The vino in Roma
Natalia had to be at the International Journalism Festival in Perugia. I would have joined her if it wasn’t for my own commitments, but we did manage to have a crossover of our journeys, such that we were to meet in Rome.
Originally, my flight was set to arrive in Rome after midnight which, I discovered, meant getting into Rome was prohibitively cumbersome and expense.
Instead, I extended my stopover in Yerevan, two nights there, and bought a new ticket for a flight from Yerevan to Rome, both of these being cheaper than the taxi from Fiumicino to the city centre in Rome, even if this meant Natalia and I were only going to have just over 48 hours together.
That is to say, until my flight from Rome to Porto, my next destination, was changed considerably, twice, and my early evening departure became an early morning departure, limiting our get-together to a mere 36 hours, including two nights.
We were only going to have one full day together. But then again, this still was Rome, so who is to complain.
We had tried getting tickets for the Sistine chapel, but these apparently are booked many months in advance. We simply enjoyed strolls around the city, as well as a tour on the Tiber.
Then, by accident, we discovered an old friend was also visiting Rome with his wife. The consequences, the next day, after several bottles of excellent wine from Signorvino, followed by a great truffle-fest for dinner, were tangible.