Eternal...

When the children left for school this morning, it was raining hard enough to imagine a repeat of Noah’s universal flood. But, as nearly always happens, the rain proved to be yet another reminder from the gods that we who live in Rome are spoiled, that sunshine is a gift to be cherished and not to be taken for granted (as we often do). In fact, the rain stopped and the sun came out to chase away the few remaining clouds, and bathe this extraordinary city in the most brilliant light, the signal for locals and tourists alike to come out and luxuriate in its eternal warmth.
Though I was in a perfect mood to work, I too succumbed to the pull of the atmosphere outside. I abandoned my computer, put the leash on Lola and off we went to be a part of it all, the cobblestones still wet from the earlier rain.
After it has rained, everything looks so much sharper, cleaner and brighter, like the street vendor’s flowers, the packed pavement cafés, the statues, the buildings, the colours, the faces at the windows, mothers walking their toddlers…
I like to imagine that when Samuel Johnson, the eighteenth century English diarist, said “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life…” he was also referring to Rome.

P.S. Just as the cobblestones were drying, the heavens opened up again, and it hasn't stopped raining since.  Oh, well...