Encounters

Maria returned from visiting her family and picking up her daughter, Laura, from the airport. It’s good to have someone in the house again! Laura is in her mid-thirties, beautiful and slim, with long, dark, wavy hair and a lovely smile. We carefully maneuvered a twin bed from my second bedroom down the stairs to Maria’s apartment for Laura’s use. Maria brought me garden fresh lettuce, onions, and lemons from her brother’s garden for me. What a treat! She also brought a ball of mozzarella so fresh that milk oozes out when it’s cut. I’ve always liked fresh mozzarella, but this salty, creamy treat is something special. I will make a wonderful salad for dinner tomorrow.

It’s been a quiet week and I didn’t feel well a couple of days, so didn’t sleep well during the night. Sleeping late in the morning is just not possible as workmen at the Etruscan museum have begun to break up the brick floor with a jackhammer to make room for what looks like additional display space. The destroyed bricks are then noisily loaded onto a metal truck bed and shipped off to an unknown destination. I was told that the workmen on the museum project are employed by the same company as those who are working on the church across the street. I have heard Italian workers described as lackadaisical, but the workers for this particular company seem to work very hard, putting in full days and beginning work right on time each day. I was actually introduced to the owner on the construction company one day at the piazza and he indicated that his son is managing the project across the street.

I met a young woman from Miami at the café this morning. Her name is Carla and she is studying in Mannheim, Germany for a semester. We struck up a conversation and she shared that she lived her first 8 years in South Africa, then spent 5 in Canada, before moving to the United States. She was in town to meet a friend who is an archaeology student working at one of the sites (probably Etruscan, of which there are a plethora) in the area. We ate lunch at Fuflun’s and, once the rain stopped, walked around town so she could take pictures. Upon hearing American voices, a blonde woman popped her head over a terrace above us and asked where we were from. After exchanging information the petite blonde, Dee, invited us to her second floor apartment, which has a gorgeous rooftop terrace. She shared that the terrace is normally covered, but the cover was destroyed in a terrible windstorm in March, where winds reached 90 miles per hour! The terrace has a large table and 4 chairs for dining al fresco, and Dee must have a green thumb as the terrace is lushly decorated with a multitude of greenery and flowering plants. I am envious of Dee’s terrace! Dee is a wealth of information about Cortona and the area and hails from Houston, Texas. She is very outgoing and vivacious thus has met far more people in 3 months than I have and she regaled us with interesting stories and tidbits of information. Dee was lucky enough to have been invited to participate in the medieval parade which took place back on April 25. She has a beautiful dark blue velvet costume decorated with silver braid and a headpiece complete with veil. She held up her costume so Carla and I could take a picture. What an honor to have been asked to participate in a local event even if she was left to walk alone, feeling somewhat conspicuous! I left my personal information with Dee in hopes we can meet again and perhaps explore Tuscany a bit together.

Unfortunately, Dee has had some experiences with anti-American sentiment in Cortona and Carla commented on how she was quoted one price for an overnight at a local establishment, and a lower price upon showing her Canadian passport. I am experienced enough to know these things happen, particularly in small towns, but I don’t want to other’s experiences to color my own. Because Americans are generally not popular does not mean that people won’t like me. I know that I pay more for my caffe latte at my favorite bar than I would in many other places in town, however I also know that the ladies that work in the morning are kind to me and give me a warm welcome, an arm pat, or a shoulder squeeze on their way past. I don’t mind paying a bit more if my business is appreciated and I am treated kindly. I would feel the same way in I were in the States.

Its market day today and I am off to visit my new favorite porchetta man!