Friday, September 12, 2008

Impressions of Rome (2)


Traffic




Rome is the city of Vespas, minimal Cars (nowhere have I seen so many Smarts, swarms of Smarts) and narrow undulating paved roads. With a lot of obstacles - tables, boxes, plants, parked vehicles...




In this photo you can see eighteen Vespas and two Smarts. This is the right statistical proportion.

Driving around can make you seasick. Especially if you ride in a classic Roman taxi - a Fiat Multipla - with a suspension to win you a gold medal in the trampoline.



As an alternative you can alway hire a horse driven carriage. Otherwise it is Vespas and Vespas...



Bur sometimes, in the depths of a magnificent portico, in the insides of a palazzo you can spot an expensive Merc.



Herds



Rome is also the city of herds. Not of cattle but of tourists. They dutifully follow their cicerone who holds high up something to be seen from afar. A number, a folded umbrella or a bouquet of flowers.



The herds come and go, cross and mix and sometimes lose a stray tourist...


10 comments:

doodler said...

As you probably guessed, I am back. I added two new photos in Impressions (1) and two new posts. There is much more photographic material although not of the usual tourist style. (No monuments, dear Harry).

Anonymous said...

Dear doodlie (sic),

any impressions of the new Rome,the suburbs,with modern buildings...?

Any impressions of the soul & the character of the Italians ?

doodler said...

I did not visit the new suburbs - and I cannot comment on the soul and character of a whole nation in six days! (Anyway I distrust all comments on "national character" - they are not only unscientific but also usually racist).

animal said...

Although Italy is the home of the vespa, the big majority of the scooters on the roman streets (I would say 80%) are japanese and korean. This seemed strange to me at the beginning, but it's logical. They are cheaper and more reliable.

@ harrylogue:

There is not such thing as italian character. The differences between a Lombardian and a Sicilian are more than the differences between a Sicilian and a Greek. Only three things unite them: La Squadra Azzura, La Scuderia Ferrari e la Pasta!

Anonymous said...

Maybe it is true,but we like to hear ethnological remarks from the
dud(l)e...

Γιάννης Καραμήτρος said...

I visited Rome long ago in the 80s.

I would like to visit it again, now with cheap flight from Athens it is cheaper :)

Anonymous said...

Athens-Rome is really such an easy & affordable trip,even a single-day one...

U depart in the morning,u r back home at nigh...

Could be nice for gambling trips too...

R there any casinos in Rome ?

belowzero said...
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Ars longa, vita brevis said...
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doodler said...
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