Somewhere back in March or April when I was dreary and depressed that Dutch winter refused to release its hold on the country I bought a cheap weekend ticket to Rome in June, on the grounds that even if the weather not better I at least had a weekend of warmth and sunshine to look forward to. And I’m pleased to report that the plan worked perfectly- the sun was hot, the food delicious, and I got to break out my summer dresses for the first time this year!
It’s really hard to describe time in Rome without falling into a corny saying, but anyway, when in Rome one thing that is fairly mandatory is gelato on the Spanish Steps. Sure there are probably a hundred tourists for every local, but the people watching is fantastic! My favorites, for the record, were all the peddlers selling knockoff illegal designer handbags and the like: if you stand at the top of the steps every once in awhile you’d see them scramble up their wares in an instant and run up the steps (making you realize why the handbags are always displayed on a sheet- easy to grab and run!), leaving you to wonder why until you saw policemen walking up. All the peddlers would then wait a reasonable distance away with one keeping watch, and when the policemen left they’d all trot back to resume their sales. For some reason this was rather entertaining to watch, and the one time I saw the police actually catch someone who was too slow they just had a conversation and let the guy go.
Clearly, they were already familiar with each other…
