Romesecret

The Day Siberia Came to Rome

2012-02-04T21:04:00.001+01:00

For those who wonder what a Mediterranean city looks like in the grip of a Siberian winter here are a few pictures taken today. Above is the view from my bedroom window in central Rome this morning.The Tartaruga Fountain, where Gastrognome's parents fell in love at first sight in the heart of the Jewish Ghetto was extra romantic today with the turtles and nymphs frozen in time. The bridge

It's The Result That Counts!

2011-08-13T23:41:00.008+02:00

Eight months in and the ghost of my New Year’s resolution is mocking me yet again as the power shorts out in my apartment. Last New Year’s Eve while savouring a wedge of vegetarian haggis, I resolved to improve my efficiency in 2011. Evidently the gelid Edinburgh wind had brought on an attack of the perverse given that this planned increase in personal productivity was being scheduled to take

The Immaculate Beatle

2010-12-08T23:39:00.017+01:00

To a Briton such as myself, the 8th December will always be foremost remembered as the day I heard the world had lost a Beatle. Here in Rome today, I was distracted by a National holiday which kicks off with the Pope swinging past the Spanish Steps in his Popemobile and officially opening Christmas on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. Back in England, most supermarkets and chain

Just don't breathe!

2010-11-05T12:35:00.001+01:00

Temperatures plummeted last week and somewhere between devouring a cream filled croissant and downing my second cup of Fortnum’s smoky Earl Grey, I was forcing to carry out an emergency "cambio di stagione". Traditionally it takes a whole weekend to store away the linen and unwrap the cashmere but masterfully I achieved it in under 15 minutes partly due to the absence of my mid-weight early

The Importance of Being Bulgarized!

2010-10-06T02:13:00.005+02:00

If Oscar Wilde had been Roman, he would most certainly have written “The Importance of Being Important.” For many Romans, “Earnest” is about as unfamiliar a concept as buying shoes from a cash-and-carry. "Important" on the other hand means extra special dispensation and social distinction above all others. In other words: Special. Who knows if this goal to be special could be an overreaction to

Eat Pray Did You Love the Film?

2010-09-23T19:35:00.013+02:00

My great love of film has already predisposed me well to becoming a Roman as what I lack in my vegetarianism, I can claw back as a film buff. For a Roman, going to the cinema is up there in his top 5 pursuits of pleasure during winter, so when a film opens which was actually filmed in the city, its release is greatly anticipated and then slammed if it doesn't represent Rome the way Romans see

Do Me a Favour!

2010-09-17T23:03:00.009+02:00

“No good deed goes unpunished” I was reminded of this once again as I nearly came a cropper on my bike, whilst dropping off a bottle of Prosecco for a friend, as a favour, last week. As I pushed my cycle across a pedestrian crossing, barely a chalky trace of which remained visible on the tarmac, I encountered the most deadly of all hybrids: Roman white-van man. As he edged his way around a corner

Blond Ambition

2010-09-11T01:46:00.006+02:00

The peaceful vibe in Rome has changed this week and the reason is “il rientro” It’s all Romans can talk about and it’s being blamed for everything from lack of parking to the end of "The Party along the Tiber". Tourists might be forgiven for believing Rome is currently involved in an Italian space program given that “il rientro” sounds like something could be heading, shuttle-shaped in our

So Where is the Good Cake?

2010-09-01T16:30:00.003+02:00

Apparently there are 14,ooo lawyers currently practicing in Rome. That’s 14,000 more than Starbucks cafes in the Eternal city and 13,998 more than public toilets available to tourists in the city centre. Nothing untoward so far for a new Roman whose transformation is on schedule, in fact, alarm bells shouldn’t start ringing until you hear that not so long ago, I moved into an apartment near

Alice in Chain Restaurants

2010-08-06T21:24:00.007+02:00

Frequent trips back to London serve to sharpen my perspective of the Eternal city less I become inclined to regard its haunting beauty and sanguine chaos as commonplace in every capital. Before a summer trip back, my general disposition is of one who has just been called up for jury service and dragged off the set of an episode of Jeux sans Frontieres, c 1974. As I change out of my bikini

Surprise Surprise!

2010-07-02T01:12:00.004+02:00

Who doesn’t love surprises? Well me, if the definition of a surprise is something you don’t see coming because who can predict outcomes which aren’t a result of the sane, reliable, logical methods employed and trusted all of one’s life? The secret of becoming a new Roman is to visualise these alternative outcomes- little surprises as moments of magic which put a bemused smile on your face as

Was it the council or the Capulets who kidnapped the car and the vessel with the pestle...?

2010-06-24T16:49:00.004+02:00

Lately, I’ve been taking stock of my ongoing transformation from precise Briton to abstract new Roman and asking myself some really harsh questions, such as: Will I ever manage to leave the cheese counter having purchased something I can actually stomach? Will I ever be able to buy clothes in Rome, given that only extra-small is ever hung on show and my size is generally stored down in the

When Is a Bridge Not a Bridge?

2010-06-02T02:11:00.005+02:00

When a Roman talks feverishly about a bridge, “Ponte” there’s little chance he’s referring to anything spanning the Tiber. He could be enthusing about status-symbol leather goods, trademark The Bridge but the likelihood is, the bridge in question relates to a one-day National holiday, which, if it were to fall on a Tuesday for example, could merge with the nearest weekend to form a four-day

Cow The Eternal City

2010-05-24T23:28:00.003+02:00

Every week, I like to rename Rome, usually inspired by whatever has been the most frustrating, joyous or comical peak of my week, always favouring a one syllable word so the city doesn’t lose its ring. Once I named it “Why?” after a week of mouthing the word, bemused expression trying to fathom all things bewildering in Rome, such as why the booking of hospital appointment is only achievable by

The Man in the Emperor Purple Shirt Says Yes

2010-05-19T14:34:00.011+02:00

What is it about Roman DNA that sends many of them haring around this magnificent city, oblivious to the existence of anyone they don't know by name, driving like rabid dogs frothing at the sight of yet another sparkling fountain? Could it be that many are suffering from ESS: "Emperor Slave Syndrome"? This condition causes sufferers with a rich heritage of invading, conquering ancestors to

Mamma Mia stole the Bikers Thunder

2010-05-11T00:47:00.007+02:00

I’ve yet to be convinced the uber-stylish residents of Rome really want to see herds of cyclists taking over their streets any time soon. I’d be the first to concede that I can resemble a giant 8 year-old, pedalling through the rain in my flowery Cath Kidson cag in a bag. Romans on scooters on the other hand, generally look effortlessly chic gliding around on what amounts to motorized display

In This Season: Burgundy and Orange?

2010-05-03T11:32:00.005+02:00

A good deal of Romans are currently suffering from an extra virulent fever, which is causing many of them to sleep, work and socialize in burgundy and orange lycra. The fever has risen to 71 but thankfully not on a thermometer. Instead, it’s registering on a league table, as Roma Football Team "La Magica", still have a fighting chance of winning “lo scudetto”, Italy’s premier league championship

You Can Take the Roman Cat out of the Chariot Race but...

2010-04-23T02:34:00.003+02:00

There’s an Australian traffic rule that says “Road sense is the offspring of courtesy and the parent of safety.” To Roman road sense, courtesy and safety would be the disinherited relative with burgeoning Tourette's. I’ve heard a rumour, although I believe it to be an urban myth, that driving whilst using a mobile phone is illegal in Rome, or maybe only if your phone is a “mattone”,

Artichoke Hearts or Pig Hearts anyone?

2010-04-13T23:33:00.007+02:00

Tell a Roman you are a "veggie" and you’ll be able to read the ensuing facial expression clearer than a tabloid headline on Election Day: Why? Why, because what was understood, is as inexplicable to a Roman as an announcement of self-imposed celibacy, abstinence from fine wines and chocolate, rejection of art, film, music and literature, voluntary unpaid overtime and boycotting of beach and ski

37 means off-colour, 38 means off work

2010-04-07T15:45:00.006+02:00

If a Roman says he has a 38, you could be forgiven for thinking he’s about to stick a pistol into your ribs and make off with your Fendi clutch bag. In fact, he’s probably letting you know he’s about to cancel on you; meeting, lesson, meal, date, he won’t be coming because he has “la febbre”, a fever which adult Romans succumb to on average once every three months. A fever which I, by comparison

Desperately Seeking Slippers

2010-03-31T13:19:00.005+02:00

The secret of shopping in Rome is in guessing the type of shop which sells the object you are looking for. Pharmacies don’t sell shampoo, pyjamas are sold in bed linen shops, phone top-ups from the lottery ticket counter, saucepans are sold with dishwashers and fridges. Had I known that mens slippers were only sold in childrens shoe shops, my father might have got a new pair for his last

Buon Scribbling on your Neighbour's House

2010-03-20T13:06:00.007+01:00

As a child, while other parents were warning their children not to go out of the garden, my father, a former sailor on the H.M.S. Dainty, was warning me never to venture further south than the Rock of Gibraltar. Beyond this point, I would surely encounter civilizations unfamiliar with social manners and rife with scoundrelly men. Obviously his ship had never docked anywhere near Rome otherwise he

Beware the Ides of Wholemeal Carbonara

2010-03-12T13:47:00.007+01:00

There’s no greater way to strike terror into a Roman’s heart than by declaring your intention to rustle him up a little something in the kitchen, without using a recipe. No menu in a restaurant means homemade delights but no recipe in the kitchen means red alert. As part of my transition from precise, reliable Briton to abstract Roman, I’m now embracing their ideology that anything official is in

Friends, Romans,countrymen lend me your Moncler

2010-03-04T03:34:00.008+01:00

I’ve long since considered Romans to be the sensationally over-accessorized Barbie Dolls in the toy box where the English would be Steiff teddy bears, perennially redecorating Dolls Houses. The average Roman owns an exhaustive range of designer accessories, enough to make the ground floor of an Harvey Nichols department store feel inadequate. Winter sunglasses, summer sunglasses, swimming goggles

On Your Bike Signora!

2010-02-23T01:15:00.005+01:00

When Christopher Morley, the American poet said “ The bicycle, the bicycle surely, should always be the vehicle of novelists and poets” , I’m pretty sure he wasn’t including those residing in Rome. The odes of Keats would have contained more references to being shoved into flower stalls than unrequited love, if he had ever