A:

Monday marked the midpoint of our time in this wonderful city. It also means we are half way through our Italian lessons- four down, four to go. We passed the morning quietly doing homework and washing, and it was lovely to talk to Clare and Mum and Beth, and also to Kerry late last night. Our classes are proceeding well and we were pleased to see Nives fully recovered from her party on Saturday night (Well, except for a bit of a cold). Our usual routine during the afternoon of lessons is to have a break at a nearby cafe- Castroni- Via Cola di Rienza 196-198 and this time I decided to order a hot chocolate for something different. Wow- here this is a serious business and I think I consumed about half a block of melted chocolate which was delicious! Mick and Nives had the usual cappuccino. (Some pictures of Castroni in the album this time.)

Tuesday saw us having another quiet morning with Mick catching up on some pressing work matters and me shopping and preparing minestrone for tomorrow's dinner as we will be home a little late. It will be nice to have dinner ready when we get home. It was lovely to speak to the girls on skype- it is less than a month before we see them now in Verona. We went again to our favourite (morning) cafe for caffe and a pasta (ie something delicious and sugary)! We need to replace the ink in the printer in the flat but it is proving very difficult to match it despite much investigation by Mick on line and on foot, and both of us again on foot this morning. Class went well as usual with Nives well prepared and during the break I chose a lemon tea which was delicious and the fact I drank it without sugar caused Nives some amusement. Dinner was home cooked chicken in a bun, fresh from the Roscioli Forno a few doors away, with salad- very tasty.

M:

Tuesday also saw a bit of rain here in Rome, so we decided to catch the bus instead of walking to class. After our experience at the football on Sunday, we carefully checked both andate (going) and ritorno (coming back) - and of course you needed to use two different bus numbers. This seems to be at least in part a consequence of one way streets in the centre, but it can be a bit disconcerting until you get the hang of it. We need to replace the ink on the printer in the flat, and this has proved to be difficult as it is a Lexmark. We tried a few computer/electronics places without luck. This will clearly need a better strategy.

Wednesday was a busy (by holiday standards) day for both of us.

Anne had organised a visit to a hairdresser - which she can tell you about herself.

A:

My appointment for a cut and colour was at 9 and only five minutes walk from our flat and Bruna and Corrado- who as Mick says uses too much of his own product- were ready for me. At the time of making the appointment last week I had brought the formula my hairdresser gave me and they showed me that they had it. We had to go upstairs and Corrado put the lights on up there. Bruna was very nice and very attentive and even washed my glasses after taking the foil off. I need to put something on the stems while reading and was ready with gladwrap but she got her assistant to put the foil on when she came upstairs later. She blew my hair dry at the end- something I don't normally worry about but thought I better let her do so. The brief discussion we had involved her asking if I was French despite my book being on the table in front of me so I told her a little about myself and our trip. I was out the door at 11- exactly on time.

M:

I am in the middle of preparing material for a course I am teaching in January with Kelvin Canavan and a host of guest speakers, and quite by chance he is here in Italy (about an hour out of Rome) doing a renewal course. After a few recent emails, we were able to meet up in St Peter's Square. Kelvin had been at a papal audience (with hundreds of others) and as we waited for him we were able to watch all the different groups of people emerging. Some in ordinary "civvies", some in religious garb, some with pilgrim neckerchiefs, and others in outfits at whose derivations we could only guess. (See the pictures for an example). Once we met, we headed out for lunch at a place I had found on Trip Advisor called Da Vito e Dina. A bottle of wine, good meals and a final (free) limoncello made for a very pleasant meal - and we even got a bit of work done! (A: Kelvin asked about Mum and my family and I told him we all really appreciated all he did for Dad's funeral almost exactly seven years ago (24.11.04) ie the following day would be this anniversary. Kelvin raised his glass and we drank a toast to the old soldier!)

On to school, where I discussed some of the things I had read in the Corriere della Sera - floods in Sicily (looks like we got out at a good time), citizenship rights of children of refugees born in Italy, and the plight of many single fathers here. In the absence of clear guidelines about amounts for maintenance, some have been ordered by courts to give up around 80% of their income. One poor guy - a teacher - ended up sleeping in his car for three months, eating at soup kitchens and washing his clothes in street fountains. By the end of our lesson, both of us were pretty brain dead, so it was another quiet evening as we recuperated over a bowl of Mamma Anna's minestrone!