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(This just in from Jackie)
Last night we were strolling in Piazza Navona during a spectacularly balmy Rome evening (the days have been brutally hot at 90+ degrees under a blistering sun but by nightfall there’s a lovely breeze), when I turned to see a surprisingly familiar face. “I knew it was you; I couldn’t believe it, but I knew it had to be you,” said the man, who I recognized as Mr. Brunelle, a math teacher at the Daley Middle School. He immediately introduced me to his travelling companions, some of whom were teachers at the Rogers and Sullivan Middle Schools and one couple who lives just blocks from us in the Highlands. Although it was 10 p.m. Rome time, the Lowell group had arrived that morning from Boston and were leaving the next day for a cruise to Venice. We were in day three of our Roman adventure and were able to share some tips with them, such as the three-block rule: don’t eat at a restaurant within three blocks of a major tourist site or you will pay top euro for less-than-the-best food. We’d learned this the hard way after 6 euro (about $10) each for sodas near the coliseum. This night, however, we had just finished our best meal in Rome at a pizzeria filled with Italian families. It was fun being the only tourists in the house, the food was exquisite although still a bit pricey (the dollar is weak after all), but reasonable and well worth it. Here we were, a few hours later, standing in the Piazza Navano surrounded by art, fountains, music, and strolling Romans as well as tourists from all over the world, having a chat with some folks from Lowell.