Wellcome to Rome, Italy

Through some strange co-incidences I ended up living in Rome for 5 months. I wanted to write this blog about how it is like to live in Rome as a foreigner. Each country is different and each country has it's pros and cons. I don't want this to be a winy report of my negative experiences, but an honest report of things that I pay attention to and notice.

Being a Finn, a country of Nokia phones, high-technology and some pretty good race-drivers and yes some pretty good hockey-players, Italy is quite a different world to what I've accustomed to. I've traveled a lot in many different parts of the world, but I've always loved especially everything about Italy!

Ever since I was a child, I was in love with the Italian language. No I never studied it, had so many other languages to study first for different reasons I needed this and that language. But still I was happy to hear some Italian music, and infatuated with Italian historical drama-series. Just had to see each one of them!!! Elisa di Rivombrosa, Falcon and what ever it was... Obrofari and so on. I just love to listen to the language and pick up new words. My infatuation has brought me to to Rome Italy this winter and I'm going to take everything out of this experience.

After just one week of living in Rome I have come to notice many things that are different to what I've accustomed to. I want to write to you about these points that I've noticed here. I also want to give some tips for all non-Romans who want to visit Rome, Italy.

I arrived to Rome a bit over a week ago, with 3 luggages and big handbag, total some 65 kilos. How it is possible for me to bring so much “stuff” on a plane? Thank God for good friends and one friend in particular, Eveliina. She works for an airline company and was kind enough to bring me to Italy, me and my luggage. As an airline worker she can bring more luggage as we regular tourist-class travelers.

So what did I bring to this land of fashion, bags and shoes??? Well, lots of clothing (some 23 kilos in luggage) and shoes, but not so many bags (except the luggage's themselves of cause). Why did I bring clothing to Italy? Well being a warm country that it is, I knew that the houses are not as warm as they are in Finland during the wintertime. One thing you never have to suffer in Finland are cold houses in the winter (well excluding some private small-houses saving in electricity). But in Italy, as in many other southern countries winter means cold houses. Why is this? It only became clear to me now, after moving here. Italy has no nuclear-power plants and therefore the electricity is very, very expensive in Italy. I never thought of nuclear-power plants in Finland before, but boy do I miss them now! Funny how I have come to appreciate nuclear power when facing the effects of lack of it. I wonder if Finns against Nuclear-power would be really willing to face the consequences that would come if there would not be nuclear power in Finland. What would that mean? I'm sure we would see the same effect that people face in Italy, houses are kept cooler since electricity is sooooo expensive. When in Finland all houses are warm all-year-round, that is not the case in Italy. And that is why I brought along lot's of clothing.

What kind of clothing? Woolen socks, woolen long-johns, woolen cardigans, woolen cloves and so on. You would never think I'm going to Italy!!! In Finland I would only use such when I go out to do sports in the winter-time – well yes, difference if of cause that I use the car in Finland so I don't need very warm clothing since I'm mostly indoors, warm!

What else did I bring in my 65 kilos of luggage? I brought a new Luhta blanket and billow and a fleece-blanket. What??? Why not just buy those from Ikea in Rome? I did a bit of a research before I came – yes I'm a freak for checking things out beforehand – and noticed that beddings are expensive in Italy, more expensive than in Finland. How is that possible? To my knowledge salaries in Finland are much higher than they are in Italy. Still Ikea sells the same blankets and pillows with more higher price in Italy than they do in Finland. Since I could not bring things back to Finland if I did not first bring them in the same luggage to Italy, I decided to buy my bedding from Finland and bring it to Italy. When in Italy Ikea beddings were around 40-80 € and pillows on top of that, I found a perfect Luhta blanket and pillow for 26 € total from on outlet in Helsinki. Not only are they light, but at the same time warm. And the best of all, they fit into my luggage.

I do wonder how people in Italy can afford to buy things here. Fashion, shoes, bags are all expensive just like in Finland, but considering the salaries I don't understand how people manage. Well yes, the poorer people are not wearing high-fashion. The further you go from the center the more you see non-fashionable people. People wearing regular sports-trousers – I know this is what Finns were known for still in the 80's. Yes women here do use make-up, and you can see each woman – well almost each – having make-up, even if they wear sports-trousers...

Well I have learned to shop in outlets and this is what I wanted to do here in Italy also. I am not a big shopper... I've never been. I buy things when I really need. Well sure, I can visiting certain outlets in Helsinki regularly during the sales-season. But only in the sales-seasons! Then I buy so much of new things with fractions of the normal-price, that I don't normally need to visit “normal” shops. Only in some special occasions, or when I cannot get something specific from the outlets.

One thing I needed, that I did not bring with me from Finland were winter shoes. Not that I didn't have them in Finland, but just because I could not fit them in my luggage. So since I came to the land of shoes and bags, I decided I can buy at least one of each (hmmm... let's see if it is only one of each...). During the first week I checked several shops and found out that all nice looking shoes cost from 100 € upwards. No way am I paying that much for shoes!!! Yes I am very economical. I want quality, beautiful but still cheap. Impossible you might think, but no, I do get that normally, I'm just careful where I shop and especially WHEN I shop! Since I had a mission of finding myself winter-shoes, I asked some friends where do they shop for shoes. I got a good hint that next to Termini Train-station there are cheap outlets. Crossing the street from the Termini I found a queue of cheap shops, but only one as an outlet-type of a shop, "Lucky". When others sell poor-quality shoes (non authentic materials), this one had real-leather shoes for -50% and more cheaper than the original price. There I found myself a pair of black-leather shoes from suede leather for 55€ (normal price 129€). In my view 55€ is still much, but definitely better than 129€. I still wonder how do people in this land of low-salaries buy themselves a pair of shoes? Of maybe they use the non-authentic ones. So how is it possible some shops can sell with such prices? Being an outlet they sell the left-overs of the original stock for different retailers. So they do not have all the shoes in all the sizes. There would have been many nice models, but being a Finn I have my shoe-size 40-41, very non-typical Italian size... so not many shoes with so big size available here.

So next goal is to find a bag! I already found one nice from ….. but sorry if I feel that 69€ is too much for a bag. Yes it was beautiful, knitted gray and black bag with a bow on front. But still I'm not ready to pay for 69€!!!! Let's see what other options I'll find! I only have a small handbag so I'll must find one soon.