I started my Italian visit in the city of Rome to spend a few days visiting some of my friends there. If you have read any of my past blogs about Rome, you are certainly aware that it’s not exactly my favorite city in Italy. After only a few minutes there, I’m already overwhelmed by traffic, congestion, and tourists everywhere. However, a few adventures on my trip this time around may just have redeemed a small bit of my slight hostility towards the city.
The first thing I learned is that Rome is an entirely different city at night. When it's dark and everyone is safely tucked away inside their homes, there are no tourists walking out in the town, no cars driving all over the streets, no mopeds zipping past, and definitely no African men yelling at you trying to sell something. It's quiet, and all the city's ancient beauty that is drowned out by the congestion and noise of the daytime comes alive and shines in the magic of the moonlight.
I got to experience Rome in this magical way, sitting atop a balcony overlooking a classical piano concert below that was being held in the shadow of a 2000-year-old building. This building, the Teatro di Marcello, had once served as an amphitheater during the time of Emperor Augustus and was now, once again, providing a majestic stage for the resplendent notes coming from one single woman on a grand piano.
Without the cars, without the people, without the noise, the ancient splendor of the eternal city gleamed brightly in the magnificence of the brewing storm.
Before I knew it, the empty streets of Rome were suddenly filled – with rain drops, water, and puddles, showering down upon us as we cautiously and quickly steered the moped through the rivers that were forming on the cobblestone streets. All hope was lost for staying dry. The downpour engulfed us, with nothing but the helmets on our heads as protection from the wet.
The first thing I learned is that Rome is an entirely different city at night. When it's dark and everyone is safely tucked away inside their homes, there are no tourists walking out in the town, no cars driving all over the streets, no mopeds zipping past, and definitely no African men yelling at you trying to sell something. It's quiet, and all the city's ancient beauty that is drowned out by the congestion and noise of the daytime comes alive and shines in the magic of the moonlight.
I got to experience Rome in this magical way, sitting atop a balcony overlooking a classical piano concert below that was being held in the shadow of a 2000-year-old building. This building, the Teatro di Marcello, had once served as an amphitheater during the time of Emperor Augustus and was now, once again, providing a majestic stage for the resplendent notes coming from one single woman on a grand piano.
The concert was short, only an hour, but the enchantment of the night was only just beginning to unfold. As the evening wore on and darkness enveloped the majestic remains of the ancient world, a thunderstorm began to brew above. For a first row seat, I accompanied a friend of mine on a midnight moped ride through the prohibited gardens of the Villa Borghese to sit, perched on a ledge, overlooking the twinkling Piazza del Popolo below. Clouds enshrouded the moon, leaving the city lights below to illuminate the night sky in between flashes of colossal lightening. Thunder boomed above our heads and the cool of the night filled the air. Everything was still, except the violent call of nature expressing itself in grandeur all around us.
Without the cars, without the people, without the noise, the ancient splendor of the eternal city gleamed brightly in the magnificence of the brewing storm.
But of course, with any thunderstorm, rain is sure to come at some point. Unfortunately, this thought had escaped our minds in the midst of the city’s beauty until it was already too late. The drops started to slowly fall. And so began the adventure.
At that moment, the compartment on the back of the moped (that happened to be holding my purse and, consequently, camera) flew off the back and landed with a thud in the middle of the wet road. I watched from the back of the moped as the compartment popped open and my purse rolled out onto the ground, growing ever smaller as the distance between us and it continued to increase while we hurriedly tried to slow down.
A man was standing on the road nearby where it fell, and looked at us incredulously as we rode back, picked up our things from the middle of the road, and assessed the damage. He yelled something in Italian and while I have no idea what, I had no problem interpreting his astonishment at our helpless and slightly ludicrous situation.
All I could do was laugh. My camera was a little banged up, but it survived and was fine. Ultimately I just found myself laughing at the situation and thinking, “What in the world were we thinking taking a moped ride in the pouring rain in the middle of the night in Rome?” But oh the adventures you find when you’re willing to do something crazy!
The rain continued to pour down on us the rest of our journey towards shelter, but I didn’t mind at all. We whizzed through the streets as the Colosseum, ancient walls, and ruins loomed prominently in the night sky, amidst torrents of water. It may have been the most beautiful Rome has ever looked.
By the time I got home, I was soaked from head to toe. And I absolutely loved it. :)
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