Buon Compleanno

I saw Frances Mays at the fruit seller’s in Cortona today. And her Italian is even worse than mine.

I also encountered my elderly Italian gentleman at Bar Signorelli with an older gentleman and two Americans. They asked me to take a picture of the four of them with their coffees. The Americans went on to introduce my friend to me as “Armando” and they said he and the other gentleman have olives trees and they, the Americans, have come each of the past four years to help with the harvest. I would have loved to have asked more questions about the olive harvest and the pressing of the oil, but didn’t want to intrude on their time together. They offered me a coffee, which I declined graciously, and returned to my table where an elderly Australian man was waiting to chat with me. I am not accustomed to being so popular!

Something mildly disturbing happened last night as I was trotting down via Roma to take my trash to the dumpster outside the walls. A lady, who I happen to know works with my friend, Terri, popped out of a side street with the son of the waiter I am so attracted to. I know she has a boyfriend…and now I wonder if it is he. Of course, that would mean that Terri knows and didn’t tell me, perhaps thinking it would just make me feel bad if I knew. I really can’t bring myself to ask her. If this woman and the waiter are a couple I really would rather Terri had done the humane thing and put me out of my misery by telling me. Perhaps I could have avoided some of the six months I have spent forlornly pining over someone who may not be single. At any rate, in a small town such as this I dare not been seen paying attention to any unavailable man, so when the waiter made eye contact and nodded at me today, I could only look away. Unrequited attraction really sucks and sometimes it’s downright painful.
Saturday, October 25th, was my birthday. I spent it in Firenze with Carol and Barbara as I had volunteered to be “Sherpa” for the day and help them on and off the train with their accumulated baggage. Their landlord had arranged for us to meet a taxi at Piazza Garibaldi which delivered us to the Camucia station. The 9:31 train duly arrived and we lugged suitcases and a rolling duffle dubbed “the body bag” onto the train and found a trio of seats together.

I spotted a woman sitting near the bathroom accompanied on either side by two, larger-than-life ceramic dogs wrapped in sheets and inserted into large tote bags. The dog figures were so large that top two feet stuck out of the tote bag, well above the length of the handles, rendering the tote useless. My companions liked the ceramic figures, but I thought they were just awful. I can’t imagine wanting a couple of three foot tall china dogs taking up space in my living room, giving me a fright in the middle of the night as I wander to the kitchen to satisfy midnight chocolate craving. The poor woman struggled off the train at the first Florence train stop with her unwieldy load and onto an elevator designed to take her to the tunnel to exit the station. Of course, like many of the train doors in Italy, the elevator failed to operate properly and we watched for 3 minutes as the doors closed and the elevator descended a mere eight inches before returning to its former position, over and over. Personally, I think she should have left those hideous dogs in the malfunctioning elevator and walked home without them, but she appeared determined.

We lugged the baggage off the train at the Santa Maria Nouvella station and walked one block to the hotel where Carol and Barbara checked in before making a quick tour through the San Lorenzo market. Barbara lived in Firenze for four months several years ago and was surprised at the changes she saw in Florence and the throngs of pedestrians crowding the sidewalks.

We walked over the jewel-encrusted Ponte Vecchio and made a right-hand turn on the street leading to Ristorante Mamma Gina’s, where Terri and I had eaten lunch three months previously. We were seated at a corner table for three in a room with a vaulted ceiling and had the same flirty waiter Terri and I had on our visit. We shared some red wine and a bruschetta with tomato appetizer, before diving into plates of pasta with meat and mushroom sauce. The waiter, Claudio, took some pictures of us before surprising me a panna cotta (cooked cream) glazed with raspberry sauce and topped with a lit candle, and singing Happy Birthday in English. We three shared the sweet, creamy dessert, but could not finish it. Flirty, the waiter, teased me about not finishing it and before I knew it he was stroking my left cheek with his finger. I am almost embarrassed to admit I thoroughly enjoyed the attention and was actually purring like a cat in the sun. Carol and Barbara insisted on treating me to lunch although I, in fact, wanted to treat them. They are such generous and gracious ladies!

After lunch we exchanged hugs and parted ways as I had some shopping to do and they, with only 2 short days in Florence, had some places they wanted to visit. I left them in search of Santa Felicita’ and the lovely Pontormo painting that brings Terri such joy, and headed off to buy myself a birthday treat, some lovely earrings I had seen back in June. I purchased a few Christmas gifts before walking back to the train station and catching the slow train to Camucia. It was a wonderful birthday and I am thankful to have spent it in such fantastic company!