Dinner with Anna and Roberto

Thursday morning I got a haircut. Francesco, my barber down the street, surprised me right up front by saying "Don't forget what you are going to do for me in January." I didn't know what he was talking about, so he said "you need to let me see your beautiful new church." He was talking about the temple open house. Nice! We started a list of people we want to make sure to invite.

The drama continues with my in-laws back home in California, but it does appear that things are improving slowly. So perhaps the crisis is over, at least for now. We had not needed AC in our home for a few days, but we turned it on in the back bedroom as it was just warm enough to warrant. 

Dee noted that the published title online for my talk at the YSA conference next week was incorrect. It's not clear who messed up, nor how they came up with a completely wrong title: "Using technology for family history." My concern is that the family history part will turn half the people off. The actual title is "Preserving Digital Data," talking about backup, much more general. Apparently the kids have already signed up for their classes, so we will see if anybody comes to listen to me.

We went to Institute at 1pm. At 3pm, we had a meeting at the new possible Institute location on the first floor with the local architect and builder that the church uses. Dee and I spent some time together before the meeting mapping out how we think the rooms could be used. Signora Chirra got the key to us, so we were able to get in. The architect will draw up plans, and he took much more careful room measurements than we had done weeks ago. The goal is to get a plan done so we can tell how much the build-out would cost and then start negotiating a deal within a week or two. It is nice that things seem to be rolling.

At 6:30pm we had a dinner set up with old friends Anna & Roberto, who live about an hour north of Rome. Anna and Dee became friends almost 15 years ago after connecting on the internet due to a shared interest in hand work, such as tatting, knitting, and jewelry making. We stayed with them just over ten years ago at the start of one of our trips. They are very intelligent and their Italian is very easy to understand; Dee and I both enjoyed gleaning a few useful phrases and words while we talked with them during the evening. Traffic made them a few minutes late, but they were able to find a parking spot right in front of the Institute -- August here has its benefits! It was about 6:45pm, and we stood out in front of the Opera House talking for a while. We asked if they wanted to go to the restaurant, Target, just down the street. Roberto responded "It's only 7pm. We can't eat now!" Sometime we forget how very different the cultures can be. 😀

Roberto loves to walk. In 2008 he walked us all into the ground, covering much of Rome. They know and love the city. We walked to a church around the corner (Santa Maria degli Angeli), but it was already closed for the day. So then I asked if they had been to the Four Fountains; Anna knew about it, but Roberto didn't, so we walked there in about ten minutes. It is one of Dee's favorite sights in Rome, and it was nice to spend time there enjoying the statues instead of just driving by, which we do regularly. Roberto happily pointed out several big  government offices along the way. He follows Italian and world events a lot and always has interesting insights and questions. He and I walked and talked, with the two women trailing behind visiting. There was a lovely cool breeze. Once at the Four Fountains, he said that if we just kept going a little bit, we could see the Presidential Palace, pointing to it in the distance. He was ready to go, but Anna laughed and said "don't trust him -- his walks always go on and on." So I said that it probably wasn't wise to push it with Dee's not quite fully healed foot. Roberto was disappointed, but the rest of us were happy to head for the restaurant.

As always, we ate very well there. Dee and I shared fagottini, a filled pasta, as well as a salad with smoked salmon. Roberto and Anna had pasta and a pizza, respectively. For dessert we had very thinly sliced pineapple with berries. They are brand new grandparents, and we got to see pictures of their beautiful grandson, four months old. Their daughter and her husband are living with them for now, while their new home is getting ready after returning from London where they worked. Anna's 90-year-old mom had been immobile for a couple of years, just waiting to die, but now she has come back to life thanks to her new great-grandson!

Walking back to the Institute, just a block away, they asked if we wanted a coffee, then Roberto remembered that we don't drink coffee, so he backed off. However, we encouraged them to get one, so we sat and visited at a sidewalk table outside the cafe down below the Institute. He said that coffee really helps them digest food. Italians always talk about what you need to do do digest food well, while we Americans rarely think about it. We got home about 11pm, tired but happy after a lovely evening with great people.