Ants

I have cousins in Rome that I used to visit often when I was in my twenties. I sometimes went with my mother and other times with one of my brothers and his wife. But for some reason this one time I was visiting by myself. My cousins were very busy working during the day and couldn't entertain me. I wasn't at all disappointed because I love to be alone. Truly it was like having a flat in Rome all to myself. They had left to work before I woke up and I knew that dinner was served at 9pm every night, so the day was mine! No problem. I had been before so I knew what buses to take to get nearly anywhere that I wanted to go. I also love to walk so I wasn't afraid to walk from one square to the next. My cousins live on Via della Pisana, which is kind of a ways from Piazza Venezia. It's about a 20 minute bus ride down Gregorio Settimo. I took the bus to Venezia and decided I wanted to walk all the way up the Via del Corso to the Piazza del Popolo. I was trying to explore the city on foot and understand its geography. It was late May and the sun was oppressive. My forehead and forearms where black by the end of my visit. I'll never forget that sunny day approaching the square from between the twin churches of Santa Maria in Montesanto and Santa Maria dei Miracoli. To me they say "Bernini" but they were both begun by Carlo Rainaldi and finished by Bernini and Carlo Fontana. I love them. I wanted to go further beyond the Aurelian Walls toward Villa Borghese but how to come back from there on the bus wasn't clear to me so I choose to turn around and walk down Via del Babuino. I walked until I reached the Spanish Steps. Then I aimed myself for Quirinale, somehow missing it, and found myself wandering below until I emptied out at the begining of the Via Nazionale, a very short walk from Piazza Venezia. This walk had taken me all afternoon already, because I had stopped here and there for a cafe and something cold to drink and watch the Romans buzz past on their Vespas. I love that noise. Sometimes I hear that noise now in the Southend because it has become fashionable here to have one. I always catch my breath a little when somebody passes me by on one. It evokes thoughts of Rome.

It was probably 4pm now and the sun was still so hot. Coming down from the hill I had such a remarkable view of the city. Its building materials reflect the light unlike any other European city. With the exception of the monument to Vittorio Emmanuel II, the tones of the surrounding city are so warm. I stopped at the gates that led to Trajan's Market. Since it was still early and I wasn't visiting any bathhouses that day (like you haven't) I decided to go inside. I took my time to imagine the goings on of a busy Roman market. There were cats everywhere and I followed one down a dark narrow staircase back outside into the sun. If you have ever been here you know that there is a colossal semi circle with the ruins of arched stalls where Rome could come to buy fresh produce from all her provinces. I sat down on the steps to one of these stalls and admired the ancient mosaic floors. I sat there for a good ten minutes with my eyes closed and my face pointed into the sun. It felt so good to be where I was sitting.

When I opened my eyes I noticed that I was sitting next to a colony of ants. Being as curious as I am I stuck a piece of grass into the mouth of their home. I watched to see how long it would take for them to notice what I had done. This was one of those moments where I felt like I was one of the idiots that Gary Larson illustrates so well. My face looming over a colony of ants in Rome. I just sat there for maybe an hour watching them rejigger that blade of grass and carry it away down into the earth and out of my sight. I think it might have been one of the most relaxing moments of my entire life. We've all heard the expression "Stop and smell the roses", but this was for me, a sweeter experience.