Roma

Stories from the Road
October 6, 2016
Rome, Italy


The umbrella salesmen on the street had a field day this morning, when the skies opened up. We ducked into a café and had a cappuccino before zipping up our gortex jackets and heading back to Hotel Dei Borgognoni. Prior to the rain we cruised some shops, and Vicki saw a beautiful cashmere sweater. The price was 800 Euros, which is about 1000 dollars. Perhaps in another life!

I noticed that there is a free concert this afternoon of religious music at a local church. The plan is to attend and then have dinner following the performance. We’ll go early to make sure we get a seat in the relatively small church.

Those who have skied with me know that I got a good seat, as we arrived at the church 45 minutes before the concert. The performance was excellent with a soprano and baritone singing separately and together. Most of the songs such as Panis Angelus and several versions of Ave Maria were familiar to me, and I, and the rest of the people in the audience reacted very favorably to them. The woman, Guilia Fontana, had a very powerful voice, which the acoustics in the church amplified with stunning authority.

After the concert Vicki and I went to a small restaurant near out hotel. She had gnocchi, while I had roast chicken with mushrooms. We shared an insalata mista. For desert we stopped at the gelato shop near Hotel Dei Borgognoni.

Today we’ll cruise the city some. Tomorrow we are in the air.