Do you ever get the feeling you've been taken for a ride? How do you feel afterwards? Angry? Frustrated? Humilliated? Bewilldered? Outraged? Disappointed? E and I got taken on the ride of our lives this week and much as I think it's incredibly dull to read other people's moaning 'why me' stories I'm going to tell you about it anyway and if you don't like whingeing you can stop reading now!
Let me start from the beginning. On leaving hospital after my iron-removal work I was told that the next stage of the therapy would involve wearing some kind of plastic leg support, a tutore. The doctor, who I have known since February, informed me that tutores were hard to find. 'But don't worry!' he told me 'I know a place that stocks them. Here is their phone number and the name of the product you need'.
Armed with our information we phoned a couple of days later. The shop had them in stock, but it was some distance away so we planned to go on the only morning E could get free from work. This also happened to be the day before I was due in hospital to have the thing put on.
Off we set, and two hours of murderous traffic later arrived at a somewhat uncomprimising looking, poky sanitaria. Already feeling slightly out of kilter by this discovery seeing as there is a sanitaria in every neighbourhood in Rome we went in and were told that the tutore they had was for the right, not left leg. And it cost 114 Euro. 'I can get you the left leg by tomorrow morning, or you could ask elsewhere if you're in a rush' the girl told us. Some not-so-probing questions later confirmed our suspicions that yes, this was an ordinary run-of-the-mill sanitaria and not, as we had been led to believe, a tutore churning-out super-shop.
We left the shop, sat in the car and looked at eachother in disbelief. We were bewildered, and kept going round in circles trying to find an obvious answer to why our doctor would send us here for no apparent reason. This was the doctor who spoke to me in Englsih when I arrived hurt and confused in hospital. He liked chatting to E about pizza toppings. It didn't make sense.
After a while E's mouth set in a grim line. As we set off to go and look for the tutore in one of the hundreds of sanitarias in Rome the anger began. There ensued lots of steering-wheel bashing and some very colourful language. I was caught between begging to be let out of the car as he stormed angrily down resedential streets and trying not to laugh at the fantastic Italian curses raining out of his mouth (how about porca madonna- pig madonna, anyone?).
As we raced back towards town desperately trying to find the thing before the next days' appointment I made myself as small as possible in the passenger seat and while E started yelling abuse and honking his horn in response to some minor road infringement I began to feel that very British form of anger- outrage. I was outraged that a doctor in a public hospital could make such a 'recommendation'. Outraged that he had the nerve. Outraged by the betrayal of trust. So I sat and nursed my outrage while pig madonnas were cursed all around me and we passed a very tense hour trip back to the city.
Finally, when we later came to talk about it with our friends we were humilliated when they pointed out to us what we already knew- that he had taken us for a ride because we are foreigners and therefore easy prey for this particularly Italian brand of furbizia, or cunning. My doctor knew that at the time I couldn't walk, that E worked, and that we had no one else to help us out, yet he still sent us miles out of town to find what we could have found on our doorstep. We felt stupid.
And now? I'm mainly disappointed that this could happen in the public health system and will be more wary in the future. It may seem like I'm making an unncecessary hoo-ha about this, but it really was a spectacular waste of E's time and my money, both of which we have in short supply (the nurse asked me in hospital why I had splashed out and bought the branded tutore...yep, you guessed it, the brand was there specified on my handy doctor's note). This one's definitely getting labelled under 'Italian Puzzles'.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Rome on a budget
Hello! Sorry for the prolonged delay in posting, I have been doing lots of leggy activities, and am pleased to report that after 6 months of my leg cage I am finally iron-free and (almost) back to normal! I'm sure I'll bore you all with leg-related stories in the next few days but right now I am utterly bored of talking about it so it'll have to wait. Instead, inspired by another visitor to Rome with a strict budget, today I thought I'd share some of my favourite budget activities and tips (I'm not talking about the free monuments/churches which are in every guidebook but my personal favourite experiences) that I put into action for my inpoverished recently-graduated friends when they make the trip over. Please add any of your own, it would be great to extend my itinerary!
So here are some of my tips for anyone who wants to enjoy the eternal city without stretching their wallet:
FOOD AND DRINK:
1) Pack a picnic instead of splashing out on lunch; there’ll be no end of picturesque monuments to eat it sitting on. Supermarkets are few and far between in the city centre but you’ll find one downstairs in Termini station where you can pick up the essentials.
2) Alternatively go to the institute that is the Italian Bar to get lunch. All bars should have a selection of panini which, as long as you don’t sit down in the bar, won’t cost the earth. Either take it away or eat it standing at the bar with the locals.
3) Don’t waste your money on rip-off bottled water, take a bottle out with you and fill it up from the numerous free water fountains around the city.
4) For a snack on the go find a pizzeria al taglio (a small takeaway pizzeria), and ask for pizza bianca. It is basically plain pizza base with oil and salt and the cheapest type of pizza you can find. It doesn’t sound that promising but it is surprisingly delicious and will satisfy a mid-morning hunger pang. Even better, in this type of pizzeria you can choose the size of your slice so if you really do only have one Euro left in your wallet you can shamefully produce this in the palm of your hand and the server will cut you a piece the appropriate size (yes, this has happened to me).
5) Make the most of the happy hour offers at Campo de’ Fiori. This bar and restaurant-lined piazza is a famous nighttime hotspot but enjoying a drink there after dark might well use the whole of your next day’s budget. Go from late afternoon to early evening; the atmosphere is not as buzzing but it is still a great spot to enjoy a drink and watch the world go by while spending only 4-5 Euro per drink.
PLACES:
1) Look through the magic keyhole on the Aventine Hill. Find your way to Circus Maximus, turn off at Piazzale Ugo la Malfa and walk up the hill until you find Piazza Cavalieri di Malta. Here you will see an unassuming door with a keyhole in the middle and possibly a short queue of tourists in front of it. Join the queue to enjoy a spectacular view of St. Peter’s Basilica framed by the trees that line the garden immediately behind the door. Then go and enjoy the ‘Garden of the Oranges’ which sits next to the piazza. In the garden you will find lots of stray cats and a 180 degree panoramic view of the city. A quiet and relaxing hour or two above the city and away from the crowds.
2) Shop for bargains at the market. Forget Porta Portese, the famous Sunday market in Trastevere. In my opinion it’s overrated and stupidly overcrowded, which means to have a chance at getting near the stalls you have to be there at ridiculous o’clock on a Sunday morning. Instead get the metro to San Giovanni where just out of the exit at Via Sannio there is an eminently more manageable market that runs every morning from Monday to Saturday. As well as new clothes there are second-hand clothes stalls where every item is 3-5 Euro, and vintage clothes stalls. Also in evidence are an abundance of the usual fake designer bags, belts, watches etc, if that’s your thing.
3) Walk around the old Jewish Quarter. Take a right off Piazza Venezia and wander round the streets between here and Largo Argentina which are narrow, shady and usually quiet. Look out for the unusual turtle fountain in Piazza Mattei and the Jewish Bakery (Via Portico D’Ottavia 1). It’s tiny, has no sign outside and you are unlikely to be served with a smile by the gruff old ladies behind the counter but it is the perfect place to pick up a delicious (and often still warm) treat to eat in the piazza.
4) On a sunny day go for a stroll or sunbathe in the huge Villa Borghese, taking aforementioned picnic. If you have a few Euro spare take an electric tram ride around the park or go pedal-boating on the lake.
5) Top peoplewatching exercise: Go to Piazza Di Spagna in the early evening and hang out on the steps for a while with the teenagers posing in ridiculously huge sunglasses and the foreign exchange students. Afterwards head straight down Via Condotti. Here, have a gawk in the windows of Prada, Dior and Gucci whilst admiring the groups of beautiful young people and the old ladies in fur coats taking their tiny dogs out for an evening stroll.
So here are some of my tips for anyone who wants to enjoy the eternal city without stretching their wallet:
FOOD AND DRINK:
1) Pack a picnic instead of splashing out on lunch; there’ll be no end of picturesque monuments to eat it sitting on. Supermarkets are few and far between in the city centre but you’ll find one downstairs in Termini station where you can pick up the essentials.
2) Alternatively go to the institute that is the Italian Bar to get lunch. All bars should have a selection of panini which, as long as you don’t sit down in the bar, won’t cost the earth. Either take it away or eat it standing at the bar with the locals.
3) Don’t waste your money on rip-off bottled water, take a bottle out with you and fill it up from the numerous free water fountains around the city.
4) For a snack on the go find a pizzeria al taglio (a small takeaway pizzeria), and ask for pizza bianca. It is basically plain pizza base with oil and salt and the cheapest type of pizza you can find. It doesn’t sound that promising but it is surprisingly delicious and will satisfy a mid-morning hunger pang. Even better, in this type of pizzeria you can choose the size of your slice so if you really do only have one Euro left in your wallet you can shamefully produce this in the palm of your hand and the server will cut you a piece the appropriate size (yes, this has happened to me).
5) Make the most of the happy hour offers at Campo de’ Fiori. This bar and restaurant-lined piazza is a famous nighttime hotspot but enjoying a drink there after dark might well use the whole of your next day’s budget. Go from late afternoon to early evening; the atmosphere is not as buzzing but it is still a great spot to enjoy a drink and watch the world go by while spending only 4-5 Euro per drink.
PLACES:
1) Look through the magic keyhole on the Aventine Hill. Find your way to Circus Maximus, turn off at Piazzale Ugo la Malfa and walk up the hill until you find Piazza Cavalieri di Malta. Here you will see an unassuming door with a keyhole in the middle and possibly a short queue of tourists in front of it. Join the queue to enjoy a spectacular view of St. Peter’s Basilica framed by the trees that line the garden immediately behind the door. Then go and enjoy the ‘Garden of the Oranges’ which sits next to the piazza. In the garden you will find lots of stray cats and a 180 degree panoramic view of the city. A quiet and relaxing hour or two above the city and away from the crowds.
2) Shop for bargains at the market. Forget Porta Portese, the famous Sunday market in Trastevere. In my opinion it’s overrated and stupidly overcrowded, which means to have a chance at getting near the stalls you have to be there at ridiculous o’clock on a Sunday morning. Instead get the metro to San Giovanni where just out of the exit at Via Sannio there is an eminently more manageable market that runs every morning from Monday to Saturday. As well as new clothes there are second-hand clothes stalls where every item is 3-5 Euro, and vintage clothes stalls. Also in evidence are an abundance of the usual fake designer bags, belts, watches etc, if that’s your thing.
3) Walk around the old Jewish Quarter. Take a right off Piazza Venezia and wander round the streets between here and Largo Argentina which are narrow, shady and usually quiet. Look out for the unusual turtle fountain in Piazza Mattei and the Jewish Bakery (Via Portico D’Ottavia 1). It’s tiny, has no sign outside and you are unlikely to be served with a smile by the gruff old ladies behind the counter but it is the perfect place to pick up a delicious (and often still warm) treat to eat in the piazza.
4) On a sunny day go for a stroll or sunbathe in the huge Villa Borghese, taking aforementioned picnic. If you have a few Euro spare take an electric tram ride around the park or go pedal-boating on the lake.
5) Top peoplewatching exercise: Go to Piazza Di Spagna in the early evening and hang out on the steps for a while with the teenagers posing in ridiculously huge sunglasses and the foreign exchange students. Afterwards head straight down Via Condotti. Here, have a gawk in the windows of Prada, Dior and Gucci whilst admiring the groups of beautiful young people and the old ladies in fur coats taking their tiny dogs out for an evening stroll.
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