Be With You

Even in the pouring rain, this city is so amazingly beautiful. It's been grey and we haven't seen a glimpse of the sun for what feels like weeks (that downpour that keep us from Assisi just keeps on sitting over Rome) but somehow even in the most dire of weather conditions Rome is still so captivating (even the thunderstorms here are beautiful, watching lightning illuminate the gas meters out my window is amazing). Romans just keep on doing what they've done for centuries, living in a place that doesn't seem to want them. This place would be much better off if ancient people's hadn't settled here, the river floods, the land shifts and changes, the winds are constantly blowing shutters off buildings. But it's so beautiful. Even what shouldn't be breathtaking captures your mind.

The old man who runs the trattoria in my building told me yesterday, after I had ordered my cornetto literally "for the road" (literally. That's how you say "to go" here),  that I was a real Roman now. For whatever reason they've accepted that I'm here to stay and will continue to eat their delicious pastries and sauteed artichokes for the next few months. It scares me how much I love this place, how much it feels like home. When they refer to Rome as The Eternal City I see why. This place never leaves you. You are eternally Rome's.

Papa Morizio is in Italy this week for business in Milan so he and I are going up to Venice this weekend, coincidentally, for Carnival. The rain should be letting up staring Friday afternoon and hopefully everything won't be flooded. We're staying right on the ocean (though I suppose everything is on the ocean in Venice) and it should be amazing. From the pictures I've seen of people who were up their last weekend, it looked packed and festive so I'm hoping this weekend will be amazing as well, if only for people watching.

Of course logistically this will make the trip more colorful, but that's part of the charm of Italy. Dads never been to Venice either, so he and I will both be exploring together. I'm excited to see Dad (my Dad is awesome. Seriously.) but also the draw of a long hot shower where the water doesn't pool at your feet because of drain issues sounds lovely. I'm just going to stuff myself with frappe before they lock up all the pastries for Lent and drink bellini and smell the ocean.