April 25, 2018 - .......Do As The Romans Do

This is Heather again. I sprained my ankle yesterday. It is swollen and turning some beautiful colors, so I might as well sit here and blog some more! Mark also had a really bad sprain about a month ago. He quit his running to let it heal and it is still bothering him some. I hope mine does not take that long. I don't think it is quite as bad as his. It is easy to do with all of the cracks and holes and roots in the roads and sidewalks here.

One of the first interesting things we noticed when we got to Rome, was a very loud kind of bird in the city parks. We saw some up close and they look like parrots! We found out that they are Rose-collared Parakeets. They are really beautiful but are an invasive species that found the climate just right for them when they were somehow released into the wild here. They have found a niche and will not be leaving any time soon! There are many, and they fly around in big flocks. I really like watching them; they are cleary intelligent birds, and very social.

The green space areas in Rome have been interesting to explore. We have seen only a very few lawn mowers and weed-eaters in use. Most green areas are a wild mix of grass, weeds, wildflowers, and whatever happens to be there. Areas were clearly landscaped at one time with beautiful trees and shrubs and grass. They get an occasional pruning, but seem to be mostly left to go a little wild. We have yet to see any formal garden space that is perfectly weeded and mowed. It may be that the city does not have the money or the personnel, but we get the impression that they seem to prefer it that way, and I kind of like it, too. It is clear that no pesticides or hericides are in use, and it doesn't look "primped" to death, which I often see in American gardening. There may be gardens that are much more intensely magaged inside some of the villas and palaces around Rome, but the city gardens are not. They still get plenty of people using them, for soccer, picnics, dog play, frisbee, walking, etc.

Italy has these beautiful tall pine trees. They are called Stone Pines, or Umbrella Pines, or Parasol Pines. They get incredibly tall and wide at the top. The bottom branches die off and either fall or get pruned away, leaving these tall beauties. They accentuate every beautiful scene in the area. They are the trees that the Italian Pine Nuts come from so they are closely related to the Utah Pinion Pine. I'm not sure if the height makes harvesting a problem? The pine nuts here are larger, softer, and a little more mild in taste than the Utah ones. They make great pesto!

The ruins in these photos are the "Baths of Caracalla," a huge public bathing complex from around 200 AD. We walked around them one day but have not purchased tickets to see the inside, yet. I hope we get a chance to. I have looked at maps of the floor plan and it is amazing! It could accommodate over 1600 people at one time, with work-out rooms, saunas, hot pools, warm pools, cold pools, and even a library and gardens! And all covered in beautiful mosaics and frescos. The water was all fresh, flowing in and then out, not used over again. But, of course, it relied heavily on the miserable underground work of many slaves.

Spring has hit and the flowering trees are spectacular. This woman was doing a little photo shoot for her dress shop under that gorgeous Red Bud Tree. She was a bit embarassed to be caught at it, but she looked so pretty in her dress under that tree! She said I could take a picture, too. :)

The wisteria has been outrageous! We see it all over the city, just amazing!

Can you find the cat sunning himself in the picture below?

I thought I would post a few pictures of sights that we commonly see as we walk around the city. There are many little shops that are like mini-marts, with the basic grocery essentials and some fresh produce. The bigger grocery stores are fewer and usually a longer walk. There are tons of little pizzerie, pasticcerie (pastry shops), flower shops, panifici (bakeries), gelaterie (ice cream shops), etc.

There are also these tiny shops that sell a little bit of everything, but not food; we call them, "whose-its and whats-its" shops. You never know what you might find!

When it is time to eat, there are plenty of options to choose from. It is all tasty, but for those of us trying to avoid carbohydrates, the options become few and far between! That is true in America, too.

Another interesting thing that we see a lot of are people wearing religious robes of many different sorts. Some are living here but many come through the city on pilgrimages. The city was full of religious pilgrims during the Easter week.

Since ancient times, religious pilgrims have been made to feel welcome, by the strategic placement of small shrines throughout many Italian cities, along main walkways. The locals adore them too. They are often shrines to Saint Mary, but there are other saints as well. They are often small and unobtrusive, but beautiful, placed on a building corner, or wall, low enough to see well, pray to, and place flowers on. We often find fresh flowers on them, all over Rome.

Another cool thing that we see everywhere, is the ridged tracks for people who have visual impairments to follow. Mark says that many cities have them, but I am not familiar with many cities. There are so many other dangers for walkers in Rome (uneven broken pavement and cobbles, roots, cracks, narrow roads with tiny or no sidewalk, etc., etc.), it just seems amazing that the whole city is covered with such tracks for people who need them. I wish them well; I am sure the tracks are much needed.

The last point of interest for this post is the topic of dogs. We have come to realize that Italians love their pets! They really love both cats and dogs, and we see more dogs in this city than any other city I have ever been in. Any time we are out and about, we pass dogs every few minutes. They are everywhere. They are allowed in shops, markets, malls, even restaurants and cafes! We see that they are well cared for and adored. The pet supply stores here are well stocked, extensive, and many. We have even seen a restaurant owner come out to the guests with doggy biscuits for their pet, even though it was making a rukus and was not very well behaved. This is an animal friendly city, with dog parks and tolerant codes for pets. They have dogs of all sizes and breeds.