Bella Roma Rip-off
Bella Roma Rip-off is included in Pastel & Pen: Travels in Europe, a non-collaborative collaboration between Gregg Simpson and me. Gregg supplies the artwork (see above), and I write the stories.
About the artwork: Gregg created Birthday in Rome in honor of his 70th birthday, which we celebrated a few weeks before stumbling upon the Bella Roma Rip-off. The party atmosphere conjured by the piece reminded me of how we felt before we got the bill at the swanky place overlooking the Piazza del Popolo.
Bella Roma Rip-off
During a recent week-long stay in Rome, Gregg and I try twice to see the Etruscan Museum in Rome. When finally we are successful, we are overwhelmed with pre-Roman bliss.
The place is deserted except for a few tired-looking attendants, but the exhibits! Holy Early Civilization! We are entranced as we stroll from case to case to gaze at the Greek-influenced pottery and household goods that include an amazing selection of women’s mirrors.
I feel a stirring of inspiration—could I consider writing a novel set in Etruscan times? For one thing, women had a great deal more freedom in Etruscan society than they had in the Roman era. I buy a book about the Etruscans and file away ideas for possible revisiting.
After drinking our fill of Etruscans, we set out in search of dinner and stumble into one of the very few negative experiences we’ve had in all our years of travel.
A long walk through a neighborhood with no restaurants (a rare thing in Rome) brings us to the Piazza del Popolo. We’re hungry so, instead of stopping to do a quick Yelp search on my phone, we walk into a lovely restaurant right on the Piazza.
We arrive just as the heavens open—the rain like machine gun fire rattling the massive white canopies arching above the outdoor tables. The very professional and friendly waiter seats us immediately and cannot be more attentive, short of adopting us and taking us home to Mama.
Lulled into a false sense of security, I order a glass of wine without checking the wine menu. The nice waiter suggests a Chianti—I say, why not?
The Chianti is spectacular, and the food we order is good, although a bit on the skimpy side—one shared salad and one plate of shared risotto plus one beer for Gregg and two glasses of the Chianti for me. In my defense, the glasses are huge, and the quantity of Chianti is small—and it tastes really good. The waiter continues to be friendly and joking.
Where are you from? Ah, Canadese, I have relatives in Toronto. Do you know them?
And then, with a flourish, he presents the bill.
I’d estimated maybe €50, since I know the salad and risotto together are about €25. I also know there will be a service charge (the posh restaurants always have one), and the Chianti is a wild card that I figure will cost about €8 a glass (high for me, but it really was good).
The bill is €111.
We’ve been scammed! I look at the itemized bill — €20 per glass for the Chianti and another €17 for the cover charge (more than either one of the dishes we ate).
Ouch! Well, what’s a nice Canadian girl to do? I pay up quickly and then go to our HomeAway apartment rental and write three scathing reviews on Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Google. I then discover that I’m not alone. The average star rating for the restaurant is two, with a many one-star ratings that all say the same thing—scam alert.
Live and learn. We pride ourselves on being smart travelers, but pride goeth before a fall. I will be more careful to check reviews in future.