melted smoosh

one of the best parts about living in Rome (other than, you know, just living in Rome ) is that we don't have to try to cram everything in to one week. we can wait for the most opportune time to visit a particular sight. and the most opportune time to visit Rome's museums was the Settimana della Cultura (Culture Week) in March, when the vast majority of both state-owned and privately owned museums were free to the public! Cecilia and i visited the Palazzo Barberini together, and we got the whole family together to visit the Borghese Galleries later that week. the Galleria Borghese is a meticulously curated collection of sculptures and paintings in the Villa Borghese park, Rome's version of Central Park. this art gallery is relatively small compared to the giant Capitoline or Vatican Museums, and they only sell 360 tickets per two-hour time slot so it's much less of a zoo. even during the free week, you had to book ahead (with a €2 per person reservation fee) and the s

whoops! i'm obviously a bit behind on blogging, mostly because i've been busy doing some freelance transcription work! it's just entry-level and doesn't pay very much, but i'm enjoying it. the specifics are confidential, but so far i've transcribed the audio from court hearings, research studies, focus groups, business meetings, IEP meetings, and lots of interviews (with musicians, scientists, researchers, and physicians). the very best job was a sermon because the pastor spoke so clearly and slowly, and of course, the subject matter was familiar! ha. but anyway, back to the books! 1) The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotton Books #1) , by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. when i began searching for books set in Spain to read before our trip in April, this was near the top of every list i found. the story takes place in post-World War II Barcelona. it's a mystery, a romance, and a coming-of-age story that couldn't take place anywhere but Barcelona. the

  we were delighted to visit with the fine musicians of the St. Vincent Camerata , who made the trek from Pittsburgh to Rome on a choir tour! Nick accompanied them for a few performances, including singing for mass at the monastery of Monte Cassino. they graciously invited the whole family aboard the chartered bus to drive an hour and forty-five minutes south of Rome to the little town of Monte Cassino where they would sing for mass. St. Benedict himself founded a monastery here in the year 529, and it was for this monastic community that he composed his famous Rule. the monastery has flourished here despite numerous setbacks during barbarian invasions and, unfortunately, was almost completely destroyed by Allied bombs during World War II as there was speculation that the Germans might be using the hilltop monastery as an outlook post. since we were a group of Americans visiting the ancient site, that made for a few awkward moments with the tour guide, but she was gracious!   Monte Cas