Friends and rain

Since my arrival in the Eternal City I have twice had the opportunity to visit with friends from the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois who were in Rome for one reason or another and to dine with them.

The first such visit was with two couples from the Diocese who are Knights and Dames of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem who came for the International Pilgrimage.  When I went to have dinner with them at their hotel I walked through the streets of Rome in the rain.

Today I was able to have lunch with one of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis who was visiting Rome with a group of pilgrims from the Hospital Sisters Health System and today I walked through the streets of Rome in the rain to meet her.

Today, though, was no ordinary rain; it was just shy of a deluge:

You cannot see the dome of the Basilica of St. Peter clearly because of the rain.

Tomorrow I am to have lunch with another friend and a couple of other friends are to arrive later this week.  I'm beginning to wonder if every meal with friends will also be accompanied by rain.  I certainly hope not!

Walking through Rome in the rain does carry one major benefit: tourists apparently melt if they get wet and so are nowhere to be found.  However, rather than dodging tourists, pedestrians must instead carefully pick their path through the streams and lakes that form in the streets of the Rome.  It has been confirmed for me that it is impossible to walk in the rain in Rome without thoroughly drenched, whether one has an umbrella and poncho or no.