It is a cold, rainy day here in Rome. I'm curled up in my chair, wrapped up in a blanket, occasionally napping, and wishing there were three little dogs nestling in my lap. I have books open, pen and paper for note taking and am surrounded by two racks of freshly washed and still drying clothes. It's a good day-a good day to study and relax and nap. I'm working this weekend on a presentation on the Domus Flavia-Domitian's grand palace at the top of the Palatine. I am somewhat astounded that I have no pictures of the remains as they are quite striking. Perhaps I'll get a few sometime this weekend if I ever venture outside. I know they say that witches only melt in movies but I never like to take that chance.
A couple weeks ago, on another cold and rainy day, we had to venture out to the Immigration Office to submit paperwork and be fingerprinted. It was a long journey by bus and subway and bus again. Most of us got lost at one point on the journey-we each had separate appointments so didn't travel as one large group. It was appropriate weather for a day you had no time to in which to enjoy yourself anyway. And the outskirts of Rome resembled the weather-dreary, cold, and a little sad.
And now I must get back to my studying.
Those bleak apartment blocks remind me of the opening shots in "The Bicycle Thief". You didn't happen to stop in any pawn shops with floor to ceiling packages of sheets that people had hocked, did you?
ReplyDelete