Pasta or pizza

Sins of spring in Rome: It’s getting warmer every day. There are more tourists on the streets. I saw fresh fava beans in the market this morning.

Sunday afternoon we were lucky to score a table in the sun at a café on the Piazza Faranese. We sat there for two hours, first nursing coffee and hot chocolate, moving on a little later to a glasses of prosecco and finishing up with panini. The only thing missing was the New York Times and I had already done the puzzle the day before. The rest of the afternoon we strolled around the district finally walking back to Trastevere along the riverbank for the first time. Not too many people down there yet; just the occasional runner and some homeless people encamped under the bridges.

That night we tried to get into two small restaurants in our neighborhood. Both had crowds standing outside. Once seated, we had a serious decision to make. Should we go for a thin crust pizza or home made pasta with a simple sauce of fresh pepper and cheese. (I can really tell the difference now between home made pasta and the box variety. Home made has a very distinctive and complex texture--softer but firmer at the same time.)

Life is tough.