Amor Roma Encuentro

Wow, talk about an amazing beautiful city and it is called Rome.

At the time we were living in Barcelona, and in Europe everything is so close plus I had never been to Rome. I registered us as a couple for the event and we got accepted.  Booked inexpensive Airfare on Veiling Airlines. No checked luggage only had carry.

Leaving Barcelona, it was a cool 85 degrees, but upon arriving in Rome, the temperatures jumped up to 10 degrees.

We figured out how to take the direct train to Rome as the airport is about 30 minutes outside of the city.

Bought our tickets from the vendor, then went off to find which train was ours, as the train station is accessed directly from the airport, which meant walking and reading the signs.

Train found, luggage loaded and off we went. The train wasn’t crowded,  but a couple of travelers wat next to us…a couple of younger American women off to Rome for a couple of days, before going on a Mediterranean cruise. Conversation ensued about traveling experiences and was fun to compare notes and lifestyles.

Once the train arrived in Rome at Termini Station, the madness of exiting the station along with many other train passengers began.

We navigated out of the station figured out which direction our hotel was located and started to walk. The thick-crack sound of the luggage wheels accompanied us the entire distance of 4 big blocks, passing a gorgeous functioning fountain called Piazzaza della República. The Rome train station is located in an older section of the city and gas a vast assortment of people hanging out.

We stayed at the Hotel Quirinale which was hosting the Amor Roma Encuentro. A old grand hotel with a large lobby and many meeting rooms including the large room that would host the encuentro.

As this was my first visit to Rome I wanted to experience the city so we arrived 2 days early.

When in a new city, we always take a tourist tour bus to get an idea of how the sections of the city connect, and Rome was no different. There are many more bus tour options here, so I read reviews…and we opted for a day tour and a night tour. This experience is not my favorite but we did get off after riding around the whole city in air conditioned comfort comfort, we disembarked close to the Fontana de Trevi.

Again it was so hot after 2 blocks we needed food and a beverage. We love finding small restaurants on side streets, the one we found was a wonderful small restaurant, Piccolo Arancio.

As it was midday day we wanted to eat light. We tried Artichokes a la Jewish and an octopus and tomato salad…both were fantastic and we told the owner this. She was the owner for over 40 years and, her restaurant skills were evident. She was very kind and rewarded us with some homemade cookies to enjoy with our coffee.
https://www.piccoloarancio.it/

Later after exploring the city, we ventured back to our hotel to collapse on the bed as the temperature had reached 98 degrees.

We spent a little more time outside as when it’s that hot, we have a difficult time.

As my heart is always interested in discovering new experiences I wasn’t satisfied with the big bus tour as there are many places not accessible via a large vehicle.
We usually just walk a city but with the temperature approaching 100, this was not possible.

I discovered Tuk Tuks, and it’s the perfect vehicle for getting around the old city on the cobblestone streets plus it was only us. It was a private tour, as the company I discovered reading many reviews offered a tour to the less known and crowded touristy sites. We went it was s fantastic way to see the city. I wholeheartedly recommend the 7 Hills tuk-tuk tours.
https://www.7hillstours.com/

The festival began on Friday afternoon. After registering, Roberta Coen the organizer figured out that I hadn’t made my payment. I did a money transfer, in 2 minutes and then the dancing began.

Friday there were two different TDJs at two milongas starting at 15.30 until 20. The night milonga began at 21.30 and went until 2.00.

The DJs were all Italian and mostly local…the music ranged from the golden age of tango to a bit more contemporary. There were 4 songs in a tanda.

What was awesome was the mix of people, yes there were a few extra women,  but the balance was good. The dancing was lovely, all in close embrace. Some folks dance simply while others dance with more steps. As the ballroom is very large and elegant there was no danger of running into another couple while dancing. The floor was full but never really crowded as I think there were only 125 people in total attending the event.

Every night we made it to bed by 2.30 with tired sore feet and happy hearts, we love to dance tango, and my partner Maximo is a wonderful dancer.

On the final night, Sunday we had dinner with a few other dancers. It’s usually a good experience to eat food and chat with other dancers and the organizers.

At the dinner table, the languages spoken were Italian, English, French, and Spanish, but some folks also spoke fluent Arabic, Russian, and Castillo.

Now we sit in the air-conditioned comfort of our hotel, waiting for the weather to cool down as tonight we get to see the city at night, with a few other folks.

In the morning, we return to Barcelona. They are off to Croatia for a month of camper vaning and of course a tango event at the end of the month in Zagreb.