A Fall day

I'm not sure why but I never imagined Rome with Fall foliage. The temperature is in the low 60's, the rain has stopped (at least for the time being), and the colors are beautiful particularly against the backdrop of the ochre and rust colored buildings. The lush vegetation on our garden does not appear to be thinning much, yet there are large amounts of leaves on the ground each day. The joys and pains of having a garden.

I was able to enjoy the views of the centro and the colors of fall on my walk through the Villa Borghese on my way home from my Italian class today. It was nice not to be hurried although it was 2:30pm and I was starved by the time I arrived home. Initially, I walked with a classmate of mine, Sister Lucy.

Sister Lucy is Irish, must be well into her 70's, wears heals and stockings to class each day, and diligently does her homework. Since we both had arrived early today, we had time to talk. She is here in Rome for three years having been selected to participate in a course at the Vatican that was started by another Irish sister in 1775. She felt much responsibility being chosen for this important and historical role; she suggested it would be better filled by a younger person. Lucy has led a fascinating life, most recently living in London, she has travelled the world with her work. I asked her about the most interesting place she'd visited. She said the place that brought her the most heartache was Zimbabwe, where the guerillas would drag people out of their homes in the middle of the night and shoot them. She's seen a dozen or more African countries. After class, we walked together to her convent. She showed me the courtyard and the lovely church on the premises. What a wonderful soul she is.

There is not much else to report about today: the girls are swimming, Avery is napping, then crying, and I am making hamburgers and french fries for dinner.