In Praise of Rome

I’m sitting in Rome at the Lot 87 Bar, drinking a shot of grappa and writing away. Rome may be the greatest city in the world. I was IMing a friend, and he said that some people have told him that they don’t like Rome. You know who doesn’t like Rome? Wussies! They say, “Rome is dirty and smelly and there’s crazy traffic.” Those people like clean, wimpy cities like Vienna and Salzburg and Munich and Florence.

Rome is a real city with real people. It’s dirty and crazy and people eat real food that they buy that morning and cook that evening. Women in mini-skirts drive scooters too fast between busses. Men grow long hair and slick it back with oil. And the cappuccino is like drinking liquid gold. You can keep Vienna; leave me Roma.

Last night, for instance, we ate at Al Grappolo D’Oro. We started with an amazing onion flan as antipasto, then homemade ravioli with basil sauce, and then an insalata mista, all accompanied by the house white. Of course, the evening ended with a visit to Giolitti’s, the single best ice cream cone on the planet.

I’m here with my friend, Jim Newberry, who won a pastor’s sabbatical grant from the Louisville Institute. We’re spending every morning walking around, visiting churches and ancient ruins. Then we eat a little pizza, maybe take a short siesta, and head out to Lot 87 for a drink and several hours of writing and reading. Around 9, we’ll head out to dinner and some amazingly and outrageously good restaraunt that is a tiny hole-in-the-wall in some back alley of Trastevere, the “uptown” type of neighborhood in Rome.

Today we hung out a bit with Annie Ojile, a friend from Solomon’s Porch, who’s making a go at being an independent film producer here (or else a tour guide). We also visited San Pietro and the Pantheon. Tomorrow the Vatican Museo, then a day-trip to Assisi. Monday and Tuesday will be more sites in Roma, and we head home on Wednesday.

Yesterday, we visited the Mamertine Prison, where Peter and Paul were supposedly chained together — and converted their jailers — before their respective executions.

La Dolce Vita!