"Holiday in Rome"
For a tourist, to talk about Italy usually means holiday, sun, seaside and the ancient treasures to be found in almost every town of the " boot". .......Yes really ......a boot like the one you might want to wear when you want to take a long walk through the myriad traditional roots of the " bel paese" (“Wonderful country, wonderful people”).
Special, of course, are Rome and Venice: both combine culture and surroundings, in a way that is unique worldwide.
As a newcomer to Rome you will need a dictionary where you can find the translation of the most common roman slang such as “mortacci tua (Literally: "damn your dead relatives", A simple general superlative meaning anything from F… you! to Sod off! Or just “and so?”…you have to know who said it and in what context! Not something you need to repeat, because you’ll probably be misunderstood!) /anvedi che bello (look how wonderful)/annamo a magná ( let´s have something to eat)/ nun c'é probblema ( no problem).
Before you go to Rome buy a pair of very comfortable shoes as you will walk for many, many miles. The romans are friendly, extravagant and love to talk. The Italian "chiacchera" is more than just a " gossip", it is a social institution for the dissemination and gathering of information, for confirming rumours and an excellent excuse for just sitting and enjoying the day!
The romans are very proud of Rome and many of them are a fan of the football team:
full name Associazione Sportiva Roma SpA
Nickname(s) i Giallorossi (The Yellow-Reds)
La Maggica (The Magic One)
i Lupi (The Wolves)
" maggica Roma" ( please note that in Italian the word magic , is written with one "G" as in English, but the romans often add some letters to emphasize the way they pronounce some words). So if you say something positive about this team, you will be immediately considered a football expert and you can make new friends. The other team, Lazio Rom, even though older then "maggica " Rome, has less supporters and the most of them are suburban........
Football is very important in Rome so that an arrival between 3 and 5pm on Sundays might mean that it will be difficult to find a friend who will pick you up or, if he/she is prepared to, he/she might have the headphones in his ears......listening to the match on the radio station. You might also find yourself involved in a spontaneous party, in the middle of the street wearing a scarf in the traditional colours of Rom gold-yellow and dark red!
If you can’t find a friend to pick you up from the airport, take a taxi; the official taxis are white (Don’t take an unofficial taxi!). The normal fee should be 45 € from the airport (Leonardo da Vinci/ Fiumicino) to the town centre.
Preparing for a trip to Rome (or Italy) you have probably looked at the pictures but you will nevertheless, hopefully, be surprised by the reality: How beautiful the town is, the Piazza del Popolo, the Italian parliament and the Phantheon and Navona squares! For a quick visit don’t miss the Piazza Venezia and the Colosseum.
The best coffee in Rome, we believe can be had at sant' Eustacchio. We recommend trying the wood-roasted, ground coffee. Since 1938 this is THE PLACE for the real connoisseurs of Espresso and a great place to plan for a break!.
If you do have several days, plan the visit carefully…not too much each day and plenty of time just to enjoy the atmosphere and…don’t forget to charge the battery of your camera.......
