Buon giorno a tutti

[marchesa]

I moved back to NYC after living for 37 years (yes, 37) in Rome where I was, and still am, a fashion/beauty editor for two magazines.
If there is anyone out there who wants to exchange views about the Eternal City, I'm the one to contact, although I must warn you that I have negative as well as positive things to say about my life abroad.
Look forward to hearing from you.
Ciao,
Marchesa

[Gala Placidia]

Hello and welcome to the Forum. Your life must be very interesting and I am sure that we all look forward to reading more about you and your experiences. Very big differences between the two cities you mention. I was in New York in April for a couple of weeks, visiting my daughter who lives there. Had a fabulous night at the Metropolitan Opera House watching "Un ballo in maschera" and going to restaurants and interesting places. How do you find your new life there? Do you travel frequently back to Italy?
Ciao,

[marchesa]

There is probably no other city in the world like New York when it comes to the exciting cultural life and sheer dinamism....it's a city that pulses with life. But when it comes to beauty, art and glorious nature, Rome is definitely high on the list. I was born and raised in NYC and went to Italy because of my marriage to an Italian, so I consider myself an American (tourist) who lived abroad for almost 4 decades. No, I haven't been back to Rome since I returned to the States....I'm not really ready to do that just yet,

[Licciana]

Originally Posted by marchesa

There is probably no other city in the world like New York when it comes to the exciting cultural life and sheer dinamism....it's a city that pulses with life.,

Except London, of course

But I think Rome has both London and New York beat on the beauty front.

[Mathematician]

Does the London Underground still close down at 12 midnight? It was quite a shock for New Yorkers the first time in London not to be able to travel the city cheaply after theater, dinner, etc. New York City's public transportation runs 24/7, and with all its creaks and cracks is still the best in the world, imho. Last time in Rome (spring) using the Metro was difficult after 10 pm, we wandered through kms of tunnels and construction to find the single line still working at that hour, and you can forget finding a map or schematic while you're at it. Still a bit of work to do there.

[Postmac]

Hi Mathematician,

see attached plan.

[Mathematician]

Thanks for that -- I now know to travel with my laptop EVERYWHERE, just so I have access to those last-minute things I end up needing, like a subway map!! It was an unplanned stop in Rome (thank you Alitalia, 1800 euros compensation, a night in a decent hotel, two meals with wine, breakfast, and airport transfers, too!) -- and as it turned out our hotel was on one of the metro lines, but the hotel didn't have a metro schematic.

[Postmac]

Jeez, it's no wonder that Alitalia are in financial trouble!!!

[Mathematician]

According to my travel agent, that was the minimum required by the EU airline regulations once Alitalia canceled our flight to NYC without notice!! Alitalia's problems run much, much deeper than that, I'm afraid.

[Gala Placidia]

Originally Posted by Mathematician

According to my travel agent, that was the minimum required by the EU airline regulations once Alitalia canceled our flight to NYC without notice!! Alitalia's problems run much, much deeper than that, I'm afraid.

About 1,000,000 EUROS a day
Well, the important thing is that you got back to NYC even with a delay.