I am back in the Netherlands! And although my return didn’t run all too smoothly (something with the wrong type of COVID-test, a train that got stuck in the field on its way to Fiumicino airport, and just too many cotton swabs stuck in my nose than should be allowed) I could walk past customs at Schiphol Airport last week with confidence. I breathed a sigh of relief, once again I had successfully crossed over.
It is not just going to be the city I will return to in a few weeks’ time
And although it’s always very nice to come back and to see my family and friends again, it also feels a little strange the very first day. As if I first have to tune into the right frequency before I can fully participate in life here again. At the same time, I can always count on my Roman social circle to point out my tremendous loss with a great sense of drama. After just a few days, I was sent a song – from times long past, judging by the smoky and crackling recording and the classical male voice – “Anne, I dedicate this song to you”. Entitled: Arrividerci Roma, a melancholic canzone about dreaming of a return to Rome. So, arrivederci, or: Until we meet again. However, it is not just going to be the city I will return to in a few weeks’ time, as I discovered last week.
Apart from the pasta, which simply tastes extra delicious when you’re seated at a stylish restaurant on an idyllic square, there was something else that caught my eye
Right before leaving, I experienced the very first evening back ‘in freedom’. After months, the restaurants reopened, and for the first time since October they could stay open in the evening hours too. This meant that after six months, we could finally dine out again. You can imagine that the Romans did not need much encouragement, and neither did we. I had a pasta cacio e pepe paired with a glass of red chianti. But apart from the pasta, which simply tastes extra delicious when you’re seated at a stylish restaurant on an idyllic square, there was something else that caught my eye. Puppies. Lots and lots of puppies.
I could only conclude one thing: the effects of the second lockdown had become very apparent
After a cursory inspection of the outside area of the restaurant, I had to conclude that we were the only table without a four-legged companionship. Apart from that, the place was buzzing with furry friends. From a black labrador with a beautiful, shiny coat to a boxer with an obvious urge to prove who was the boss, and from a chihuahua in a pink jacket to a cute little dog that shyly stayed under her owner’s chair while she anxiously watched the boxer full of testosterone. The dogs once again proved to be a unifying factor and soon, news about the animals was being exchanged between the tables. It turned out that most of them were no more than six months old. Although Romans have always loved dogs – and cats too, for that matter – I could only conclude one thing: the effects of the second lockdown had become very apparent.
In exchange for my donation, I received a calendar with the most adorable pictures of little dogs and cats, so you can understand that I couldn’t possibly refuse her
It reminded me of the girl who had approached me on the street a week earlier to ask me for a donation to a charity that cares for Roman animals. In exchange for my donation, I received a calendar with the most adorable pictures of little dogs and cats, so you can understand that I couldn’t possibly refuse her. Thanks to their foundation, no fewer than 600 dogs – including many puppies – had found a new home in the past six months. A message that made me really happy. And by now, I think I have an idea of where they have all ended up.
As I boarded the Alitalia plane and took place in my window seat, I couldn’t help but think of them. Arrivederci Rome, but above all arrivederci little Roman troublemakers
Although I have always been team cat rather than team dog, the childish enthusiasm of the puppies and the love with which the Italians talk about their dogs also melted my heart. Now that all the bars and restaurants have opened their doors again, also for them there’s a lot more to do, see and smell in this city in which territories have carefully marked out with lots of barking and imposing behaviour for over two thousand years already. So, as I boarded the Alitalia plane and took place in my window seat, I couldn’t help but think of them. Of all those curious snouts who came standing around me with great interest and while wagging their tales as the plate of steaming pasta was placed in front of me. Arrivederci Rome, but above all arrivederci little Roman troublemakers. Because when I’ll be back in a few weeks’ time, you will all have grown even bigger.