Rita

On Sunday I drove back to San Gimignano to look for more of those special odor repelling shoes as they had them in two shops, at better prices than here in Cortona, and guess who I found? Bella Rita! She treated me to a wonderful gelato at a gelateria which was voted the best in the world. Yum! Rita is the tiniest little person you’ve ever seen and she chatters away a mile a minute. She pointed out the best hotel and restaurant in San Gimignano and told me of some other places to visit in the area. I had my picture taken with her which I will post. Of course, I look like a hulking Teuton next to her! I didn’t find any shoes, but I enjoyed talking with Rita.

I’ve noticed a group of about 5 or 6 bachelor’s, aged 40-70, who hang out around my café drinking coffee all morning, and various spirits the rest of the day. I would guess the younger men in this group are more than bachelors, they’re “mammoni”, mama’s boys, who still live at home with their parents. This is a common phenomenon in Italy, one of the few countries with a decreasing population. With the high cost of living, outrageous housing costs, and unstable job market, many marriage-aged men continue living at home with their parents rather than getting married or striking out on their own. Besides, who cooks better than mom?? Most families that I see have only one child, maybe two. Few have more than two and many have no children at all. A far cry from the United States!

At any rate, while sitting on Le Scale at Piazza della Repubblica one day, I observed this group of regulars partaking of a libation at an outdoor table at the café when a nun stopped and had a good, long conversation with them. I imagine she was warning them of the evils of smoke, drink, and the failure to reproduce. I wish I could have eavesdropped on that conversation!

A recent trip to the pasta aisle (and it’s a big one) at the grocery store, Coop, revealed that spaghetti comes in about 6 different sizes; the smallest of which is the approximate diameter of dental floss, while the largest could be used to rope steer at the Bell County rodeo. More choices for me to make!

I achieved a goal today. I walked out to Bramasole and took a few more pictures. After the tennis club, the 1 km route is uphill, but it’s a pretty gentle hill as Tuscan hills go. I shall have to set a new goal!

Now that I’ve been here 6 weeks people are slowly beginning to become accustomed to seeing me. The young man who works at the café in the afternoons will now smile at me…..sometimes. The young women at the jewelry store and Casantonio greet me, as does the lady from the internet point and the man from the book shop. I’ve been a good customer to all of them! If the nice lady at the walk-in pizza place and the young man at the gelato place begin to recognize me on the street I’ll know I’ve visited them one time too often! I occasionally run across the lady who lives on the fifth floor across via Roma, and she, too, greets me. I am surprised she doesn’t head the other direction after the unfortunate and embarrassing bathroom observation incident!

It’s a tossup how I am awakened these days. It could be by the whir of the crane lifting mortar to the roofers across the street, or it could be by the sound of a pile of rocks being loaded, by means of a conveyor belt, onto a metal flatbed truck at the back of the Etruscan museum directly behind the house. If the sound of the volleyball-sized rocks falling onto the metal platform doesn’t make quite enough noise, a nice young man rearranges them with a shovel for maximum effect. At any rate, there’s little sleep after 7:30 AM!