ROME – The incomparable Anna and I evolved a theory in the Eternal City. One pretty lady can create a stir, but a pair trigger an exponential amount of chaos.
Sascha and I put this to the test. In glad rags and high heels, we teetered over the cobbles (no beehives – apologies, Louche). And lo, minor traffic jams occurred: most memorably, the man who simply stopped his moped, bottle-necking a busy alley, and began speaking in tongues.
Oh, it was great fun. We ran into friends. And friends of friends. Then we all took tea at the preposterous Hotel Russe, where it takes true chutzpah indeed to pull off a two-pound ($4) dress. But we bogarted glamour from the opera singers in the group, most especially mezzo-soprano Louisa.
In two weeks time, I'll be playing Texas Hold 'Em in Alaska ... As my pseudo-sib Edward insists: "this is a ridiculous way to make a living."
He should know. ERH flies off to Timbuktu in a private jet this week.
But that absurdity has nothing on walking ten stony miles in 3.5-inch heels.
Oh to be in Rome!
ReplyDeleteYes, the Eternal City is very different when one has a male travelling companion.
I'll always remember trying to read in the Borghese Gardens and suddenly realising that there were two men, slowly circling me like I was game they were trying not to scare. And making hissy noises.
...and I am still nursing sore feet...but oh so flirted with feet.
ReplyDeleteAh, now that is how you do Rome.
ReplyDeleteIndeed. Louche, you would have had a field day.
ReplyDeleteRome is definitely on my to-do list for this year, perhaps in Autumn?
ReplyDeleteB: What is up with the hissy noises? Are we supposed to come unhinged? "Oooh, a trouser snake. Downfall me from Eden, baby!"
ReplyDeleteSascha, I walked back from Piazza Navona to Testaccio in those bloody heels again Friday night. Ouch. Without your gorgeous company, it hurt even more...
ReplyDeleteLouche: Rome is glorious in autumn. Go, go, go! And pack cravats!
(As if I had to remind you...)
I think it's something grooms did with horses. It's so we don't take flight but stand mesmerised and take the sugar from their hands.
ReplyDeleteI love Italy, though I've never yet visited Rome. I think your comment about a pair of pretty ladies causing exponential chaos could be true of anywhere in Italy...
ReplyDeleteThis next bit may be entirely random or a stroke of luck so please bear with me. Just as I pressed delete all spam the other day, I noticed an email with the words 'freelance journalist' and Seattle in it, the name beginning with A. It was too late, my spam deletes permanently. On the very off chance that this was you, could you resend the email? Thanks...
You know what, I think I will. I'm going to try and spend a few weeks bimbling around Italy this year, last time I went it was such a flying visit and even then I nearly didn't come back.
ReplyDeleteHow do you manage to resist going native?
CGP: I don't think the email was me, sadly. When I troll for freelancers, I usually state their location, not mine (I pig local assignments ... editor's privilege, y'know).
ReplyDeleteBut I will explore your blogs and keep you in mind, eh?
Louche: I always go a bit native (I am, after all, a quarter-breed). Then I crave mountains with bears and bounce back to the Northwest. Italy is down to less than 100 bruins in Abruzzo – a story I've been meaning to cover, oh, forever.
Want to go ride mopeds around the Mezzogiorno and photohunt milquetoast orsi some time? We could do a sort of Flashman meets Action Barbie peninsula tour, where you seduce lots of ladies to pay our traveling costs a la Norman Douglass and I pine for Ken back home...