Wednesday 8 January 2014

From my desk in Rome

Buongiorno!


1.
Yes.
I am in Rome.
It is sunny.
And dry.
But I am working very, very hard.
No, really, I am.

2.
I thought the taxi driver
was terrifyingly fast.
But my colleagues said
he was slower than usual.

3.
My bedroom overlooks the garden.
There are lemon trees.

4.
The bell rings for meal times.
breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Oh - and tea with shortbread.
We are a little piece of England here

5.
I had a tour of the building
which is not straightforward.
Corridors that end mysteriously
and stairs that go down
when you expect them to go up.
I hope to find my bedroom again
but am not optimistic.

6.
The librarian let me look at the rare books.
There is a whole wall of guide books
for Rome from 1576 onwards.
MrM would be in heaven.

7.
After lunch I went to the Borghese Gardens
Sunshine, views of Rome, ice creams
and beds of Paperwhite narcissi.
Bliss.

8.
I am struggling with computers
which have Italian keyboards
and Italian menu choices.

9.
An artist from Canada gave a presentation
about her project to create
a bright green inflatable bridge
in the classical style.
It seemed a good idea when she described it.

10.
I met a scholar from Washington
who is studying ritual sacrifice of animals
in the Etruscan period.
I will report back.

11.
I had dinner with four students
visiting the churches of Rome.
They were trying to remember
which saint went with which church.
But struggling.

12.
I had to get up at 4.30am
so I am very tired.
The coffee at dinner
had no effect.
Must sleep.

10 comments:

  1. It sounds as though you are having a wonderful and fascinating time. I look forward to hearing more. The taxi drivers in Italy can be pretty terrifying can't they - or perhaps yours was a relative of the one we had last year.... Hope you enjoy your time in Rome. xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. goodness - what an exciting life you lead - sounds wonderful

    ReplyDelete
  3. La città eterna.
    Enjoy it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. don't forget the bronze Etruscan augury liver in Piacenza ... #alwaysknewthatwouldcomeinusefuloneday

    ReplyDelete
  5. 2014 is getting off to a very good start!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Tremendous.
    Gorgeous.
    It's okay if you skip #10.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh, I am so envious! Enjoy your time there.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I remember watching the 1982 world cup final on a large screen in the Piazza del Popolo - Italy v West Germany. Paolo Rossi's tournament.

    This was shortly after I had met MrsM and I was travelling with a fellow student who has now turned out to be a well respected headmaster. Who would have known it at the time.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you! I love reading your comments and even though I don't always have time to reply I am really grateful to every one who joins in the conversation.