Best things in life

”The best things in life are free…”

That is the first part of a quote by the famous French designer, Coco Chanel. Only things I know about her is she has a perfume, her purses look like puffer jackets, and Ridley Scott’s legendary commercial (called the greatest 30 sec in visual arts).

Here is the rest of her quote:

“…The second best things are very, very expensive.”

Coco has really embraced the second part.

Zoom in to the sign. “Bursa” means purse, “scarpe” means shoes. You can do the Euro (€) to US dollar ($) conversion.

There are things you have to pay an entrance fee. Colosseum. Vatican Museums. Pantheon. Art galleries.

However, the biggest attraction of Rome is the central city itself. It is an outdoor archaeological museum. There are ruins everywhere.

It is the exotic mess—ha, that was autocorrect; keeping it. Meant the exoticness. There will be things that are novel and interesting. Then, there will be times you will wonder how can anyone do things this way?!

Plus, Italy has Italians. All kinds. However, there will be patterns that become apparent after a few days in Rome. 

Stylish Italians with conspicuously more panache in how they present themselves. Talking loud, laughing louder; moving through spaces in a way that shows security of their place.

You’re a guest. They live and make the Eternal City hum. Men in suits and women in dresses zipping by on scooters. Nuns and clerics moving in packs.

Customs that reflect a slower way of life—especially with meals. Standard procedures for ordering meals. Gelato is paid first. Traditional eateries with mid-afternoon shutdown for about 4 hours. Discovering that just olive oil and salt brings a lot of flavor. When the simplest ingredients bring a sophisticated experience, you understand why there is an overall pride in their food culture.

Stone walkways. Trendiest fashions and home furnishings in the oldest buildings. 

Traffic that weaves through corners and roundabouts. Cars, themselves, are a curiosity. First one is only a single seater. 

Before this post can just be dismissed as an American tourist smug in discovering that Italians really value what is important…let me take this in a different direction. 

Look at the photos below. You don’t need to read Italian to know what it commemorates. The dates are the biggest clue.