Wingspan on the Tiber

Last night I logged into my bank account to take care of some financial matters and discovered my first 'paycheck' for this Rome job has been deposited.  For a moment, looking at the sum that represents four months of work (without taxes deducted) it seemed a little surreal to be paid for this Italian adventure. But only for a moment. The hours spent working on this project are substantial - as are the challenges this job has presented.      

Out for a walk along the river again this morning.  The birds provided interesting compositional content.

I kept walking southerly and then backtracked a bit and headed west.  I was trying to find the southern edge of the old Aurelian wall, inspired by this map I noticed on a wall near the apartment.

It reads: 'You are 2851 steps from the Aurelian wall.'

And there is it! The structure at the end is called the Pyramid of Cestius. 

Within the wall are these outposts for viewing, though many of been filled in.

I turned to go home and saw yet another armed carabinieri.  Since the embassy bombings here earlier this week, they have become even more of a presence on the streets.  Not far away, a bunch of young teenagers were terrorizing the neighborhood by exploding something like extremely potent cherry bombs every block or so. 

Note the street name is Via Guerrieri which translates as Warriors.

In the evening, I hoofed it over to Trastevere for dinner at my favorite restaurant.  Splurged, courtesy of Gitta's christmas gift (Thanks Gitta!) and had my first glass of wine since arriving in Rome.  As I hadn't eaten since breakfast,  the wine's effect was immediate and, well, intoxicating. It 'forced' me to linger for a cappuccino and a bit of their dolce del giorno (sweet of the day.)  I am sure I scandalized the waiter by leaving a bit of wine in that glass when I left.