Life in Rome

This town is dead in the morning. By 9:30 it comes to life - a little, by 10:00 you see the first tourists slurping coffee and wine in the Pizzerias, Osterias and Birrarias. They dont seem to have breakfast cafes like there are in Germany or Austria. I think breakfast consists of a capuchino on the run for the locals. Now by 11:00 the waiters and owners of these Pizzerias, Osterias and Birrarias stand outside and try to entice you to eat or drink in their establishment. "Madam, eat here. Best food in Rome." By 4:00 in the afternoon there is standing room only in all the little side alleys. I think once they start eating here in midday they never stop. I went to the German National Church next door to take pictures this morning. It has an Italian name also: S. Maria Dell Anima. There is a apostrophe after the Dell but I cant find it on the keyboard. You may have noticed! There was a Bavarian group from Landshut, Germany there for a private Mass and I joined them. The Bavarians all wore red kerchiefs around their necks which made them look like Russian pioneers of old but - hey - you see strange things in this town. At the sign of peace the German priest went along the aisle and shook the hand of everyone at the end - down one side and up the other - and told everyone to pass on the sign of peace to the next person until it reached the end of the aisle. It was different and very nice. A kind of wave peace sign. They also sang a beautiful song about the Schwarze Madonna, black Madonna, at the end. I dont know this song. The rector came out at the end - there is a college attached to the church which serves everyone who once belong to the Holy Roman Empire. He gave a little introduction and history lesson and it is Pope Hadrian VI who lies burried here (not Urban VI). I am not sure if that will be me sleep better or worse tonight. Took pictures of two more churches and went to see the Spada Gallery. The Spade Gallery is housed in a huge palazzo which once belonged to Cardinali Spada of course. He seemed to have had a lot of money and collected art and this grand-nephew continued in the tradition and now, voila, it is a museum. There are a lot of pictures of varuiys Cardinali there and the collection is the mixture of religious and wordly art. The funniest one was a picture of an old guy suckling at the breast of a young woman and the toddler next to the woman being upset. It picture is entitled "Roman charity." I found an excellent bargain food place. I had a sandwich for lunch, a beer and a capuchino for 6 Euro. Yes, this is no typo. Cant even get one capuchino for 6 Euro in my hotel. Also got some flea bites on my leg. Dont know if they are from the hotel or just some Roming fleas. I am having a great time and I am glad I stayed on. Tomorrow I will continue.