又中又英 | Etched in your memory | 褚簡寧

　　Rome is etched in my memory. If something is etched in your memory, it means you will always remember it. I have visited Rome several times but want to go again after watching an old Oscar-winning movie called Roman Holiday. I last visited Rome in 2018 during a Mediterranean cruise with my closest relatives. I have bittersweet memories of that trip. If you have bittersweet memories of something, such as a previous marriage, it means you have a mixture of happy and sad memories. I have bittersweet memories because two of my close relatives on the cruise have now passed away.

　　I first visited Rome years ago as a budget backpacker. A budget backpacker is someone who travels with only a backpack, spends very little money, and stays in cheap hotels. Rome was not overflowing with tourists in those days. I could easily find a place to sit at the 18th century Trevi Fountain and enjoy looking at the fountain’s flowing waters with a slice of pizza and a small bottle of red wine. That is no longer possible. Rome banned eating and drinking at the Trevi Fountain and other historical sites in 2017 because of large crowds of misbehaving tourists.

　　The Trevi Fountain was so full of tourists when I last visited in 2018 that I couldn’t find a place to sit. Italian cities, such as Florence and Venice, which had far fewer tourists when I visited years ago, are now overrun with tourists. It’s the same in Japan, forcing the Italian and Japanese governments to impose rules that lessen the pleasure of visiting. That’s why I always visit such places well after the summer rush.

　　羅馬是etched in my memory——若某事情是etched in your memory，意即你將它銘記在心。我曾數度遊歷羅馬，但看過一齣古舊的奧斯卡得獎電影《羅馬假期》後，便很想再去。我上一次到羅馬是2018年，跟一些近親一同乘搭地中海郵輪。那一次的旅程有着bittersweet memories。若你對某事，例如前一段婚姻，有bittersweet memories，意即當中的回憶苦樂參半。那次郵輪旅程的回憶苦樂參半（bittersweet memories），是因為一同旅遊的近親中有兩位現在已經離世。

　　我多年前第一次遊羅馬時，還是個budget backpacker。A budget backpacker是背着背包，花很少的錢，住便宜旅店的窮遊背包客。那年頭的羅馬還沒有擠滿遊客。我在18世紀建成的特雷維噴泉旁，很容易便找到位子坐，一邊嘗着一塊薄餅和一小杯紅酒，一邊靜靜地觀賞許願池噴泉的流水。這在現在已是不可能了。因為有大量行為不端的遊客，羅馬於2017年禁止遊人在特雷維噴泉及其他歷史遺址飲食。

　　我上一次於2018年遊特雷維噴泉時，那裏滿是遊客，我完全找不到地方坐坐。像佛羅倫斯和威尼斯這些意大利城市，多年前我到訪的時候遊客少很多，但現在已經遊客氾濫。日本也是一樣，迫使意大利和日本政府實施一些規例，降低了遊訪的樂趣。因此我總是在夏天旅遊旺季過後，才會去這些地方。

[email protected]
Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻