It’s incredibly hard to believe that we’ve reached the end of June and are now staring at the summer period. Like every year, it feels as though people were just making “May the Fourth” jokes and we’re looking at celebrating American Independence Day. And it’s hot outside. So summer now, here we are. 

As I’ve grown accustomed, the midday sun is pretty oppressive and it makes me pity the crowds who have come to Rome right now to see the sights. For those who have the interest and time to visit incredible museums like Museo Capitolino, this will save your skin. And if you go right now, you can take advantage of the spectacular overlook of the Roman Forum—right now filled with hundreds of tourists wandering about in a midday sun with virtually no shade offered. I don’t know how the ancient Romans did it. 

I imagine that the entire country is experiencing this double phenomenon at the moment. I’m not going to say that COVID is over because it is definitely still moving about—but this year feels like we are the closest that we have been to a typical high tourist season. Hotels in the city center are comically expensive (people I know were quoted 700 euros for one night!)—and this probably explains why I just had seven people staying at once in my house. That group showed up two hours after a previous set of guests vacated my place. As I sit and type this, I am running three piles of sheets and towels through the washing machine and feeling happy that I saved some folks a few bucks.

Another thing that I enjoy doing is showing people around to my favorite eating places throughout the city. And I have found good success in satisfying everyone—no matter their diet restrictions. Certified gluten free restaurants, for example, are all over the city and even country (don’t let anyone ever tell you that Italy is not a great place for people with Celiac disease). But on the whole, sticking to the coffee, cornetto, pizza and gelato regimen is a pretty safe bet for people. The only real problem—if you can call it that—is that with a steady stream of visitors comes a point where I no longer want to exist on a diet every night of carciofi alla giudia and cacio e pepe. It’s great—but it’s probably not great for my waistline. The upside, however, is that I don’t have to cook much in the summer. Again, it’s just too hot for that.

But along with the heat and visitors come the other leg of my stool—the need to move. There have been plenty of mornings where I have woken up and still not felt hungry. Maybe too much pizza from the night before. But the good news is, of course, that Rome is an amazingly runnable city. The only challenge you find right now is that we are still so close to the summer solstice—so that means, if you want to preserve any sense of energy for the day ahead, then you must get out early. For me, 0630 seems to be the time to go. I find myself leaving at 0700 or 0730 and by the end of my run, I know that I’m going to be cooked for a good time of the day. That’s because the humidity is, as they’d say in Italian, pesante. You wind up wearing it like a necklace made of anchor chain.

But when I do get out early, I’m happy to do so, despite the early hour. That’s because we are still as of right now in the very flowery bloom time of year. Right now, all of the oleander trees are revealing their colorful sides. Oleander shrubs—yes indeed, the poisonous plant. They’ve got so many flowers on them that the thin branches are being weighed down—many of them breaking under the weight. I find that I can no longer run under these sidewalk trees and instead must pass in the street if I am to walk or run. Not a huge deal considering that Rome in general is not a street made for pedestrians. Sidewalks are effectively overflow for cars looking for a spot to leave the car. And the city would make a killing if all of these people were ticketed and fined.

I recognize that this posting is a bit all over the place. It’s more a series of snapshots taken from my houseguests and myself. Things that we’ve remarked upon over the course of the month. And it’s a nice way to be—at least for myself. There is no shortage of sight, sound or activity in Rome, and that’s why I don’t take living here for granted. And this is also probably why I continually find myself surprised when the warmer months go so quickly. The time we get to experience it all is only so much—but the minutes and hours, on the other hand, those always seem to be in short supply. Luckily for all of, June moves on to July but we can at least take the sights and sounds with us in our heads.