Singin' in the Rain

Mary arrived by taxi around 8 am. After giving her a little time to get settled and showing her a bit of the Irish College, we left on an errand of mercy to get an Italian SIM card for Sue's phone. I'd seen a Vodafone store the day before on route to Pompi, the tiramisu haven, so we headed in that direction.

Happily, we found the store and Mary was able to buy the card. One needs to produce a passport to buy the SIM card. That seemed odd to me, but I suppose technology being what it is, mobile phones can be used to detonate more than phone calls.

It turned out that Mary is a fan of tiramisu, so we went back to Pompi. Neither of us had tiramisu, instead choosing from the mounds of gelato in the case.

After a quick stop at the supermarket (not Di per Di) we returned to the cottage and then explored some of the Irish College amenities, specifically the tennis court. The court also has a couple of basketball backboards and a football (soccer) net. I found one fairly inflated basketball and shot a few hoops.

Sue arrived in a Mercedes around 3. After getting her things into the cottage, the three of us went to L'800 for a quick coffee and then headed down the hill toward the Coliseum. On the way, we stopped at a travel agency to get our train tickets for the next day. Mary was leaving at 7 am; Sue and I booked the 12:45 train.

It started to rain. Sue bought a small umbrella and was assured that it was guaranteed for three years. Three minutes later, the wind had blown it inside out and bent at least one rib irreparably. Sue is a real trooper, so she took this in stride. Besides, we were standing between the Coliseum and the Arch of Titus - what could possibly be so bad? 

We caught the bus to the Argentine, then walked to Piperno, only to find it dark even though its website said nothing about being closed on Friday night. Since it is in the Jewish ghetto, I wasn't surprised that it would be closed to observe the sabbath. Only daunted a bit, we struck out for Abruzzi. It too was shut up and dark. That perplexed me. I was pleased to have been able to go directly to each of those places without a map and without any treks the wrong way, but I was disappointed not to be able to introduce my friends to either of these wonderful restaurants. Since the Trevi is so near, we headed that way in search of a restaurant but couldn't agree on what looked 'not too touristy'.

Sue said that the Pantheon is her favorite place in Rome, so we went there and were treated to first-hand observation of the rain coming in through the oculus followed by a really wonderful sight of birds, probably small gulls, flying over it against the night sky.

Mary was soaked and having the least fun of the three of us. After a quick walk around to pay respects to Victor Emmanuel II and Rafael, we settled on a restaurant in the Piazza della Rotonda and enjoyed a nice light supper. Then it was off to Della Palma for gelato. Much to my surprise and relief, I went three-for-three and found the gelateria without any difficulty. It lived up to billing and the pistachio was just fine, even for something a little too green. Finally, we wended our way to a taxi stand and took a cab back to the college.

The rain had stopped and we settled in for a low-key evening, preparing to leave Rome and begin adventures in Florence. If only we'd known what they'd be...