French in Rome...

This past Saturday I joined my usual dinner group from the Casa for an evening meal at the French restaurant L'eau Vive. The place came recommended twice from folks stateside who had been and it also served as a respite from Italian foods. It also received a favorable review in the New York Times, albeit over 20 years ago.

The restaurant is part of the apostolate of a group of religious sisters and toward the end of the first seating, all those present - waitresses and clients -join in singing Ave Maria and gaze upon the statue of Our Lady which stands in the corner of the room. After the Ave, a sister read a passage from St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians while another performed a beautiful dance to accompany the words of St. Paul. Not all were thrilled by the interpretive dance, but I found it beautiful.

The ceiling (pictured) was decorated by frescoes, the tables were covered with blue/gold table clothes (which I particularly enjoyed) and I'm told the frog legs tasted like chicken. ha.