Saturday morning was a chance to sleep in a little bit. After getting a shower and making some coffee in my French press pot, I spent the rest of the morning writing emails. I've received the PDF of the page proofs for my book of Hebrews. I sent out six or seven emails to colleagues I've come to know over the years, who have written books on Hebrews. By the end of the day I have heard back from two of them saying that they would write a back cover blurb for my book.

I received an email from one of the leaders of our seminar asking about whether people want to give their report next week while we are in Campania. So I'm going to be able to give my report in the Naples Museum at the collection of busts of philosophers which had been taken from the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum. I expect to be working on the outline of that report on Sunday and Monday. Tuesday morning we leave for Campania, the region of italy around Naples and Pompeii, where Mt. Vesuvius is.

I read more of the book I've been reading. I have read nearly all of the book; what's left talks about the 3-5th century CE. That's not as important to me as the first century, but it's interesting to see how the way in which philosophers were portrayed gets carried into the way in which the church portrays Jesus and the apostles in a similar way.

Late in the afternoon I decided it was time to go foraging for food. I hadn't actually eaten anything substantial for about a day. So I went to my usual place down the steps to Trastavere. I bought some groceries to tide me over for a few days and then stopped at the little pizza place. This pizza places are the kind that you buy several slices of pizza, sort of fast food pizza joints. I had to carry my bag of groceries in one hand, hold the box of pizza slices in the other hand, all while climbing back up the steps. It was a tough climb and I was out of breath and sweating profusely by the time I reached the top.

If you read a previous blog in which I mentioned the road being blocked off near Paul's Fountain (or whatever it is in Italian), I was wrong about thinking they were setting up for a movie shoot. There's actually a little restaurant there, a kind of portable deal -- right in the middle of the street. Next to it on the other side of the sidewalk is a little stage. I have no idea what that's about.

I watched a movie on my computer this evening (Sweeney Todd, in case you're interested) and then watched a TV episode about Pompeii. Tomorrow I'm determined will be the day I begin outlining the section of the book I'm working on this month. That will be the basis for my report next week in Naples. Arrivederci!