‘When in Rome, I did as the Romans do!’

In this first part of her travelogue series, the writer transports us to Rome, as she journeys across a city full of history and…ruins!

By Punam Bakshi Mohandas

I decided to approach this ‘travelogue’ somewhat differently, in anecdotal style, because so many interesting things and illuminating conversations happened during my trip. Or perhaps, like a bird let out of the cage, I was travelling after three years and was more keenly attuned to all that was happening around me! I’ve been to all the following places before, apart from Bretagne (Brittany), which has always been on my bucket list.

My first stop was…

ROME

Rome is a city full of history and…ruins! I think even something that doesn’t belong to the Caesar Ages and is just generally dilapidated, passes itself off as one of the ruins, hoping nobody will notice! And don’t get me started on the roads, most of which are in a state of awful disrepair! It’s dashed hard on the heels (feet) and wheels (suitcase) to walk on the broken cobble stones.

Believe it or not, but I took to talking to my trusty suitcase as if it were a person, coaxing the old girl along when one of her wheels took a particularly nasty judder! And while on the roads, let me just say that while it’s very nice to see that Romans are so enamoured of dogs, it’s not so endearing to see dog pee puddles everywhere!

A nice woman on my walk

I came across such a nice woman on my walk from Trastevere train station to the convent I was staying at on via Dandolo; first, she tried to explain the directions to me, then, seeing my lost look, told me to just tag along with her and then, she very sweetly took one of my cases and trundled it along. I never did find out her name; all I know is that she works at the Ministry of Education. I did invite her for a cup of ‘thank you’ coffee, but she got all embarrassed and said there was no need.

Also by the same author: Candid, forthright and a real charmer…it was a privilege to have interviewed him – THE NEWS PORTER

Many Romans are courteous and helpful, as are the tourist and traffic police and the staff at the train stations. The bus drivers are quite another story – they’re very, very rude!

Also, apparently ticketless bus travel is quite the accepted thing in Rome!

There is no way to buy tickets on the bus, as I discovered too late, after I had clambered on and the driver had almost slammed the doors on my ample hips, so…when in Rome, I did as the Romans do!

I did indeed mention staying at a convent; apparently, many convents in Rome have opened their doors to visitors. It’s cheaper than staying at a hotel, but not so cheap as you’d imagine, so you have to do some recce on this.

I had a single room with attached bathroom; the room was spartan and simply furnished, but reasonably comfortable, at 45euros a night (no breakfast). I stayed at the Casa per Ferie, Istituto Orsoline Di Maria Immacolata; the biggest advantage is that it’s in Trastevere, pretty much the centre of town.

Apart from that one ticketless travel (shhh!) I walked everywhere. The Pantheon is a 25-mns walk from the convent; from there, it’s another 10-mns to the Trevi Fountain and from there, another 20-minutes to the Colosseum. On the way back from the Colosseum to Trastevere, you’ll pass the Spanish Steps. So that’s pretty much all the touristy stuff in one circuit.

Friendly Irish couple

I met a friendly Irish couple outside the Pantheon one morning and we spent a pleasant few minutes jeering at the Brits who are in a state of utter disarray and who now have an Indian-origin PM. I didn’t expect the Irish to be quite as uneducated as the Brits, though, so it took me utterly by surprise when the wife asked if there were “mobiles and all in India now”. There was a minute’s silence there as I took a deep breath and sent up a quick prayer for the walking dead amongst us. “Erm, have you heard of Silicon Valley”? I queried restrainedly. “Yeah, somewhere in the States, innit”.

“Indeed”, I said with even more restraint.

“And it’s run purely by engineers from India so, yes, we do have mobiles and all, now”!

Off to Vatican City

The next morning, I set off for Vatican City; it’s a 30-minute walk from the convent; one basically just follows the river all through. It was a blisteringly hot day and I could see the mile-long queue waiting to enter the hallowed precincts, so I gave up and just walked around, clicked some photos, watched the changing of the guards and then went to sit down in the shade, by a pillar. (Isn’t it strange how we wouldn’t sit in dodgy, dirty places otherwise that mummy warned us about, but never give it a moment’s thought as tired tourists?) Leaning on the next pillar was an equally drained out looking girl; we got chatting and I learnt she was Japanese, also travelling sola and also ready to give up at the sight of that queue. I guess it helps sometimes to have company, because we motivated each other, left the pillars alone to lean by themselves and spent the time standing in line chatting pleasantly of this and that. Some ships that pass in the night do meet up again; a couple of weeks later, Mao (that’s her name) and I would meet in Bangkok when she’d be on her way back home😊

Determined to toss a coin again

After the Vatican, I walked back to the Trevi Fountain; I have no idea what I wished for more than twenty years ago, but I was determined to toss a coin again AND remember the wish this time! Slurping at a gelato while there, I called my son to show him the Trevi and the first thing he immediately said is, “where’s your mask”? “I’m eating a gelato”, I protested, showing him the mask dangling from my little finger and thereupon, clumsy me promptly spilled some ice cream into the mask, so that for the rest of the day, I was walking around Roma breathing in peanut butter fumes!

While on gelatos, I didn’t find the food particularly great in Rome. Sure, the pizzas are unusual in that they’re square-shaped, but what’s even more unusual is that all of them don’t come with the tomato sauce base and a lot of them do come with potatoes!

(Main/Featured picture on top: Inside the Vatican)

Punam Mohandas is a journalist and writer with 25-plus years of work experience across India, Dubai and Thailand. She is currently a lecturer at an international university in Thailand. A nomad at heart, having travelled over 43 countries at the last count, Punam is also a film critic. She was a weekly columnist for the Hindustan Times (New Delhi edition), Delhi Midday, The Financial Express, The Statesman and the Times of India (Kolkata edition). She is also the author of the book, ‘Fallen Angels’.