January 18 - Breaking Bread

Around the corner from our apartment, Sunday mass is celebrated at the Church of San Pedro with a lively selection of songs interspersed with the traditional rite, everyone in the congregation clapping to the beat - a completely different experience from the more somber mass I attended at the cathedral. The intricately carved and gilt altar is festively illuminated and adorned with fresh flowers. Sarah, though non-Catholic,  joins me for mass and we clap and sway and enjoy the upbeat atmosphere.

An international Sunday dinner with our roommates is planned, and we enjoy preparing the meal together. We slice, chop, mix, and laugh as the meal takes form - vegetarian soup (Australia), meat loaf (USA), Caprese salad (Italy), and fruit salad with ice cream (UK). Over dinner, we toast new friends and wish Paolo, leaving tomorrow, best wishes as he moves on to the next leg of his trip to explore and photograph the mountains.