Thursday 17 June 2010

Sometimes I Dream In Italian
Postcards From Rome


An American

in Paris

surprises me

with a post from Rome

and I fall
into a bucketful of homesickness

that I am trying
to drown in cup after cup
of coffee
to no avail!

Now, who can find
this very same corner of Rome
on David Lebowitz's blog
"Living the Good Life in Paris"
?
He walked through
my old neighbourhood
and my heart
went wild.

All images
captured in Rome
in September 2009
© by Merisi


33 comments:

  1. Lovely but where is the GELATO??
    Please go back.
    Grazia!
    xxcg

    ReplyDelete
  2. Paris Breakfasts:
    Mi dispiace, cara Carol,
    but I eat gelato in Rome only late at night,
    preferably in a cone from Giolitti,
    and that is a really bad time to take pictures,
    for more than one reason. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Beauty everywhere, and a heart that doesn't go wild upon seeing it is a heart of stone. Brava Merisi!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lovely shots of Roma....I do not think I knew you were from there. Let the rest of us clueless viewers know where your neighborhood was!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh my! They are all beautiful but the old man and the pigeon is a story in itself.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Small wonder you pine...sometimes the smallest thing can bring on homesicknes for a place so acute that nothing can cure it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh, Merisi, I'm crying here, too. I want to go back. I do love all things Italian. These images are making me sigh out loud...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Your photo of the elderly gentleman reminds me of the end of Scorsese's film version of The Age of Innocence. Beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Yes, gelato in late evening, I agree. But you know Carol, well, that hussy would eat it for breakfast. (Let's see if she sees this:)

    And all this sighing people do in blogs (in comments)everywhere (I'm not picking on anyone in particular). People of the Great Sigh. What is holding you back? I'm applying for every dang thing I can to return to...where I want to be. It might take a few years, I'll still do it. You'd be surprised at what you can qualify for (yes, even families, etc.)

    That's my lil lecture & it's meant to be taken with a pinch of sugar, a huge cup of bravery-inducing coffee, & be assured I lecture with goodwill towards all. Because I am a big coward but still will do things anyway.

    ciao-meow, Merisi.

    PS: Taking out my link so people don't come & yell at me. See? I am a coward.

    ReplyDelete
  10. That fellow has his pants pulled up a long way with those suspenders.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh, why is the old man grouchy?
    He is in Rome! Viva la Vita! :-)

    I also love the photo of the woman in red bandana!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm missing Rome, and I've never been.
    Lovely.
    LL

    ReplyDelete
  13. Margaret Benbow,
    grazie, cara! :-)


    Theresa Cheek,
    Rome was home to me for almost a decade.
    The neighborhood is around Campo de' Fiori, I lived down Via dei Giubbonari and then left at San Carlo, into Via del Monte della Farina (where the fictional lover of French writer Michel Butor's best-known novel, La Modification, lived, a story btw that evolves coincidentally over a train ride from Paris to Rome ).

    ReplyDelete
  14. Vicki Lane,
    this is out near the Colosseo, at the Basilica di San Clemente als Laterano. I had observed the gentleman for some time, hoping for an opportunity to capture the scene without upsetting him. I pushed the shutter at the last moment, after that, he got up.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Arija,
    you know all too well what that feels like, don't you?

    Sue,
    you must start planning to return NOW!

    Willow,
    it's almost as if Italian moviemakers at one point or other have captured every scene imaginable in one of their films! Every time I see a bicycle in Rome, am I reminded of Vittoria de Sica's "The Bicycle Thief" (Il ladro delle biciclette").

    ReplyDelete
  16. Susan,
    you are a little vigliacca! :-)

    I agree with everything you say!
    (I have the creditentials too - like driving home from Geneva via Venice, arriving their at 10pm, showing up at that little albergo I know well by surprise, then running over to visit friends at a ristorante before they closed for the night, then up again at 5.30, walking until l'una, and then driving all the way home to Vienna). ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Gorgeous photos. I just finished - and tremendously enjoyed - David Lebowitz's book, "The Sweet Life in Paris" but hadn't yet visited his site. I love the random connections and avenues of thought and discovery. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Charles Gramlich,
    i have noticed that too, seems to be an elder gentlemen habit.


    The Girl from Cherry Blossom Street,
    I think he was just tired!
    The woman with the bandana was begging at the gate. When she noticed that I had a camera, she went away, only to be caught later, when she showed at again. She did not think I was that persistant (and I would not have photographed her begging anyway).

    ReplyDelete
  19. Lori Lynn,
    that's what Rome (Rome la strega, the witch) does to you! You should get to Rome soon, however! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  20. An American Girl Moves to Vienna,
    I have not read the book yet, I am only lurking at his blog because I love his style and his recipes. I came like a shock when all of a sudden he showed up in Rome, i.e. I opened his blog and there were pictures of places I knew so well.

    Have your read Adam Gopnik's "Paris to the Moon"? I highly recommend it (one of his siblings is the Washington Post art critic Blake Gopnik).

    ReplyDelete
  21. Merisi, I have been away from home for a few days and now it is a delight to catch up on your recent posts :-)

    ReplyDelete
  22. Wandering Star,
    thank you! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  23. and I fall into a bucket of homesickness....

    Ohhhhhhh. Ohhhhhh.............
    Oh. I am sorry. Sending you a hug.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Oh I know how that homesickness creeps in. I miss NYC so much. I have friends heading for Lake Como next week and I am so jealous. Time for some travel, I think.
    Catherine xx

    ReplyDelete
  25. oh how wonderful!

    paz ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous18 June, 2010

    Your photos are beautiful from wherever you travel. Greetings from an English lady who is married to an Italian. We look forward to our summer in the Roman countryside soon.

    ReplyDelete
  27. She Writes,
    thank you! xxx

    A Thousand Clapping Hands,
    I have not been to too many places in Europe because I always long to return to the ones I already love.

    Paz,
    indeed! ;-)

    Linda P,
    welcome and best wishes for a beautiful summer in
    the Campagna Romana!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Spacedlaw,
    I imagine! ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  29. The power of pictures - amazing that they elicit such emotion. And one of the reasons I love coming to visit your blog :)

    ReplyDelete
  30. Now I noticed, it is 2009:)

    ReplyDelete
  31. Now I noticed, it is 2009:)

    ReplyDelete
  32. All very beautiful postcards!
    :-)

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to leave a note.