We are back home in Rome.  I forgot to tell you about the Church Cat we met.  We are standing in the Cathedral and I see a cat zip across in front of the altar.  He went into a chapel to check it out, then came and rubbed against my leg.  He knew a cat friend when he saw one!  The guide there said GiGetto lives in the church and is well cared for.  I wondered why the alarm didn’t go off as most of the altar areas are set with alarms…but the guide said they are set higher up and GiGetto going along the floor doesn’t hit the sensor.  

Also, on one of the tours connected with the Cathedral where we saw the 1000 year old statue we got to go to the Bishops Palace.  Beautiful frescoes, and an ancient map of Todi showing the 365 churches and bell towers that used to be in the Bishop’s district.  The Bishop stays in Todi two days a week and the rest of the time in Orvieto.  We were also shown a chapel that is only used on special holidays and a secret door that lets you go high above the altar to look out onto the congregation.  Our guide was very knowledgable, but we didn’t think he was Italian.  Then we met his father…obviously Italian.  Then he said his Mother was from Fiji…thus his darker coloring.  He is a sculptor by trade, but loves the Cathedral and being a guide.  Later, we went to the Antique Market.  I’ve seen better stuff at a garage sale!  Pure junk with high prices.  Too bad.  

Today we did nothing but have breakfast and figure out where to catch the bus to Rome.  Nowhere near where we were let off on Thursday.  Several people had told us where to WALK to catch the bus…but it was miles from town.  We never would have found it…and would have passed it if we had…nothing was marked.  We had our hotel man call a cab for us.  When he let us off, there was a big parking lot with a big food truck in the middle.  There was a huge piece of porchetta and that seems to be all he was selling.  We got sandwiches and he cut off a small slice of crispy skin to put on top of the softer meat.  So good!  In town the day before I had seen a porchetta stand, but it was closed…sort of like a small hamburger stand.  If anyone needs a new career…learn to make porchetta and get a food truck!    Our bus to Rome was half full until another bus pulled,up and unloaded his entire group onto our bus.  The we were full!  On the local bus in Rome, I met a couple from Philly and they told me all kinds of places we should go…including Bologna and that area.  So we will plan on that.  I’m tired.  Finished the rest of my porchetta sandwich – I added some mayo – and will go to bed soon.  

Today we had breakfast at the convent in what used to be a choir room.  Beautiful frescoes line the walls.  There are benches all around the room with tables in front of them.  After breakfast, one of the Sisters took us on a tour of the little chapel and the big church attached to the convent.  There is a small window above the altar with the sun shining in and it is lovely.  After that, Andy walked up to the town and I waited below for the little local bus to take me to the top.  As I walked thru the Porto to get to the bus, I noticed 5 big old cats lounging in the grass.  A few minutes later, a car drove up onto the grass and a lady got out, popped her trunk and started dishing up breakfast and water for the kitties.  I took over a little money to give her for cat food.  We talked and her English is excellent.  She used to volunteer at Torre Argentina in Rome about ten years ago as well as with the cats at the Protestant Cemetery.  She lives in Todi now and has 18 cats on her property that she feeds.  The bus never came and she kindly drove me up to the top of the town where the Piazza and Cathedral are.  The first thing we did was to go to the Civic Museum of Todi.  Etruscan artifacts, pottery, very old church vestments with lace and embroidery and a display of ancient coins.  They were in a special mounting and when you pushed a button, each mounted row would flip over so you could see the other side of the coin.  I had never seen anything like that.   Then we went to the Duomo where all those steps are.  Walked up all 33 steps…maybe one for each year of Jesus’s life?  The church was lovely and we went into the crypt where there is a famous 1,000+ year old statue of Mary and baby Jesus.  It was found behind a wall when the church was being refurbished hundreds and hundreds of years ago.  One of the workers, blind in one eye, wiped his face with a towel they had used to dust the statue with and his sight was restored.  So,it is a very important and miraculous statue.  Went to another church with 70 steps and saw it as well.  There is a bell tower that can be climbed, but even Andy was too pooped to climb it…and you know I didn’t!   We had lunch where we ate last night…a 4 cheese pizza with anchovies.  A couple eating at another table on the terrace ordered a meat, cheese and bruschetta platter and it looked so good we thought we might get something like that at dinner.  It was huge and enough for two…but then came their pasta bowls…also huge servings and they ate every bite.  We then hopped a local bus and went to another church way down the hill looking like it is on the edge of town.  Very huge with a big dome, but very boxy inside.  Many huge niches inside with huge marble statues of the saints in each one…probably  12 in all.  We caught the bus back to the Piazza.  Andy got off and I went down to the lower, new town to a knit, fabric, craft store for some embroidery thread.  We had walked past the place yesterday on our way to the convent.  Afterward, I met Andy back in the Piazza and we went to find a place for dinner.  All the places we were interested in don’t  open til 7:30 and we wanted to be home by then.  We stopped in a deli to see if he could sell us some porchetta…which he didn’t have.  We asked if we could go somewhere for dinner that was open NOW.  He said, you can eat here!  He cleaned off a tiny display table, pulled up two chairs and got some paper plates and plastic utensils and glasses. He fixed us a tray of typical Umbrian meats and cheeses and a toasted bruschetta spread with truffle paste.  It was delicious and such a delightful surprise.  What a salesman.  His grandfather started selling meats and cheeses from a large cart in the Piazza years ago.  Then his father bought the shop where we were eating. Three generations.  His daughter and wife came in while we were there.  The daughter is studying International law in Malta.   A younger daughter wants to be a police officer and is waiting to see if she is accepted for study.  We enjoyed that impromptu meal better than any restaurant we could have gone to.  (to which we could have gone.). For you Engish majors!  Walked back to the convent and the sun has gone down and we’re  in bed…soon to be asleep.  Another great  day in a wonderful town.  Will look forward to coming back to Todi.  Til tomorrow…back in Rome.

Today, Andy and I went to the Mexican restaurant and ate before walking to the bus station to catch our bus to Todi.  We were too early, so just waited.  Finally we were off.  About 2 hours later we arrived in Todi and were let our at the only bus stop.  We went to the Carabiniari office (traffic police) and this gorgeous man in a dashing uniform made a copy of a map for us and drew the route we were to take to get to our convent.  About 20 minutes later, we passed thru the correct Porta.  A few meters later we made it to the convent where Luca welcomed us and showed us to our rooms.  We have a suite of sorts.  Two separate bedrooms sharing a bath.  Our windows look out on the convent garden and a view of miles and miles of countryside.  We needed to eat dinner, so we walked up to the main Piazza.  And when I say walked UP that was exactly what we did…a 45 degree walk to the piazza MIGHT be a slight exaggeration…but VERY slight.  This town is wonderful…it is very medieval looking…old with tiny alleys shooting off the Main Street that we trudged up.  It levels off at the Piazza, altho I noticed about 100 steps up to the cathedral.  I’ll count them tomorrow.  After, I get the  little bus to take me back to the piazza.  We found a place for dinner and had a fabulous meal.  Slices of chicken breast with a Gorgonzola sauce.  I believe it was made with butter, flour, white wine and Gorgonzola.  I will try to make it at home.  The chef then brought us two little slices of pizza…a cheese and onion with crispy crust.  That sold us on coming back tomorrow for lunch and a pizza.  Smart man!  It was dark when we left and walked back to the convent…all downhill!!!  Thank goodness.  One of the three sisters who lives here welcomed us when we returned and we got ready for bed.  Breakfast is at 8 tomorrow.  The piazza looks interesting with lots of cute shops, restaurants and a few churches.  We will see it all.  More later…

It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood!  What a difference from the monsoon rains and wind two weeks ago. I went to Piazza Bologna on the bus and did a bit of shopping at ‘The Dollar Store’ and got a cappuccino waiting for the Mexican place to open.  When it did, I was the first one there for flautas and guacamole and a Margarita.  Was there almost 2 and a half hours…eating and sipping and doing some sewing.  I noticed a man and a younger man come in and Gabriel…the owner spoke to them in English.  As they were leaving I spoke to them and asked where they were from.  You know me….I’ll talk to a stump!  Well, they ended up sitting down with me and we visited for another half hour.  The older man has been living in Rome for 8 years and teaches.  He is also a volunteer at the Protestant Cemetery where we were yesterday!  He is going to send me a list of his favorite hidden treasures around Rome.  The younger man is here for a year, working at St. Paul’s within the Walls Episcopal Church.  He is leaving in August and moving to Dallas to be close to his girlfriend who lives in Highland Park.  He is excited that I may be able to advise him on places in Dallas before he gets there.  He is originally from South Carolina and liked my accent.  I have more of a Carolina accent than Texas, because my Daddy and Granddaddy came from South Carolina.  After they left, I wandered down to the school where the Quilt Group meets and we had a great meeting.  There was no scheduled project today.  We just worked on whatever we wanted.  There were several of the regulars missing- still on Easter Holiday maybe.  We had some new ladies and I was introduced to each one and tried to understand their questions and answer them…  One lady is a new Grandmother and she has made little Bianca a Giraffe quilt.  Another lady had finished a quilt top with Blues and oranges that was very pretty.  We all had a good time.  On Monday, several of us are meeting at a children’s hospital not far from St. Peter’s to donate a quilt for the children’s play area.  I got home a bit ago and will read until bedtime.  Tomorrow, we are taking a bus to Todi to spend two nights.  Another adventure.  Til tomorrow….

Today, we went back to the Protestant Cemetery.  What a beautiful and peaceful place.  Flowers in bloom all over, camellias, peonies, iris, violets, calla lilies, wisteria, cyclamen and redbud trees.  Shelly and Keats, the poets are both buried here, but the most stunning grave is guarded by the Angel of Grief.  It was carved as the last sculpture by a man for his wife’s grave.  You can see pictures of the Angel on Google.  We spent a couple of hours wandering the paths between the graves, reading the headstones.  Most of the people died in Rome, but there are some plaques as memorials for people who loved Rome and spent time here.  Hint, hint.  Poets, writers, musicians, politicians, royalty and just folks.  Many children are buried here.  Part of the cemetery overlooks the Pyramid and the grounds that encircle it.  The Pyramid was built in 18-12 BC for Caius Cestius during the time so many Romans were enamored with all things Egyptian.  When the tomb was rediscovered and opened, Cestius’ body was missing.  Those old grave robbers again!  It has recently been restored and cleaned and it is shiny with white tavertine.  We found out that there is a volunteer group that feeds and cares for the cats who live in the cemetery.  They all look fat and healthy.  Today they were all asleep in the sunshine.  At the visitor center, there is a window with a cat basket in the indentation, and the cat’s picture is taped to the sill.  Wonder if that specific cat is the only one allowed in the basket?  As I like to say, ‘How do it know?’  We headed back toward home and Andy went to Trastevere to run some errands.  I came home and finished off a porchetta sandwich I had purchased earlier.  I had never tried porchetta until a few weeks ago and sorry I waited so long.  It is smoked and seasoned pork and it is good!  Finished with the wash and tried to clean some dead vines off our little balcony.  We have two planter boxes that are in dire need of beautification.  Will work on that next week.  We can get plants at the market to spruce them up.  Getting my quilting projects ready for tomorrow’s quilting group.  Will be good to see the ladies again after being off for two weeks due to Easter break.  And, I’m going for Mexican food for lunch before quilting group.  Will close for tonight.  Putting on my nice clean gown, getting in my nice clean bed and reading til it’s time to sleep… So til domani….

Today is a holiday in Italy…Easter Monday. Lots of places were closed.  More so than non holiday Mondays.  It was cleaning and wash day at our ‘villa’ and we got it all done and it smells so fresh.  Started a load of wash and discovered we had no hot water for showers.  Turned out, it wasn’t the washer’s fault…our water heater has lost pressure and wasn’t heating.  So, our leasing man came this afternoon and fixed it and now we know how if it happens in the future.  These washers are amazing…takes over two hours to do one load.  They say it uses less energy, but we will see.  And sometimes, we have to run the spin cycle a second time before the door will unlock and open.  

After cleaning, we decided to take the bus across town to see the Protestant Cemetery where Shelly and Keats are buried, along with many other famous people.  This cemetery was established for Jews and Protestants (and your general heathen) because only Catholics were allowed in the Catholic cemeteries.  We got there just as it closed for the day.  It was only open for a half day…since it is a Holiday.  And the stores that were closed had chocolate Easter bunnies that will probably be half price tomorrow!  We ate Japanese food, caught the bus and came home.    The Protestant Cemetery is right by the big Piramid across town.  I’ll read up on it tonight and tell you more about it and the cemetery tomorrow.  It was finally sunny today after raining all weekend, but a bit chilly.  Should be perfect tomorrow….

Guess I haven’t written for a few days.  We were busy with the move, getting food and supplies into the new apartment and I’ve been feeling puny.  

• We love the new place.  One street from the Vatican and we can hear the bells, and on Thursday we could hear the singing and the Pope talking over the loud speaker.  Andy went over to see the crowd at St. Peter’s.  We are getting settled in our new apartment and so far, we are very happy with it.  Kyle, our leasing guy, brought us goodies yesterday.  New skillets, pots and pans, a drying rack, and an upgrade to our wifi.  This American leasing company is wonderful.  The apartment belongs to a woman whose uncle was a famous artist and sculptor.  His name is Mongini.  His drawings and sketches for his sculpting are hung here…a huge improvement over the huge red lips and giant red rose “art” at the old place.  

Got ready to fix swordfish last night and it had gone bad!  Think our fridge wasn’t cold enough the first day it was in there.  So, had no dinner last night, but think we will survive.  We love having an oven and broiler.  Had broiled salmon night before last and it was so good.  Today I’m fixing leg of lamb.  Will make cuts in the meat and put chopped rosemary and garlic in the slits.  Olive oil all over.  Also having zucchini with red bell peppers and Parmesan cheese.  

Last night the rains started!  Supposed to rain today, also.  Too bad for the Easter crowd at St. Peter’s.  The storm last night was a doozy!  Lightening and booming, rolling thunder.  Pouring rain.  Good sleeping weather.  

That’s about all for today.  I’ll let you know how the lamb turns out.  Sure glad for Google since Cousin Mary – the greatest lamb cooker ever – isn’t here to guide me!   Happy Easter!  (Feels funny not making my famous deviled eggs!)