Well so far this year, I cannot say I am excited by the Festive Season. Maybe the recent surgery, too much work at the office and the uncertainty about next year, still no news, where will we be next year at this time, someone in Personnel for sure knows. Maybe once the tree is up, things will look different or as we get closer to Christmas, who knows.
Anyway I am sort of melancholic now, I just can't get into the spirit, many of the people around me are also tired and anxious at work over technological changes which appear overwhelming.
Sunday morning,
Now the tree is up in the living room thanks to the help of our friend Lionel, who very kindly came over, he lives next block up. I am unable to help W. with this chore this year due to me recent surgery. We went for lunch today at one of your neighborhood restaurant with our good friends Larry and Walter, so we could see them before Xmas since they are going away for the Holidays to southern Italy, we had a very good lasagna as a first course, Primi and as a second course, Secundi, a veal chop with one large artichoke Roman Style, with the mint typical of Rome, mentuccia. The weather is grey, cold and humid today, stores are open but mostly empty, Xmas sales do not appear to be on the swing like years past, maybe it has to do with the economic slump here.
Next door in Greece snow in Athens, lots of it, I knew it sort of snowed in Greece in winter, they have ski resorts on Mount Parnassus and just a sprinkle of snow in Athens, but this time there is a lot of snow and apparently it will stay at least until after Xmas because of the cold front in the area, how do people keep warm, homes are not equipped for the cold.
Venice is under water, up to a person's waist line, which is very high, it's salt water from the Adriatic and you cannot go anywhere because you cannot see where the sidewalk ends and the canals begin. It is a disaster but it is not in the news, strange really.
Our Holiday visitor arrives on Tuesday from Paris and this coming week we have one Cocktail party and one dinner party in E.U.R. that neighborhood built in 1938-39 by Mussolini outside of Rome. We had a beautiful Holiday dinner party at the Residence on Via di Porta Latina, the roast beef was excellent and so was the turkey. Both H.E. and Madame have outdone themselves, it really felt like home, Chef Paul as always was superb.
Tomorrow 13 December is Santa Lucia, the Feast of Lights to mark the Winter Solstice.
I forgot all about St. Lucia's day. Thank you for reminding me to stick candles in my hair. Jolly good fun, that is too !
ReplyDeleteBut you don't HAVE an economic slump there! Berlusconi said so, and he MUST be right, mustn't he?
ReplyDeleteSorry you're stuck with him for just a little longer.
David, this is a paradox, no one here claims to like the man but he manages to survive nonetheless.
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