Onions Out the Window

Quite a lot has gone on in the world of Cousines in Rome. When last we saw the Cousines they were adjusting to their new lives in Rome. The last few days have been action packed in and outside of Casa Cousine.These adventures include our ongoing battle with beverages and wandering around in circles.

Last Friday we decided to make it a walking tour day. After seeing the sites and grabbing dinner at an English Pub, in the historic center we decided to take pictures of the Trevi Fountain at night. First a little background.

Piazza di Spagna branches into three streets. Many of the historic sites such as the Trevi Fountain are on or between these streets. Leaving the pub we were on one of the outer streets. The Trevi Fountain is located on the center street (the famous via del corso). Between these two points is Piazza Navona. Logic would dictate that to get from point A (the pub) to point C (Trevi Fountain), one needs to go through point B (Piazza Navona).

Once we left the pub we headed towards via del corso and the Trevi Fountain. When we arrive in Piazza Navona we are pleased with our sense of direction. As it's Friday night the Piazza is filled with musicians, artists, street vendors, tourists, and locals. We stroll around taking in the sights and sounds, before continuing on our way. The next leg of our walk has us exploring tiny side streets and hidden treasures. Surely our destination is just ahead. Suddenly we see a crowd of people, which must be the tourists and locals appreciating the fountain at night. We rush the rest of the way.... only to discover that we have arrived back at Piazza Navona. In fact, we've entered through the exact same entrance we had used 15 minutes before. The next two and a half hours were spent trying to find our way to the Trevi Fountain, only to turn up at Piazza Navona again. (To recap, we were lost between point B and C, only occasionally returning to point A).

In fact several times it seemed virtually impossible to enter the Piazza from the direction we did. Wouldn't one recognize if they had walked in a huge circle? Each time we spotted the 'Too Much' candy store in the distance we knew it was time to turn around. Unfortunately that did not prevent us from again returning to Piazza Navona. As delirium set in, we gave up the search for the fountain and turned our attention to finding a bar. Cousines:0 - City of Rome:1

Dining with the Natives:

We were lucky to become friendly with a young Italian who speaks nearly perfect English. In fact we were actually under the impression he was British. (Courtney finally just asked). After several meetings, "Drea" invited us over for a traditional Italian meal.  I will preface this by saying the meal was lovely, as was his family's home. And now some shallow thoughts:

• First we were unsure of attending dinner at his house. Both of us were sort of picturing a harem. We each thought this separately, which is especially funny since we both weren't convinced girls were his thing. Due to this uncertainty, when Drea was late meeting us, we took the opportunity to walk away. Unfortunately every which way we turned led us to another dead end. When we finally had walked back and forth across the highway, we decided it was time to give in and go to dinner. Also, Rachel was experiencing extreme pain of the foot, which she took as our punishment for trying to escape dinner.

• Once at Drea's house, he arranged two kitchen chairs so we could both watch him prepare the meal. This "demo" was like an episode of Hell's Kitchen. Drea insisted on speaking throughout the cooking process, exclusively giving directives of how to prepare pasta. Clearly Courtney's response to "Do you know how to make pasta?", "Haha... yea, boil water and put the pasta in," was not the way to go. Throughout the lesson, we were quizzed on the process, to ensure we remembered that red sauce is the only acceptable sauce to have with pasta. (No alfredo?!)

Drea: (Holding one onion) 'Now you use a white onion when making the suace, right?"

Court: Well-- I mean... I guess... Actually my parents normally make the sauce....."

Drea: (Interrupting) "But they use a white onion, right?"

Court: "Sure."

Drea: "You must always use a white onion. And always dark green olive oil."

• Drea seemed unsympathetic to Rachel's now infamous foot injury.
• And of course the title of this blog references where Drea put the bag of onions after using one.
• Other Highlights:
• Being forced to eat seafood with oobleck sauce (hey- at least we get good house guest credit)
• Not being able to turn off the bathroom light
• Being subjected to music that was popular multiple decades before our birth. Quite possibly before our great-grandparents birth.
• Sitting in the car, in the middle of the street- in silence- waiting for Drea to find the "perfect" cd to drive to. (It was Pink Floyd)
• Learning that the next generation of Italian drivers also believes Italy has no traffic laws.
• When asked if we could help clean up, Drea said "no, don't worry about it. Leave everything. The maid will come tomorrow and clean it."

Cousines Go to Hospital:

After several days of intense foot pain, multiple trips to the pharmacy, several ice packs, and bandaging, Rachel finally agreed it was time to get her foot checked out. So off we went to Rome Amercian Hospital. Courtney had chosen this hospital because the website boasts an English speaking doctor on duty 24-hours. Also, the use of American in the title was reassuring.

We make the trek out to the hospital, and let us just tell you... it's in the middle of nowhere. Once we arrive and enter to hospital, we are greeted by a guard that most certainly does not speak English. Luckily Courtney had written down the situation in Italian to be able to explain the problem. We were then told the 24-hour hospital did not have an emergency room. We'd need to go elsewhere. In the guard's defense he was very apologetic and even called us a taxi.

The taxi arrived and the guard told him where to take us. Of course instead of heading back towards home, or the city center, we drove even farther into the land of nothing. It was once we saw the highway signs for Napoli that we began to get concerned. Surely all the ambulances zipping around aren't taking people all the way out here... and well if they are, that seems an even bigger problem.

We arrive at the hospital, which actually seems to be only an ER. Just another example of Italy's extremes. Nothing in the middle. Everything is either way too small or way too big. So it shouldn't be a surprise that you must choose between an ER and a hospital. With well wishes from our taxi driver, we enter the realm of Italian medicine. 

We immediately check in, have a brief overview visit with the nurse at the check-in desk, and are directed to the waiting room. The waiting room is packed. Courtney's immediately angry she forgot her book, because it looks like we'll be spending the weekend here. Once we sit down, we begin to notice an even more curious thing. Everyone is totally transfixed by the television. It's amazing- young and old, male and female, all watching with the same intense, glazed over look. Taking roll of everyone in the waiting room it becomes clear there are two distinct groups: those that clearly  lost the battle with their motorcycles, and those that seemed to just be there for the TV. In fact, our suspicion was further raised when Rachel was called not long after sitting down.

We enter the hallway beyond the waiting room and down to another waiting area. This one seemed to have the distinction of leg injuries (or as Rachel says, it's the gimp waiting room). We watch as several boys brag about their scooter accidents; one with his leg bandaged on thigh to ankle, the other with both arms completely wrapped and extended at 90 degree angles. The other concern was the gurneys randomly placed through out the corridor. If I were a 90 year woman with an oxygen mask on, I think I'd like my own room, or at least not to be on the main corridor.

The hospital had some pretty high tech stuff as well. The most impressive being the huge sliding doors for the examine rooms. Rachel and I were pondering the benefits of these doors....

Scene 1: Courtney and Rachel sitting in waiting room 2. The examine room is to their left. The sliding door begins to open, with a patient in a gurney being moved out of the room.

Court: I'm not sure if I like those doors or not.

Rach: Huh?

Court: I'm not sure if I like those doors or not.

Rach: Yea, I know

Both turn and look at the door. Suddenly the door slams closed on the gurney.

Court & Rach: Don't like.

Scene 2: Our friend with the leg injury is now called into the exam room. Ten minutes goes by and the door opens, yet no one is emerging. Suddenly...

Boy: SCREAMING

Then silence as the door quietly closes.

At some point in waiting room two, we hear the beginnings of a fight occurring in waiting room one. We are both amazed to see how quickly everyone jumped up and ran to watch the fight. Especially since they were all there for leg issues.

Rachel finally goes in to see the doctor and is told it was just stress on her ligaments from excessive walking. (Hehehe...). Her foot gets wrapped up before we are then led to another waiting room. Waiting room three is an interesting cast of characters. We're not really sure what we're doing there, let alone why anyone else is there. One guy has spent the entire night chasing the nurses over his injured thumb. They had yet to tell him that it would stop bleeding if he stopped playing with the bandage. Courtney suspects they were overlooking his cries for help and attention. Or maybe just ADD.

When it's Rachel's turn we meet with another doctor that explains what the two doctors in the exam room had said. When he's finished we stare blankly at him. We wait until he finally says "Ok, that's it. Stopped. You can go." We're frozen. How could this be? They haven't asked for our address. They haven't asked for insurance. We stammer "Uhh... you're sure? We can just go home now?" With a firm yes we left the hospital without having to pay a cent. Thank you blanket healthcare.

A note about the birds:

For those of you who were concerned about the pigeons residing on our balcony, we are sad to report the pigeons have abandoned their eggs. After several days of spying on the eggs for signs of mama pigeon we realized the eggs have been abandoned. They were dead. Rachel had the unenviable job of disposing of the eggs. R.I.P. Baby Pigeon Eggs.

Lesson of the week:  All roads lead to Piazza Navona. (Unless it's a highway).

Object of the week: Hearts. Italians love hearts. Heart shaped ice trays, heart shaped stickers, heart shaped crackers... just to name a few.

Observation of the week: Italians will take an exorbitant amount of time to do even the most menial task. This is most often done while you are waiting for them. Rarely-if ever- do you get an explanation of what they are doing, or when they will be finished. And it's never easy to just figure it out what they are doing by watching. Interestingly the question you ask yourself while standing awkwardly is not 'what are they doing', but 'what am I standing here.'
Neighborhood Lesson of the Week:

What we were hoping for...

What we got....