Cavorting in Cavour

Cavour is one of my favorite parts of Rome; it’s quite central but unlike a lot of the city it is green and leafy. Beautiful old buildings are surrounded by well-placed trees and vines and it seems like a different place entirely. Last year Beth and I had a few brews in an Irish pub there one night so I decided to wander back and see it in daylight. Again, it was hot as hell, and I was seeking any sort of air conditioning, hence being drawn to the trees. I meandered about for a while, saw lots of churches (and went into one in the hope it was cool: it wasn’t, but it seemed to be a popular local spot for charging your mobile phone… This is what the people get up to when there isn’t a priest on watch.

Roaming

Our first full day in Rome started off very nicely with good weather and a lovely wee stroll down the road.

There are no umbrella sellers when it’s sunny, which is such a relief.  A couple of the umbrella sellers have followed us when we’ve shot a non grazie at them, but the majority willl just try for a sale and then leave you alone.  I’ve tried rationalising why I don’t want an umbrella (“I like getting soaking wet”, pointing at the umbrella we’re sharing, or, once in a moment of frustration Beth shot a “F*** off, just f*** off will you?!” ) but it doesn’t work, so we have fallen back on the ‘real Italian way’ of dealing with them, and just pretending they don’t exist.  The fact that there were umbrella carcasses all over Rome didn’t exactly make me want to buy one either.  I feel sorry for them though, them and the Senegalese fake Prada bag-sellers: life must be pretty crap at home if it’s a better life being glared at by Italians and bewildered tourists in a strange city.