Monday

Passed by the Pope's place this morning. There seem to be more barricades there than before, but perhaps that's because there's some special show going on soon. There is a stage being erected in the plaza and many of the trash containers have been sealed off - i assume to prevent someone from placing a bomb inside. It feels safer to send mail through the VC than through Italian post, perhaps b/c i imagine Italian post as striking all the time, and who would dare strike against God's earthly rep? Hopefully all those postcards get to their destination before i do, and make more sense than my recollection of the feverish ramblings i wrote.

On the way out of the VC i walked down and around via Ottaviano looking around and for a tavola calda to eat at. Sat down, but was too early for them to tell me what kind of pasta the cook was ready to make for the day (was perhaps 11:45am). So waited and waited. One thing in Italy - you don't rush food very often. I'm surprised McD's can work here - people are accustomed to meals taking many hours if necessary. After some time of waiting i asked the waiter what was going on, he rambled something off about spaghetti all' amatriciana, and brought me a plate of it. What's the diff between that and alla carbonata? Thought i was getting something with tomato sauce, but instead got a yellowy sauce: cheese, egg, and a little little bit of tiny pieces of ham along with a smattering of pepper. Was quite nice, and the first time i've eaten egg since Cambodia (where they think that if you don't want meat in your stir fry then you must want egg).

This afternoon i went to EUR, down to the apartment i lived at in high school and bought some fruit and soap in La Standa, the grocery store across the way. The place looks pretty much the same. Walked around EUR a bit and noticed a couple new McD's. I wonder how many pizzerias have to close every time one of those opens.

Nighttime again found me over by the Pantheon (just like high school) where i tried to go into a restaurant to sample their penne all' arrabbiata but was denied. The problem was that it was before 7pm, and they don't open til 7. There's no sign on the door indicating this, but hay que saber (or c'e che sentire) - there are some little nuances about place that you just need to know through some mystical insight. Perhaps knowing which places serve penne all' arrabbiata with cheese is one of these insights.