Every now and then a stray baby wanders into the open inviting and brightly lit doors of Luis Vuitton or Prada, to the glares of the snooty-faced staff, which just makes us laugh even more!

So here is Orlando, creating havoc with a stolen passaggino (pram) from someone elses’ baby, gelato in hand, running around having the time of his life!

A quintesentially Roman experience….

on yer bike!

When Orlando wakes up extra-early, we grab our funky old-school steel bikes, and head up to Villa Borghese to watch the dawn break over the cupolas and sites of Rome…

He loves to play on all the old monuments and temples up in the Borghese, as well as around the Piazzas in Rome….

including climbing onto his favourite 10th Century stone lions, outside Basilica San Lorenzo in Lucia

10th century lion

Here are some of the classic Italian paradoxes we’ve noticed around us…

Municipal bike-sharing centre: free bikes for citizens and tourists, 24-hours a day, just like in Paris, except… No bikes!

niente bici!

2. Italian cycle-ways: a brand-new bike path has been built… which terminates after 100m in a steep set of metal stairs!! (apparently the mafia siphoned off all the money, and the rest was never built, or so the story goes…)

3. Public transport: isn’t too bad, actually (!). The metro runs much more regularly than it used to, with brand-new air-conditioned trains, which is great. Still gets hot when filled with >1000 tourists heading for St Peters in the mornings (no joking). However, this sign above the entry to the Metro at Piazza di Spagna cracked me up..

…ie not only is there a strike, but a DAILY strike, and therefore there not only MAY be delays, but WILL be delays, presumably on a DAILY basis!!!  hilarious…

4. The Television and the Politics

well, as we all know, Silvio Berlusconi is the Prime Minister of italy, and also the largest media mogul in the country, controlling 3 out of 5 free-to-air TV stations, most of the print media, and more…. It’s like having Rupert Murdoch as PM of Australia with no opposition… you can only imagine…

If you want to find out more about the link between TV and Politics in this country, go and see the recently-released feature film “Videocracy” by Erik Gandini. It’s a sort-of Italian Micheal Moore, looking at Berlusconi’s far-reaching power over the masses through TV, the objectification of women as pretty-sex-things, the adoration of money and fame and TV glory (Paris Hilton-style), and the continuation through oppression of opposition’s ability to unite or publish opinions to the public. Gandini never would have been allowed to make it in Italy, but he lives in Switzerland and apparently was financed through the Swedish Film Corp (also by the European Union, as seen in the credits, which tells you something about how Berlusconi is regarded by the rest of the EU), using Swedish staff to help film it. Therefore, interviewees such as Berlusconi’s most powerful media moguls and offsiders thought their interviews would not be seen by Italian audiences and hence were far more frank and open in divulging their secrets… and now it’s on the big screen here… Should be making it’s way overseas soon, and is worth seeing (we saw it last night, pretty scary stuff for this country’s future…). Luckily for us, we dont have a television in our apartment (only sad for that we can’t watch the soccer!)

http://twitchfilm.net/reviews/2009/09/tiff-09-videocract-review.php

My friend and colleague, Italo Porto (interventional cardiologist and all-round great guy), took us to the most amazing gelateria. Situated in a new part of town (which we never would have found otherwise), this place is SERIOUS!….   for example, they have not 1, not 2, but TWENTY different flavours of chocolate!!  as in, 100% cocoa Madagascar, Ecuador, Honduras, etc etc plus all the blends, the whites, everything… not to mention 6 different Pistacchio’s (my personal favourite)

It’s called, not surprisingly, “Il Gelato“, in the Eur area of Roma, and is recommended by the Gambero Rosso who are an Italian slow-food organization. well worth the visit outside the centre of Rome.

Of interest, Gambero Rosso do a fantastic guidebook for both Italy and Rome, as well as cooking courses and have an awesome restaurant “Citta’ del Gusto” (city of flavour)…

Below are our “Best Of Rome” favourites, for all the things about Rome that we have discovered and love. This may change and update as we find new and more exciting gelato flavours, more parks, or better pizzarie!…

BEST PIZZA:

Il Leoncino,Via del Leoncino 28 – 00186 Roma. Telefono: (+39) 06 6876306. This is a tiny, but very busy little pizzeria in the centre of Rome, with a massive Forno a Legna (wood oven), and three fat old italian men slaving away to make some of the best Roman style pizze we have ever tasted. Thin, crispy, hot, and fantastic. No bookings, just turn up and wait for a table.

Il Leoncino (pizza cappriciosa al fronte)

Magarita con pomodori freschi

BEST GELATO:

Bar Ciampini, Via di Leoncino 17. Just up the road from the pizzeria, on the corner of the Piazza San Lorenzo in Lucia, is Bar Ciampini. Whilst we have the important philosophy that “no bar/cafe/restaruant facing onto a piazza in Rome is ever any good”, this particular gelateria is at the back secretly facing  onto Via di Leoncino. These guys are for real, with the old-school gelato in the tubs set into the benchtop, with silver lids so you can’t see inside. The list of flavours is embossed in serious-looking brass plates above the bar, and the flavours are to die for. 5-Star flavours include Pistacchio (note is pronounced with a hard ‘ch’ ie pis-ta-ki-oh), Caffe, Nocciola (hazelnut). Get the ‘medio’ size which is a proper waffle cone (3Eu, remember to pay at the cassa before you order, and take the scontrino (receipt) up to the gelato bar).

Gelato a Ciampini

Beatrice, Lauren, Orlando ed il gelato

BEST ICED COFFEE:

Tazzo D’Oro Torrefazione, Via Pietra next to the Pantheon. This is a proper “torrefazione” meaning they make and roast their own beans onsite. The most amazing thing, apart from the coffee which is great, is the “Granita Di Caffe”. This is frozen espresso coffee (strong, and bitter with just a hint of sugar but not too sweet), crushed and stirred into a granita, served in a cup with creme (panna) above and below. We usually have “solo panna sotto” meaning just a little cream below (you get more coffee this way, but you do need a little cream as otherwise it’s very strong!). Great for those hot days after a long walk around Rome.

BEST ICED COFFEE (2)

Another amazing drink is the “Caffe Shakerato” (an anglacism for shaken not stirred). This isnt so easy to find in Rome, but is more popular down south in Naples and the islands where it is hotter. This is a double-shot espresso, shaken with ice and a drop of milk, and blended into a thick frozen drink served with bitter cocoa on top. Be careful – some bars will try to serve you a crappy pre-made whip from a machine, which is fake and awful – so be sure to ask for proper shakerato, made with an oldschool cocktail shaker or milkshake maker. PS watch out for the head-freeze!

Caffe Shakerato (Ischia)

BEST PASTICCERIA

Via Della Luce, Trastevere. This amazing pasticceria (bakery) is opposite our dear friend Beatrice’s apartment, in the evocatively named Via della Luce (street of light). This bakery makes the most wonderful, tiny, light-as-a-feather pizette… mmm…

le pizette, ed il dito d'Orlando!

Best FOOD in GENERAL

Just the local shops here are amazing, filled with local artiginal products, ‘prodotti tipici’ ie regional cuisine, and wonderful colours and smells… have a look at what is within 50m of our front door…

DeAngelo Caffe Pasticceria (our local)

caffe al vetro

BEST CHILDRENS PLAYGROUNDS IN ROME:

This is a tough one… Rome is simply not set up for children (hey, it’s 3000 years old full of ancient monuments, where can you put a new playground in a city like this?!). However we have found a couple of nice places to go: La Casina di Rafaello, Villa Borghese has a small wooden outdoor play area which is popular around sunset, and a lovely indoor play area open 10:00-18:00 which has free books to read, drawing facilities, and also there are classes (cost $3 Eu).   Villa Sciarra, above Trastevere (take the no 8 tram, then the no 44 bus up Via Donato) has a larger playground inside a big park. Also very popular in mornings on weekends, and daily at sunset. A third playground is in the Celio (above the Colloseum), in Via del Parco del Celio. This is a more modern park, with more equipment, but rather dusty. Also Villa Doria Pamphilj, above Trastevere, is absolutely enormous, full of space and fields, trees and shade. It’s so big that we couldnt find the playground there, but supposedly there is one… planning to back on our bikes to explore soon…

For the moment, therefore, Villa Sciarra wins the prize for best playground (Parco Giochi)!

Villa Sciarra

Villa Sciarra, Parco Giochi (2)

Vicolo Delle Orsoline is the lovely, cul-de-sac street in which we live. It is 2 streets away from the Piazza di Spagna, and next to the S Cristina conservatorium of music. The street has the most beautiful vines hanging down as a canopy over the cobbled courtyards, and the houses are hidden behind ancient green doors.

Portone Verde

Our local shops;

'Foccaci', Via della Croce... mmmmm....

Here is a little video of the apartment, with Orlando playing in the main room….Notice the sounds of the convervatorium and Opera School faintly in the background…

Chrisitan, Lauren & Orlando have arrived in Rome, Italy, to spend 6-12 months living Italian, learning Italian, eating Italian, working Italian.

Briefly, Christian has won a few research grants (National Heart Foundation, Queensland International Fellowship etc) to perform part of his PhD research at the Instituto Cardiologo, University del Sacro Cuore, Roma Italia, working with Prof Fillipo Crea and his team.

So, we are here on a tight shoestring budget, living in our old friend Andreas’ apartment (he is living in Paris), and have taken these first few weeks to take a holiday, relax, unwind from the frenetic pace of moving countries, and get generally set up here.

The first week consisted of, basically, dropping all our stuff in the apartment and heading off  out of Rome to escape the 39degree heat.

Caffe Shakerato - ice cold to escape the heat

First we went to CastelGandolfo, to visit Beatrice and her parents. Castelgandolfo is a small town on a natrual volcanic lake about 30mins trainride from Rome centre. This is where the Pope retires for the Summer, and he has a huge palazzo on the top of the mountain. We spend lazy days swimming in the fresh-water lake and reaquanting ourselves with our broken Italian.

Orlando, driving Bea's vintage Fiat 500

A joke for the weekend was that we might run into the Pope and say G’day. On sunday morning we went into the village to buy some things, and there was a crowd of people outside the entrance to the papal palace.  The doors of the palace opened and everyone streamed inside. Curiosity got the better of me, whilst the others had a gelato, and I went in to find the Pope himself, on the balcony, giving a Domenical Address and blessing the crowd. I have therefore been Blessed by the Pope!!

Il Papa, Castelgandolfo

The we were off to Ischia for a week of sun, swimming, seafood and sleep. Andreas’ family have a lovely house up on the hill above the town of Forio, not too far from the beach but far enough from the madding August crowds. Patricia and Ugo joined us, two old italian friends of Andreas who are university academics (Ugo is the full Professor of Philosophy of Law at University of Turin, so you can imagine our dinnertime conversations!)

cena in Fontana, Mt Epomeo, Ischia

We would wake up, breakfast in the garden under the vines, walk down to the beach and spend the morning before it got too hot. Poor Orlando was constantly being gawked at by the locals, culminated in a large Neapolitan mother accosting Lauren, saying “how could you be so cruel, so horrible to your baby… dressing him in that suit, in wet clothes all day and with a hat in the water Madonna Gesu aiuto!”. Apparently they had never seen a sun-suit, and this bright blue martian was treated with great suspicion by adults and children alike!  and he still got sunburnt, poor thing…

Lauren e il Marziano Azzuro

la piscnina di Franco

Afternoons were spent at the poolside, Andreas’ family has some involvement with a condominium complex run by the lovely Franco, where there is a 25m pool and sunbeds, shade, and water. we whiled away the afternoons dozing, playing “Grass” (a vintage 1970s cardgame where the players are marijuana dealers, peddling their wares and getting “stone-highs”!), before going shopping for the evenings meal and heading back up to the house to cook. Wonderful dinners include “linghuine con vongole” (thanks andreas), “bbq frutti di mare” (chrisitan), “fritto misto” (restaurant), “coniglio alla cacciatore” (wonderful mountaintop restaruant after climbing Mt Epomeo)…  needless to say we are all putting on weight.

BBQ frutti di mare

Now we are back in Rome, getting organized to start work next week. Luckily Andreas has the rest of the week off, and is kindly helping us with the ridiculous beaurocracy that is Italy. We dont need visas (luckily), as both of us are European citizens (lauren italian, christian hungarian), but still need Codice Fiscale and other such things to allow us even to purchase a local SIM card etc.

Roman aquaduct - fresh, free spring water!

Speaking of which, our new Italian numbers are:

(+39) 348 9688360 (c)     (+39) 348 9688350 (L)

skype: talktolaurenandchristian

we are online most mornings, after Orlando wakes up and comes into bed for his morning bottle. He then plays around the room for a while, and we can skype any time from about 7-9am Rome time (3-5pm AEST), or by arrangement.

Orlando is doing well, loving the excitement of the Big City and all its sights and sounds, although his two new obesssions are rubbish trucks and vespas!  if he even hears the beep-beep of a “camion rifiuti’ in the street, he tips his head back and shouts at the top of his voice  ”Wuubooosh!”  He is also obsessed with motorini (scooters), as we have 2 vintage vespas downstairs (which dont work), and he loves to shout “moto moto!” everytime he sees one, which is a lot in Rome!

orlando and his favourite vespa (NO this photos was not set up!

So… that’s about it for the first week and a half.

Our next challenges are getting started at work, and actually learning to speak proper Italian (when Andreas isnt around we’ll be lost without him!)….

Planning to do a regular Blog each week, plus would love to be in touch with you via Skype or Email any time. Lots of love

Christian & Lauren & Orlando

(ps click on Photo Gallery below…)