Never a dull moment

Each week in Rome has been so different. Last week was much calmer than the one before. We began to build routines, reduced the long to do list and got to grips with our jobs and school. Just to keep things interesting, this week is different again.

I’m now in the UK for work for 8 days. I’m mostly zigzagging between Whitchurch and London, plus a night in Kent, a couple of nights in Bristol, collecting R from the airport and taking him and his stuff to his student house in Southampton. It's quite a lot to fit in, but I'm really enjoying it.

I'm enjoying my view from the office here - very clearly London

Tim and N climbed the steps opposite our apartment to enjoy a sunset

A few hours after I arrive back in Rome, Tim will go to Spain for a few days for meetings. M will then also head off on a school trip in Umbria. N will thankfully be staying put in Rome throughout, hopefully getting increasingly settled in the routine. 

Once everyone is back, we’ll be moving into our long term apartment! Hopefully, we'll stay put for a few weeks.

We visited the apartment for the first time on Saturday. Tim had been told that we’d be on the third floor, in the flat on the left. He couldn’t get the key to work, double checked the label to see that it did say third floor, then R gave it a go. Someone opened the door, looking bemused. She spoke English very well, which certainly helped with explaining that we'd thought that we were meant to be living in her apartment. She was puzzled and knocked on the door of the other apartment on that floor, just in case. They directed us to the floor below.  

We're happy with the move. We’ll miss some things about being in the centre, but after a month of tourists flooding the streets, and night time noise of ambulances, glass bin collections etc, we’ll enjoy the quiet area, with mostly Italians around, with tree lined streets and the sound of crickets. 

The same evening, Tim and I then went for our first evening wander in the cobbled streets, bustling with people eating and drinking outside. As we walked along the street, we saw twinkling lights in the sky, then rearranging themselves in to a huge angel. It turned out to be a drone light show above the Vatican. We also saw a colour portrait of the Pope, a pair of hands (a modern take on Michelangelo’s God and David) and doves of peace. 

Rome really is an amazing place to live - we'll never know what to expect next.