RAIN

We woke up late again this morning (when I say 'we' I mean me) We headed back to our new favorite place to eat lunch. It was very crowded so we had to sit outside. It's much cooler here today so they had heaters outside which helped a bit. Another thing that is quite different here is that total strangers sit next to you while you're eating. If there is a table with eight chairs, eight people sit at that table. It doesn't matter if you know each other or not. If you don't want to sit with strangers you may not get a seat at all. Today we had a young lady sit at our table. She was traveling alone. She told us she was heading to Venice tonight and we told her we were going there in just a couple days. After visiting a bit she said,"You are from the states?" We asked her how she knew that and she smiled and said, "It's very obvious." I'm not sure what that means. :)

Then we had two older Italian gentlemen sit with us. They both spoke a little English and one asked us where we were from. We said the U.S. He said, "I know that. What part?" :) Again, it must have been obvious. He had been to New York City, San Francisco and Honolulu. He said New York City was his favorite. I asked one of the gentlemen why most Italians can speak English so well and he told us that the rest of the world speaks English so they need to know it. He said he had spent time in London when he was younger and that's where he learned most of it. Then one of the men gave us each a chocolate Easter egg and told us it was for good luck and fertility. That made us all laugh. 

When I'm home and it is raining I'm holed up inside. Not today. It's been raining here most of the day and there is something about walking through the streets of the city that is quite stirring for me. It's chilly, it's damp and it's wonderful. 

 I thought the rain would keep people inside today but I was wrong about that. The umbrellas really added a sense of color to Rome today.

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As we wandered through the drizzle we would round a corner and walk into a piazza with a fountain or a church. We took advantage of visiting the majestic churches that look so plain and simple on the outside and stunningly gorgeous inside. It gave us a reprieve from the rain and an art/history lesson as well.

 Simply gorgeous.....