure aluminum as Italians are cognizant about waste and recycling.

This is what your AC unit will look like. 24 C is more typical for a setting, but I love 22 C. Remote battery life is key to having control!

You’ll notice two types of outlets. The circular kind is for high voltage items like hairdryers or kitchen kettles. The old flat type work find for charging small devices (like my new favorite electric fan with mist!).

That hook and towel is NOT for your hands. It is for drying your CLEAN privates after washing in the bidet. You’ll find special Ph Balanced soaps sold just for this type of hygiene.

Ok. Gotta run to meet a colleague and then! at long last Y’ALL!

Look for the crazy lady who is overly committed to color coordination.