@T: ALWAYS THE TWAIN

Here’s what I got for my Christmas present:

That’s right, I got the best Christmas present anyone could give another person: unforgettable memories. Those are more valuable than receiving another pair of shoes, a handbag or the latest Chanel make-up kit (these, apparently, are what women covet the most).

Incidentally, of the two cars, I think the beaten up old Fiat that’s being held together with the sticky tape has a lot more character and pulls a person in more than the Lamborghini. Unequivocally, the Lamborghini has a “WOW” factor and it would be on most supercar fan’s wish list. However, the Fiat is the one that arrests a person on a street, makes them smile at its quaintness and then wonder, “Who are the owners? What type of conversations and adventures has this little machine experienced? Why on earth did they use brown stick tape instead of send it to the scrap yard? How cool would it be to be weaving over the narrow cobblestones of Roma in this?!”

My Xmas trip was partly a vacation and partly a reconnaissance trip for Project ART. I’m going to the Venice Biennale this year for reconnaissance too, :*). When I’m in Roma I stay in a beautiful rooftop apartment near the Spanish Steps which is convenient for walking to all the major landmarks: the Coliseum, the Vatican, the Village Borghese, the Pantheo, the Trevi fountain and all the main shopping areas.

Mostly, I simply liked wandering off the tourist hotspots and experiencing what the locals did on a daily basis. One Sunday, after I went to listen to the Pope’s New Year message, I walked all the way to the Villa de Pomphilij where an armed military guard kindly escorted me across a busy road. He was shocked to see me emerging from one of the side roads because there was no pedestrian footpath on the side road and I was laden with groceries I’d bought from the supermercato that doubled up as a petrol station.

Anyway, that was strange to see: armed military guards and a military jeep in the city.

Then I found myself watching two brothers in the park (about 18 months and 4, respectively) kicking a football around whilst their family of 12+, including grandparents, watched on from their picnic. That’s right, a picnic at Christmas time — how cool is that?! Of course, the temperature did hit about 20 degrees Celsius and it was sunny, so………..

The scene was especially touching because the toddler was unsteady on his feet and kept falling onto his derrière (as evidenced by the notable patches of mud there), but his older brother seemed to be completely oblivious to his plight and kept running with the ball until, finally, he realized the youngster was no longer chasing him or the ball but plumped on his backside and struggling to get up again. At which point the older one would abandon his football and run over to help the baby up. It was very sweet.

Something else magical I managed to video was the thunder and lightning over St. Peter’s Square on New Year’s Eve. It was quite an experience being stranded under the colonnades, waiting for the torrential rain to stop, and hearing one of the nuns say, “Oh, Papa!” as if she was sure God was sending us a message about the new decade.

After the rain eventually stopped, I managed to navigate my way to the Via dei Fiori near the Coliseum to watch the fireworks and the concert that augured in 2010.

All-in-all, an eventful and revelatory trip with lots of videos and photos taken; far too many to post!

I’d like to wish everyone a very “Happy Easter!”

Right now, I’m in overcast Londinium wishing that I’d gone to Rome for the Easter Mass which is what I do some years like this one:

It’s always a moving experience and Christians (as well as other faiths and faith-neutral) come from all over the world to celebrate together and to remember those who are less fortunate in the world. Some of the streets leading into St. Peter’s Square are populated by beggars and those who have lost limbs, and people always stop to speak with them and give them some temporary relief (money, some food or simply some kindness).

One year, I came across this gentleman:

He caught my attention because he was sitting outside an alcohol store and, thankfully, wasn’t in a drunken stupor but had benefitted from the kindness of strangers. They’d provided him with a colombo cake (this is a special cake topped with almonds, orange zest, chocolate and marzipan that Italians make to enjoy at Easter) and other food items.

I gave him some money and said I hoped he’d spend it on some nice coffee to go with his cake and a hot dinner rather than in the alcohol store. He smiled at me and nodded in agreement. I also asked him whether it might not be better to find a good hostel for the homeless instead of sleeping out on the streets. He smiled at me again.

The world is full of poverty, inequality and ignorance issues for any one person to resolve. Nevertheless, if we each do our share — even the tiniest bit of it — that accumulates to quite a lot of collective benefit and consideration towards others.