Romans know how to frame a view and to bake a cake

It’s time for some more pretty pictures, don’t you agree?

First, there is a back-alley view of S. Andrea della Valle, the church we consider as our “parish” church every time we come to Roma. We were exploring a new path home yesterday and not only came across some new sights but also a franchise of an old favorite. Right after I snapped this picture, Bill noticed the Balloon Emporium in our neighborhood. In the past I had shopped at the franchise in the Prati district but now I have one right near our apartment. It’s where I personally like to shop in Rome—affordable clothes that are well-made. Yesterday, I made two purchases—a light green wool jacket and a coat-length sweater.

Next we have the interior of SS. Trinita’ dei Pellegrini. We also came across this church wandering home yesterday afternoon. Bill’s excited because they say a chanted Mass in Latin. Ooh…I can’t wait for that Mass! By comparison, today’s Mass only lasted 40 minutes. We went to S. Andrea della Valle but we haven’t seen our favorite tenor there this week or last. Maybe one Sunday at a chanted Latin Mass won’t be so bad.

Last night we hosted our first dinner in this apartment. Kikka and Riccardo were our guests. It was so good to visit with Kikka and this was the first time we really got to know Riccardo. Kikka is so cute. She loves America like I love Italy. While Bill and I look forward to our cappucini and our machiati, Kikka and Riccardo dream of American coffee. Imagine that! They also brought a magnificent dessert on Riccardo’s scooter, no less. No photoshop on this image except for a little cropping. Look at the flaky layers of pastry and the creamy melt-in-your mouth filling. In fact, I made myself so hungry writing this paragraph that I just helped myself to another piece, OK, another two pieces—but each piece was just a sliver!

The next photo is of a cat at the cat sanctuary at the Republican Forum at the Largo Argentina. The cats are neutered and vaccinated. In fact, Andrea Weatherbee, the wife of a Chaucerian, used to volunteer at the sanctuary, as I recall.

Lastly, there is a photo of the approach to S. Maria della Pace. The Italians are very good at framing a view with their architecture. Cat (not the animal from the preceding paragraph, but my advisor) would call this compression and expansion. It works well here and at a variety of other sites around the city, too.

Generally, this weekend has been very casual. Last weekend’s tourist-y desire “to see it all” has been replaced by a more residential approach. We haven’t walked seven hours in any one day this weekend; in fact, we’ve probably not walked a total of seven hours. Instead, facciamo una passeggiata. We are living more like Romans and savoring every moment, too.