O Sole Mio

There was a terrific rainstorm last night, really all day and night. Our apartamento has a few leaks…..to say the least. We put towels and pots and pans around to catch the drips. Despite of some of the inconveniences we really like our rooms. It’s a quirky structure as we’ve already noted, and our neighbors are no less strange.

Well, some of them…Above us we have a little man with a dog. We first spied him, our first night here, outside on the street, he was walking his dog and talking, mumbling to the dog, everyone around and to some spirits he alone could see. We thought he was homeless. I’ve taken to calling him Samuel Beckett. He looks like him and his demeanor is right out of “Godot”. Well, we now understand he is our upstairs neighbor. He rambles around, like he does on the street, across the gangway,(see the pics), and back, from one tiny room to another . He seems harmlessly nuts, in his own world . I might say the same about us !

The rest of our neighbors are pleasant when they see us, usually at the building entrance. But nobody seems interested in us. Perhaps they just see too many tourists. I hope they will open up more after we’ve been here awhile. One of our goals was to live like Romans, in a real neighborhood, becoming part of the neighborhood.

We ARE getting to know our neighborhood. We’ve tried a few restaurants and have picked a few favorites. There’s a Sardinian one called “D’albino il sardo all’angoletto”, and “Jaipur” (Indian), and “Il Archo de Trastevere”, and “Insalata Ricci”. There are quite a few artists and artisans nearby. A fine arts print studio just a few doors away, clothes designers, ceramic artists as well. Clare found some art she wanted to buy. A ceramic cat & mice teacup set…..how could we not get it for her. For my birthday the girls got me a compass/timepiece….very renaissance looking.

Clare has taken to singing aloud as we push her through the narrow medieval streets . I think she likes the way her voice bounces off the tall buildings. I’ve got her to sing more than “la la la” . She now has her own rendition of “O sole mio” . “O solo bambino” is her version, I think this is her subtle way of saying she’d like to get away from us. At the top of her little lungs, belting it out, unconcerned and unembarrassed, she goes on for blocks at a time. I think we have an actress on our hands.

We have managed to go out most mornings and shoot and document my churches. We’ve learned not to try and do too much in one morning. One or sometimes two buildings keeps us moving forward with the project. We have pretty much worn our feet out though. Rome is a great walking city. There’s so much to see and if you take a leisurely approach, as we have, and you can really experience a lot in a day.
Ciao, Tommaso