Back to Arezzo

I was off to Arezzo sul’autobus, on the bus, at 8:45 this morning. I was planning to do some shopping and have lunch in Arezzo for the 5 hours I had to wait to pick up the car at 3:00. The drive was gorgeous! In the 3 ½ weeks since I last had a vehicle the flowers have blossomed. The roadsides are carpeted with scarlet poppies, soft violet wild irises, and a variety of other yellow and white flowers. Just beautiful! In additional, the grapes vines, previously twisted, dead looking bits of wood, have now leafed out and begun their tenacious sprawl. The rain we’ve had has turned the countryside a violent green.

Upon arriving at my destination the drizzle began and I spent the rest of the day, hood up, dripping wet and cold. What’s more, almost none of the shops were open, nor the café’ where I wanted to have lunch. I did find an unimpressive, heavy metal music playing café redeemed by a wonderful coffee called a Cappuccino Argentino. The barista put some chocolate on top of the cappuccino and then made a fancy pattern, sort of a snowflake, by drawing a toothpick through the foamed milk and chocolate. It was heavenly!

I did hike the hill and visited the cathedral with its beautiful stained glass windows. A pope is interred in a glass coffin, so I took a picture of him, amazed by the fact that his skin appeared to be shimmering gold. I wonder if they actually painted him with gold leaf. Next time I locate the internet I will do some research on the subject. Off to one side was a small chapel that was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Candle lit, with a beautiful glowing altar and many flowers. I took a picture, but could not walk in as I felt I would disrupt the energy flow in this amazing place and interrupt those who were praying. It was so incredibly beautiful that I stood outside for many moments staring in wonder and could hardly tear myself away.
Eventually I found the car rental office and asked if I could pick up the drop off the car early, which they agreed to. I was going to head off the San Gimignano to see if I could find Bella Rita, but with the weather so terrible and the fact that I would arrive during the siesta hours and have to wait to see if her shop was even open today, I decided to wait until Saturday. Incidentally, I did try to email Rita at the address she provided, but the email was returned as undeliverable.

While wandering up via Nazionale yesterday, I came across my artist friend, Conrad, having coffee. He invited me to join him and I passed a pleasant couple of hours chatting with him, drinking coffee and eating lunch. He asked me to look him up if ever I am in Glasgow and he gave me his contact information. I think I’ll send him a card when I return home...everyone enjoys a bit of mail!

I am mapping out my trip for I plan to leave for Cinque Terre early tomorrow. This map of Italy I have a real monster. It’s 3 feet by 4 feet and has Italy on BOTH SIDES. My car is not large enough for me to unfold the map while inside. I guess I shall have to dismount the car and spread the map out on the pavement for a really good look. Have you ever noticed that men have a special map gene which allows them to negotiate the complicated fan folding of a map successfully, which women just crumple the thing into a ball, or better yet, tear out the little part they need to use on a particular day? I, personally, like to mark the map all up with felt-tip markers and highlighters. It adds an element of extra confusion the next time I want to go somewhere other than where I mapped my route last time.