Rome diary: Mariken

Mariken, my companion during a month in Rome this spring, spotted this unusual door-surround long before I did. Artists see the world differently from other folk.

Ah, the umbrella pines in the Villa Doria Pamphilj park behind where we were staying. We loved the umbrella pines!

Mariken and impossibly perfect wisteria-over-rustic-building scene along the Appian Way outside Rome.

Mariken and cake from our little local bakery. We were regular customers, and I suspect they wondered why we both didn't weigh two tons.

When my ex-colleague and longtime friend Mariken hinted ever so gently that she might be willing to tutor me through my first foreign trip in decades, I leaped. Mariken is not just a world traveler, she is the world traveler. A long trek in India on her own? No problem. Many, many parts of Africa. Egypt. Riding camels in the desert? Done, with hopes of doing it again. And those are only a tiny smattering of her more exotic travels. Europe is her backyard, a mere extension of her childhood in the Netherlands and Switzerland.

The point of her travels, all done on a budget, is to get to know the real people, the real lives. She stays in small places, with local families if she can wangle it. “Where are you from?” she asks strangers, and likely as not, she’s been there – or somewhere nearby.

In Rome, she knew about staying away from high-price, high-traffic tourist areas – walk 50 metres in any direction, she’d say, and it’s cheaper and quieter. We did a few of the obvious tourist spots, like the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica – but mostly we were locals. We rode the buses to check out the suburbs. We spent an afternoon at the massive flea market by the Tiber. We walked from central Rome far out along the Appian Way.

One day Mariken returned from an exploration of the neighbourhood excited about an interesting-looking restaurant she’d passed. When we went to the Dolce Kosher a few days later, it turned out to be my favourite eating-out experience of the whole trip. Trust a world traveler to find the best Jewish-Roman buffet in Rome!

Mariken looking very pleased with her discovery of the Dolce Kosher cafe.

Inspecting the stones of the Appian Way. It was a bumpy walk.

Once again with the umbrella pines, this time on the Appian Way.

Mariken "wayfinding" on a break along the Appian Way. She carries a map, she knows her directions, she pays attention. Lucky for me!

We broke our non-tourist-spot rules occasionally, and went downtown. This is outside the Capitoline Museum.

Mariken holds up pillar at a museum in the EUR, Mussolini's modern section of Rome.

Looking pensive at Trajan's market.

Overlooking the Roman forum grounds.

Dinner on the balcony. An excellent cook, Mariken did most of the honours on our trip.

Carol and Mariken by the Tiber River. The river was historic, the trees were wonderful.