A thing or two about Roma

My mother said I would love Rome and she wasn’t wrong. I think I have died and gone to heaven.  All of Rome twists and turns from one beautiful old building to the next, vespas wind between pedestrians on cobblestoned lanes, laurel trees look lush, taxis are new, the gabble of italian is intoxicating and the shopping is tantamount to divine intervention.

The staff at our hotel on via Condotti have served us copious gin and tonics on the roof terrace and watched us with some amusement I think….You girls you come in and go out, you come in and go out…..shop, shop, shop!’

I thought Rome would be expensive, but being here has made me realise just how expensive Australia is – not the other way round.

I don’t find the Italian men intimidating as I did some of the middle eastern  men in the souks in Dubai – even though probably the manner in  which they are hawking is no different. They push a pretty hard deal but most of the staff in shops do too seducing you with their latest promotion. It must be hard, but there’s no excuse for rudeness. We’ve encountered just one questionable salesman in a menswear store, and over the copious stores we’ve traipsed in and out of this story is amusing more than anything.

Friend Evie was looking for shirts for her husband, Nick.  Evie had the salesman eating out of her hand, with scarves, shirts and ties spread over the display tables. But he must have heard his till  ringing too soon, because Evie was not ready to buy. She asked us in for our opinion, and she still wasn’t sure about size, so she thought she’d go back, after texting Nick that afternoon.

“So, whata madam? You no gonna buy? Not a scarfa, not any-ting?” the salesman asked incredulously.

“No, I just need my husband’s chest measurement, I’ll come back tomorrow,” Evie said, quite sure she would.

Then as I was the last to leave the shop, I heard him hiss,  “Sheeta!”

I turned round to see him slam some shirts on the table. ” You sheeta Americanos!”

But in an oh so Australian response, when told of the salesman’s outburst, Evie said,

“Well, I won’t be going back now. Stuff him!”