First Impressions /Local Area
Lovely, it a cute pink flat, and we were taken out for a fab meal by our hosts- what more can you ask for?
The place we were in is teeny tiny. A few houses, a restaurant and a pub. We didn't ever visit the pub, just the restaurant side.
There is a tennis court a 20 minute walk away - yes!
We went to play a few times, and never seemed to get the times right. We played once, and every other single time it seemed closed, or, fully booked on a Saturday with schools. Impossible! It was a shame, as we love tennis, despite being bad at it. But perhaps it saves us some money as it wasn't cheap to play.
FYI - this flat had the BEST sunsets. They didn't look as impressive in the photo's but as an idea:
Transport
hmmm.
Transport from Rome = Fantastic.
Transport from Strampelli = Not great.
Despite assurances we were living in Rome from our hosts, we didn't really believe them.
The roads are terrible. Ok, so the whole time they were under construction in our area. This made walking about a little more difficult as we had to dodge the big tarmac rollers in different places each day, and there are no pavements or road marking.
FYI - Italian drivers are the worst I have seen. It looks like common practise to be on your phone whilst driving, and beeping the horn like a crazy person. Stopping at junctions or roundabouts to give way is a LAST RESORT, always try to cut the other person up if at all possible.
Buses. They come and go, and usually on time, but sometimes they just don't turn up which is strange and very annoying when you need a specific bus to get a train.
They run every half hour-ish which isn't bad. they were very bumpy which effects you depending on your mood I guess.
Every time we got off the buss, it did a circuit before running past us, as we had to go back the way it came to get to the flat. It was a case of 'beat the bus' to the round-a-bout :) We did it once!
Food
We cooked a little, but it really depended on what our little shop (a 20 min walk away) had to offer. Usually this was discouragingly little, but fine for those who like artichokes. The veg was sporadic, and there were no cans etc, just pasta, milk, water, cheese and hams.
We went to the supermarket twice, and it was a god send, but we couldn't keep asking for a lift when our hosts live so far away.
I grew to really like cheese and hams as a result, and can now eat a full cheese (raw cheese !) board. Must be fate!
Tony's restaurant was a real life saver. The food was fantastic, and he became a real friend to us. When we left, we were presented with a bottle of lemon cream (woooo!) and hugs all around, with photos. A girl we met translated for us as Tony's English is not perfect, and he said he really loved us and felt like w are family. She said this is really rare for 'outsiders', and she had asked for a bottle of lemon-cream but he refused to give any.
We left really sad at the idea of moving on, but I guess bittersweet goodbyes are a big part of what we do. At least we can visit!
Work/Life
We got it down! We went out quite a lot of the daytime days out in Rome, and the evenings working, or if we stayed in a long day working. It seemed un-stressed and we spent weekends further afield
Bits and bobs
Rome itself is impressive for the history art and culture, and unforgettable.
However an underbelly to the city did make it lose it's appeal for us. It seems built for tourists, which is fun, but some areas are so run down it is a shame considering it is a major European city.
Also Grafiti is embedded deeply everywhere, not even beautiful buildings and monuments can escape.
People are super friendly! We met some great characters.
Twice we were offered lifts by strangers. The first into Rome, because he was from the village visiting friends there.
The second to our flat as we were walking with water bottles and shopping.
We tried to refuse both, but they were insistent and lovely. I am not sure we would rush to do it again, as it still feels a bit weird that they offered, it's certainly not a usually done thing for strangers.
Highlights were probably the Easter celebrations, and our trips away to Florence, Pompeii and Orvieto. :)
Much Love
xxx