[snacks] Loaves and fishes

It is pouring with rain today, so we went to the San Marco Convent. I think it's one of the most beautiful and peaceful places in the world. It is home to my favourite artwork, Fra' Angelico's fresco of the Annunciation.

I grew up Catholic, though I'm not really a religious person. I don't resent or diminish the fact I come from a Catholic family though, it just is what it is.

I was even more taken by the San Marco Convent this time than I was when we first went in 2019. Not because of its religious significance but because of how calm and how beautiful it is.

And while I was there I had what felt like a religious moment of sorts, at least for me. A moment where it struck me that something I will now dream of is a simple feast of the very best bread, fish and wine in the refectory where the monks would gather for their meals all those years ago. Not because I have some strong Catholic urge to recreate religious history or eat meals like the ones Jesus had - and certainly I wouldn't want someone reading the Bible to me while I ate my supper - but because of how beautiful it would be to have exemplary fish, bread and wine in such a serene and magical space.