The Empress says Ciao!
posted April 14, 2013 5:40 AM   RSS | iCal | +googleCal

Fri May 24 at 8:00 PM, Feltrinelli bookstore (meet there, plan our attack)
Largo di Torre Argentina, 5, 00186 Rome, Italy (Map & Directions)
Anyone out there in Rome? I'm going to be there for a few days mid-May - we have settled on May 24th, meeting in front of the Feltrinelli bookstore at Largo Argentina at 8 and heading off for gelato.
I land on May 18, and will be there for 4 days; I go to Florence on the 22nd but am back on the 24th and then fly home early on the 26th. We're doing gelato on the 24th; if anyone out there wants to catch me in Florence, memail me.
posted by EmpressCallipygos to Meetup (33 comments total)

Sounds good! I'd look forward to that.

(There is also at least one MeFite in the Florence area, to my knowledge.)
posted by aqsakal at 12:52 AM on April 15, 2013


Seeing as I've missed the last two meetups, I am determined not to miss this one. So Lil' Peanut & I are a yes.
posted by romakimmy at 3:28 AM on April 15, 2013


I'm still working out my own details for when on the 24th I arrive in Rome and where I'm staying then, but I'm most likely going to be somewhere near the Termini by early evening. I leave it to those more knowledgeable to pick a place.

And sounds like "the 24th" is set for a date (yay! I like plans!).
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:10 AM on April 15, 2013


Oh - and I've pretty much got a full plate for Florence, but if whoever you are in Florence wants to reach out to me I MIGHT be able to hang on the evening of the 23rd for a while, so memail me....
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:12 AM on April 15, 2013


From Termini you're pretty well connected tranport wise, so I would wager our options for where might depend a bit on what time you get in...?
posted by romakimmy at 1:29 PM on April 18, 2013


I'm shooting for about...4? 5? The vague plan is to try doing the Uffizi gallery that morning and then get on a train for Rome sometime mid-day, check into where I'm staying and chill a bit.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:11 AM on April 19, 2013


Ha, I knew my definition of early evening has been warped after living here 15 years. Someone suggests dinner at 8 and I'm all "Damn, that's early..." ;D

I lived around Termini for years, but wouldn't really recommend any food/beverage options in the area apart from the Trimani wine bar and an Abruzzese restaurant, neither of which I'd consider optimal for a meetup. Seeing as Rome's your oyster at this point, I open the floor to my fellow residents for suggestions.
posted by romakimmy at 10:39 AM on April 19, 2013


I also leave it to y'all to pick the time too. That's just the approximate time I would be in Rome. I'm sure I'd find something to do if there are a few ensuing hours in between. :-)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:45 AM on April 19, 2013


So, um, what time should this be? 8? 9?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:31 AM on April 26, 2013


8 is fine for me, since I'll be coming into the center (Trastevere, per usual) around 6.30 when my better half goes in for his shift.

What's your poison, Empress? Any vegetarian/vegan or dietary restrictions?
posted by romakimmy at 3:34 AM on April 27, 2013


None that I suspect would have any impact on gelato (broccoli doesn't like me, but that's it).
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:05 AM on April 27, 2013


Barring input from other Roman MeFites, I'll suggest meeting at in front of the Feltrinelli bookstore at Largo Argentina at 8 then, and we can mosey to a gelateria of choice from there. Based on ParlaDood's gelato map, there's couple over the bridge in Trastevere or a another couple in the opposite direction. And should we then choose to continue onto dinner, there's again plenty of options.

Off the top of my head from Termini you can hop on bus 40, 64, or 70 to get to Largo Argentina.

Thoughts?
posted by romakimmy at 2:57 AM on May 1, 2013


Hi and sorry to have dropped out for a while - struggling with a new machine with Windows 8 onboard (ughh!).
First off, Empress, I hope you've pre-booked the Uffizi on the web (unless of course you enjoy long lines...).
Second point: remember the 64 bus route is nicknamed the "Pickpocket Express". Just sayin'.
8 pm is good for me, too. Even earlier if anybody wants: after 20 years of getting up a 5:30 am to commute to work, even after retirement my schedule is very much out of sync with most Romans, and I could eat any time from 7 pm onwards. Warped in the opposite direction to romakimmy! Agree with her that the Termini area isn't the best for gastronomic delights.
I'm happy with any food suggestions romakimmy has to make, as she's more familiar than I with that area. If y'all like fish, I wonder whether the fried-and-battered-baccalà-fillets place just off Giubbonari is still in business? 5 minutes on foot from Feltrinelli.
posted by aqsakal at 6:11 AM on May 1, 2013


I'll make it official as per Romakimmy's suggestion, then.

(And aqsakal - I do know indeed to book the Uffizi in advance, and as for pickpocketing? feh - I'm from New York, I know from fending off street crime. My crossbody has both a latch-close flap AND a zipper close.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:23 AM on May 1, 2013


(wow, that sounded way snarkier than it was in my head. sorry, aqsakal! That was meant to be reassuring rather than snarky.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:32 AM on May 1, 2013


Heck, no! No offence taken :-)
posted by aqsakal at 6:15 AM on May 3, 2013


...Shoot, that's only a 20-minute walk from my hotel, I'd probably be walking there rather than taking the bus anyway.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:53 AM on May 3, 2013


The 40's not much better in that sense, but at least it's one of the double long accordion buses so in theory there's more room to avoid frottage; back when I first came here getting penised on bus 64 was basically a rite of passage :P

Like I mentioned, I'll be arriving in Trastevere around 6.30, so I'm easy peasy if we want to do a bit earlier.
posted by romakimmy at 2:35 AM on May 5, 2013


I feel like living in New York City for 20+ years has effectively prepared me for a lot of these warnings (pickpockets? check; frottage on public transit? check....)

Now if I just knew how to say "bite me, you buttmunch" in Italian to ward off overly-aggressive catcallers, then I'd be all set. :-)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:16 AM on May 14, 2013


I'm partial to variations on a theme of [alla] tua sorella ("yo' sister"), which is one step down from possible fisticuffs-inducing "yo' mamma", but it's probably not advisable if your Italian's not very good :D
posted by romakimmy at 12:49 PM on May 15, 2013


Or the Neapolitan version: assòreta!
posted by aqsakal at 1:59 AM on May 20, 2013


Actually, the more immediate need I'm finding I need is how to say "let me off, this is my damn Metro stop." (I've gotten "scusi" down fine, but I'm finding some people aren't responding to politesse and "move it, this is my stop" or a hollered "GETTING OFF!!!!" is where I escalate to in New York.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:15 AM on May 21, 2013


Permesso (per-mey-so), said with tone of voice ranging from "Please permit me to alight at this stop, my kind sir" to "Stop blocking the exit, dumbfuck"
:D
posted by romakimmy at 2:59 PM on May 21, 2013


Hi guys!

I'd love to join the meetup, and I also think torre argentina is a good place to get together, lots of nice places to eat gelato / dinner. Looking forward to meeting you all!
posted by Triscotini at 2:34 AM on May 23, 2013


Whither Triscotini goes, go I. We both happen to be in Rome ATM and we're always up for some meetup action. I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone.

I wonder whether the fried-and-battered-baccalà-fillets place just off Giubbonari is still in business?

If it's the place I'm thinking of (in a small square, very quiet, a little church crammed into one end, good seating outside?) it is still open and very fun. I wasn't too wild over the cod (I'm used to the British style) but the puntarelle was to die for. The extra spice to our evening there last week was an unlucky fellow sat next to me having some kind of low blood pressure fainting attack, necessitating an ambulance, broken plates (as I dragged the table away from him) and everyone in the restaurant lending a hand. Poor guy was okay in the end, but he was very embarrassed when he came to, only to find half of the patrons standing over him. It will be hard to forget that meal.

There are tons of places to choose from, however, and I trust we'll have a great meal (there are, of course, always exceptions, *cough*) and a good time wherever we go. A domani!
posted by Chichibio at 5:27 AM on May 23, 2013


I will warn you all that I have been eating more that twice my usual wont already (as luck would have it, at the precise same time that I'm here in Florence they are having a week-long GELATO FESTIVAL, and I have just come from a class that involved the making of same as well as pizza instruction), so -- I may beg for modest portions of whatever we eat.

Romakimmy - I'm going to memail you my cell, because I'll have sporadic internet access as of tomorrow morning.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:09 PM on May 23, 2013


At 20:00 in front of Feltrinelli, then. My cell is 329 928 7105.

The evening promises to be a slalom between various closing rallies on the eve on this weekend's election of a new mayor of Rome. In the area we are considering, piazza del Popolo 5 Star Movement, with Grillo expected around 21:00), piazza S. Maria in Trastevere (Sandro Medici, civil list for Rome) and Campo de' Fiori (Alessandro Bianchi, Democratic Party) seem to be the most prominent. The others (including outgoing Mayor Alemanno, suppported by Berlusconi) will be farther away or earlier in the day.

And a public transport strike isn't going to help any, although buses and trams are supposed to run during the "commuters' guarantee period" from 17:00 to 20:00.
posted by aqsakal at 2:30 AM on May 24, 2013


As for getting off buses/metro, "let me off, this is my damn Metro stop" usually translates as "Scende qui?" (shen-deh kwee?, the question mark translated by the enquiry in the rising tone of voice), meaning literally "Are you getting off here?" They'll either reply and hold their ground, or mutter something (or nothing) and move reluctantly a little to one side, inviting you to squeeze past.

You can usually get off through any door of a bus if it's very crowded, although people trying to get on - especially at the incoming doors, but also at the signposted exits - will not do anything to make it easier for you. If I'm (illegally) leaving by an incoming door, I'll look sheepish, but if they're trying to block me at an exit door I'll go crazy. Metro, any door is good.
posted by aqsakal at 2:42 AM on May 24, 2013


I swear one of these days I will make a website called isthereafuckingsciopero.com :P

I've sent my cell number to you all via MeMail. I'll be the brunette chick with a stroller and a braid (my hair dryer died in a shower of sparks yesterday)
posted by romakimmy at 5:03 AM on May 24, 2013


Now that I finally have acces to an Internet cafe again - that was a grand night out. Thank you all (and special thanks to aqsakal for the ride back to the hotel)!
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:07 AM on May 25, 2013


'Twas indeed a grand night out. L'il Peanut fell back asleep not 5 minutes after we left you all. I swear that's the most she's slept all week :D

Cheers to all & alla prossima!
posted by romakimmy at 1:17 AM on May 25, 2013


romakimmy: There's one already: http://www.mit.gov.it/mit/site.php?p=scioperi

And to all (especially L'il Peanut) - many thanks for a delightful night out.
posted by aqsakal at 6:23 AM on May 25, 2013


We had a great time too, even without the theatrical fainting! Thanks everyone, we'll be seeing you in Roma again soon. And Empress, I was serious about Triscotini wanting to go to NYC real bad - as soon as we can get ourselves together we would love to join one of your massive meetups.

Alla prossima indeed!
posted by Chichibio at 9:30 AM on May 28, 2013



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