When she’s not analyzing exotic candy, Fiona spends a good bit of time in the Academy kitchen, where the amazing Mona Talbott allows kids on Saturday mornings. During the week, while not technically “in” the kitchen, Fiona tends to do quite a bit of her Italian homework sitting at the Academy bar (where Gabriele, the bartender, makes a mean sprumante) and where, more often than not, she can be found shelling peas or fava beans.

When in Rome, you do all sorts of things you might not do at home — like, say, taking a break from shelling fava beans to go see a 1,700-year-old sarcophagus.

Google “lead burrito” and while a few people have actually uploaded heartburn-worthy Mexican food, the more interesting hits lead you to a mummy, discovered near Rome last summer, now resting comfortably here at the Academy. We had a private visit with him this morning (we think it’s a him, but the jury’s still out on this) — a figure wrapped in a lead sleeve, folded burrito-style, and rather beautifully coated in thousand-year rubble. This is how he looked this morning:

It’s hard to describe how magnificent the gardens are now that spring has burst forth, especially the herb and vegetable gardens which produce a bountiful harvest from which we all benefit here at the Academy. That there are archeological wonders just a few feet away makes it all the more amazing.

(Academy kitchen photo by Jane Kriss.)