Life in Rome

Here on my blog I occasionally like to brag about my "kids," a group which includes my former students and youth group kids. Jeff Kirby (standing on the left in the photo), one of my former youth group kids, is a seminarian in Rome and was recently interviewed by the Charlotte Observer about the city. Here's a sampling:

Q. As "staff," do tourists stop to ask you questions?

All the time. Some are serious: Can I go to confession? Can you bless this rosary? We can't do these things until we're ordained, by the way.

Some questions are mundane: How do we get to the Vatican Museum? Where can we go to eat? We're happy to answer questions.

Q. OK. So where do you eat?

I like to joke by replying, "I'm assuming you want to eat Italian. ..." Living here for three years, my favorite is a German place near the Spanish Steps. There are only three German restaurants in Rome.

What's good for Italian? Try Pollezze's, near the Chiesa Nuova -- "New Church," built in the 17th century. For Romans, that's still new.

A famous place to eat is Abbruzzi's, near the Dodieci -- which means "twelve," short for the Church of the 12 Apostles. It's especially famous for its green sambuca liqueur. The restaurant is housed in what was the palace of the exiled King James of England (known as the "Old Pretender," 1688-1766).

Jeff will be ordained a priest for the Diocese of Charleston (SC) next summer.

Read the whole thing.

Hat tip to Gashwin.