Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Piazza di Spagna

Rome has never been more beautiful. Preparing for our trip to Greece, I went in to Rome yesterday for a few things. I walked down Via della Croce and passed a restaurant that my family ate at 9 years ago. We had all flown over to Rome for Ron's first summer at the Summer Rome Program for University of Dallas.  We had landed, set down our bags, and then took the bus into Rome and walked around trying to stay awake. We rested at a little pizzeria on Via della Croce. Today it is just the same, with the red and white checkered tablecloths and little tables outside with umbrellas casting a comfortable shadow. We ordered several pizzas and my 5 year old exclaimed, "This one smells like fish!" We had mistakenly ordered a pizza napolitana, which has anchovies! We got a big kick out of that. Thank goodness we had many other mouth-watering options. 

I continued my stroll, thinking of the blessing of all the summers we have spent here for Ron's work, and now living here and my children being close to fluent in Italian. Soon Via della Croce led me into the Piazza di Spagna. I could hardly believe my eyes at the beauty and serenity of the scene. Romans meandered, children rode bikes, Bernini's fountain trickled and splashed. I could not help but notice the obvious absence of non-EU tourists. The piazza was spacious and glistening in the gentle sun. I walked a little further till I could see the statue of Mary on the pillar at the other end of the piazza. I stopped and took in the sight. 

"When would I one day leave Rome?" I wondered. I told my heart to remember this moment and keep it with me forever. 

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