Hot Town Summer in the (Eternal) City

Perhaps not everyone would agree, but summer has always been my favorite season.  The days are long and hot, and the air is filled with the calming hum of overworked air conditioners and the smell of nearby barbecues.  As a kid growing up in Minnesota, I'd insist on wearing shorts any time the temperature hit 60, and on those rare occasions when it reached 100, I was truly in heaven.  But, of course, more than anything, summer meant water.  Mornings at the lake were followed by afternoon walks along the river, and if I was lucky, I might have even gotten a nice late-night thunderstorm to lull me to sleep.

The lack of "real summer" was one of my (few) major complaints about living in San Francisco, and so getting to experience summer in Rome (despite its late arrival) has been fantastic (not to mention good preparation for moving to very hot and sticky Eastern Virginia).  Really, though, the whole city seems to be buzzing with activity after a relatively sleepy winter, and many of our usual haunts seem familiar, yet somehow radically transformed.  It's a bit like returning to school the summer after 7th grade only to discover that the boys now sound like men, the girls look more like women, and everyone is about four inches taller.

Tents Along the Tiber

Here in Rome, the most noticeable change is down along the Tiber where a mile or so of my old running path (as well as all of Tiber island) has been transformed into an area that can only be described as a Bohemian Beer Garden Carnival Bonanza. Basically, hundreds of independent shops, restaurants, and bars have set up temporary space under little white tents all along the river and around the island.  However, their creative use of lighting, comfortable furniture, and trendy design often gives the illusion of permanency. There's also all kinds of entertainment available- everything from outdoor movies to foosball tables, to carnies challenging you to knock over all the bottles and win a prize.   

Transformed Bike Path

Being the lame 30-somethings that we are, Tom and I have really only been down there on a couple of occasions, and have always headed home by 10 or 11.  But, we've really had a lot of fun walking around, people-watching, and breathing the fried cheese-curd like scent that fills the air.  (Unfortunately, if cheese curds really exist here, we haven't yet found them.)  However, the real party usually seems to just be getting started around the time that we're heading home.  At that time, hundreds of scantily-dressed teens and college kids begin to converge along the river, where I imagine they will hang out and drink (and get sick) until the wee hours of the morning.  (The drinking age here in Italy is only 16.)  Really, I'm quite happy to get out of there before that scene really gets going!

In addition to our trips to the river, our summer in Rome has been filled with lots of our other favorite warm-weather activities like barbecues in the Bass Garden, warm weather runs in the park (at least for one of us), and even fireworks, which are occasionally shot off during weddings or charity events at the Villa Aurelia.  (We have a fantastic view of these fireworks from the 4th floor balcony of our building.)  However, the one glaring omission in our summer fun was sufficient time in the water, and so last week Tom and I took a day trip up to Lake Bracciano.

Lake Bracciano From Town

Town Square and Castle

Lake Bracciano is a fairly large lake (it's more than 20 miles around) located an hour north of Rome by train.  There are a few different towns along the lake, but we stopped at Bracciano, which, like most small Italian towns, was quaint and Medieval looking.  However, unlike many other towns, this one had its very own castle (which, apparently, was the latest-occupied castle in all of Europe).  From town, it was about a fifteen minute downhill walk to the lake, and although we knew we were headed in the right direction, the whole area felt strangely rural and deserted.

When we finally made it down to the shore, we were amazed by what we found.  Not only was the view completely breathtaking (the landscape reminded us of a strange (but awesome) mix between Minnesota and California wine country), but the scene was surprisingly quiet and relaxed for a hot day in the middle of summer.  Of course, there were quite a few people out enjoying the beautiful weather, but there were still plenty of open spots on the pebble-covered beach and the lakeside restaurants were virtually empty (and completely affordable).

Enjoying Some Pizzas and a Beautiful View (I really should have used the flash on this one...)

View From our Beach Spot

(We had so much fun that we even took this ridiculous self-portrait)

Is it possible that Lake Bracciano is one of the few spots in Italy still virtually undiscovered by tourists?  I'm truly shocked that a place so beautiful isn't already completely overtaken by 5-star hotels and shoreline bars serving 12 Euro martinis.  I can't tell you how glad I am that it's not, though.  So, when I say that I now think of Bracciano as "the poor man's Lake Como," I really mean that as the highest compliment.  Sure, maybe it can't quite match Northern Italy's Como in size, beauty, or elegance (at least from what I've heard- I've never been), but the lazy day we spent on the beach, reading, swimming and watching the ducks and boats float by is one of the best days I've spent here in Italy.  And the fact that we got to do all of that away from crowds of people and fancy restaurants that we can't afford made the experience even better!  

Ducks!

Boats!

In a way, I'm very sad to be leaving Rome right as things here are (literally) heating up.  But, I really can't complain when we have three weeks of exciting Eastern European adventures coming up.  And soon after that we'll be back in the US buying all the Trader Joes's "Fruit Frenzy" popsicles we can eat.  (If you haven't tried them, do yourself a favor and buy some on your next trip!)  Call me crazy, but when it's this hot, I'd take popsicles over gelato any day.

Alla Prossima,
Erin

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Sat. July 6:  It's "real summer."  Sunny with highs in the mid to upper 80s.  There's no air conditioning at the Academy, but our open window and ceiling fan keeps things decently cool.