The Holocaust memorials are called Stumble Stones…not stepping stones. Google will tell you more about these memorials all over Europe..

What a day! After breakfast, we went to the park near our apartment and caught the bus to the Coloseum. Walked around it for a bit and then walked up to the convent where I have stayed the last 3-4 years. Said hello to the nun who ‘mans’ the desk. she was pleased I stopped by. Walked down the street and saw the little Holocaust memorial…called,’Stepping Stones’. You can Google the story of these little memorials. At this one, there were about 20 people who were removed from the building and either shot or taken to Auswitz where they were killed. Each of 20 cobblestones are covered with brass plates with their names, date of birth and when and where and how they died.
Walked on to the Forum and the Vittorio Emanuele monument and on to Torre Argentina where Julius Cesare was assassinated. This is where the Cat Sanctuary of Rome is. I got to meet my kitty. For many years I have sent ‘cat support’ to help support these cats in Rome. Raptus is my 5th cat to support over the years. I got to meet her. She is shy and doesn’t like to be petted. She has 3 legs and gets around quite well. Anyone interested in adopting a cat in Rome – from a distance, let me know and I will get you set up. Sending about $20 a month to Best Friends in Utah will enable you to have a tax deduction. The Torre Argentina Sanctuary will find a nice kitty that will be yours and they send you a picture and a letter every 6 months or so. They do wonderful work…the kitties are well loved and cared for. And you have someone to come to Rome to visit…besides me!
We caught the same number bus back to our little park…or so we thought. The original bus ride to the Coloseum took about 20 minutes. The ride home took 2 and a half hours! And a change of bus. We will not do that again!
It was a beautiful sunny and almost warm day. Tomorrow we go to see if we can get our official paperwork translated to go to the Police so we can get our residence permit.
Had a delicious dinner…sausage and pasta, salad and Andy’s red wine…and I had a glass of creamy lemoncello.
Getting ready to sew a bit on my Squash Quilt and hit the hay.
Buona Notte – Good Night.

We are settling in. Yesterday we had our leasing lady, Gabrielle, come by to show us again how to turn on the heat and work the stove and elevator. I nearly froze to death the night before.
Now we start the fun dealing with the Italian governmental red tape, for which they are infamous. We went to the post office and took a number. One number is for the paper work we need to get our residence permit. Another number for the line to open a bank account. We got to the front of the line for the permit packet and the woman has no idea what we are talking about. Fortunately, we had met a lovely lady who does translations for diplomats and the G8 and she came to our aid. The clerk knew exactly what she was talking about and gave us our packets….all in Italian. With pages and pages of instructions. Now we have to go to a CAF office to pay them to translate it all for us and help us fill it out. Then the post office mails it to the Police (30€). The police review it and send us a letter telling where and when to show up with all the paperwork we had for the Visa…and more. They take all of that, plus more Euros, and eventually will mail us our Elective Residence Permit. When we go back to the CAF – did I mention how all of the offices are closed from 22Dec to 7Jan for Xmas Holiday- we have to have our address. We have the street name and building number, but no one seems to know the apartment number or which mailbox is ours.
We had Chinese food for lunch, wonderful noodles and crispy duck. Then we went shopping at the Todis store. Lots cheaper than our local little markets. It’s a good thing we weren’t hungry when we got there…as we nearly bought out the store on full stomachs.
We can’t find a Crock Pot here in Rome. If we were more entrepreneurial, we would be having them made for Italy.
The weather is nice here…sunshine and cool…not real cold.
We are doing lots of walking checking out our ‘hood’. Everyone has been so nice.
We have done a couple of loads of wash. No dryer (or oven) because of high electricity use. We have drying racks and it takes forever to dry our stuff.
Andy’s hitting the wine…its after 5 here. I’m going to do a little quilting and relax. More later…

When we arrived in Rome, we were met by two gentlemen who were our drivers to the apartment. They took our bags up to the 2nd floor – thank goodness, because they were so heavy. When I checked in at the airport, I was told my big bag was 15lbs overweight. So I took out 15 pounds of stuff and put it in my small carryon suitcase and backpack. Both were already full, but never underestimate my packing talents if it will save me $60!
The drivers dropped us off at Borgo Vittorio 27 and tried to get the key to work. Thank goodness I had seen the apartment in May, because I knew he wasn’t at the right address. I walked down a bit, and saw 27A which is our building. We got in and our leasing lady came and gave us our keys and showed us most of the stuff in our flat.
I took the small bedroom and am very happy in it. Good bed and great pillows. I slept until noon. Andy was up early and puttered until she went out to explore at noon. When she came back, we went to eat lunch. She had eggplant Parmesan and I had pasta with a big blob of soft cheese. Both very good. The little restaurant will be a favorite, I think. Everything made fresh daily, about 5 items on the menu and very good. We walked around and did a bit of shopping to stock our pantry. Vinegar and oil, garlic, salt, etc. We have nice little grocery marts near our flat, and many nice restaurants. Hair salons, shoe store, Thai massage place, post office, gelato, and kitchen appliance store. We are trying to find a crock pot, but no luck so far.
We bought a wall clock, so we might know what time it is…our phones and iPad are still on US time. Strange.
I think I will do some cooking for our dinner tomorrow. Pasta sauce with Italian sausage.
Hope all is well at home. It is chilly here but not really cold.
Buona Notte! Good night.

I haven’t fallen in a wine vat or been abducted by a handsome Italiano but have been super busy and super tired.
Will write more as time permits. Im going to try to link a picture of one of yesterday’s adventures, but if it doesnt come thru just Google: Civita di Bagnoregio and look at that bridge!
L’ho fatto! That means – I made it!

I took an early train to Florence – took 1.5 hours. Met Linda, the other single lady. We had a quick breakfast at her hotel then went out. Crossed over the Ponte Vecchio and went to the Santo Spirito church to see the Michelangelo crucifix. It was stolen during the Napoleonic Wars, found in the 1960’s and returned to the church. Had lunch at CasaLingua – a place I had eaten at a few years ago.
Took a taxi to the airport and met our group and went to a lovely hotel north of Pistoia. More tomorrow as I try to catch up!

After lunch with Liz, I went back to the convent and rested before dinner with Alex again. When I got there, saw the Brazilian couple from Canada and we dined together. Back home to bed for early train to Florence in the morning.
Ciao!

After seeing the Pope, i wandered around a bit before meeting Liz Knight. I had read a big article in the Dallas News a few months ago. She was from Dallas, majored in Italian at SMU and lived in Rome for 4 years. Returned to the US and got a law degree and moved back to Rome a year ago. She has a lovely blog about living in Italy and I emailed her asking questions about the move I want to make. Meeting her after all of our emails was really nice. She os tall, blond, pretty, smart and very kind and nice. We had fun having a pizza. Nice new friend in Rome!
More to come…..