It was time to return the small rental car I’d become rather attached to. I first made a stop in Camucia for a Caffe’ Mocha. They must not be very popular as the man didn’t seem to know what I wanted…or could it have been my Italian? At any rate, it was a yummy treat, which caused another unfortunate episode of a diuretic nature and I had to find 2 bathrooms before I’d even located the car rental office, which I did find without too much ado.
After dropping off the car, with no damage, I’ll have you know, I began walking to the central part of the city to find the bus station. I did have to stop and ask for directions to Piazza della Repubblico (I think every city has one) but located it without much problem. A kind man in the tourist office gave me precise instructions in Italian for purchasing a bus ticket and locating the actually bus stop. Of course, I made him repeat it in English just to make sure I understood it all. Overnight I had decided discard the notion of taking the train in favor of taking the bus. I never like trying anything new!
I had a wait of about 2 ½ hours so I wandered the streets until I spied a small bookstore. Upon entry I noticed the bookshop was well-stocked with books of a religious nature ….and nuns. 3 of the 4 continued about their business, but the 4th……ahhh, that fourth nun. She had me in her gaze immediately. I could feel her eyes boring into my back as I edged back toward the door, while pretending to peruse the children’s section. Mi Dio! She’s detected that I am not Catholic! She KNOWS I have transparent red lingerie hanging in my closet (she probably also knows it’s only been worn once). I nearly broke down and confessed that I have an unused, expired condom rolling around the bottom of my purse. She nearly dragged it out of me without ever having said a word. It was those piercing eyes and commanding air!
Once I escaped the nun’s penetrating stare I ‘rounded the corner to find, of all things, a HILL. Holy mackerel, my mother was right! Tuscany IS full of hills! I dragged my rubber legs up the hill and located a small pastry shop and bar and had a light lunch of tortellini with heavenly ragu’ (meat sauce) laden with olive oil. Yum!
I saw some young teenaged boys at the bus stop, wrestiling around and giving each noogies on the head. They reminded me so of my 13 year old son, Logan, and his friend, Jeff. Boys!! They’re all the same the world over…it’s kind of reassuring.
At the bus stop I asked a young woman for help identifying the correct bus. It turns out she was waiting for the same bus, but would disembark earlier than I. She was kind enough to ask the driver to make sure I got off at the right stop in Cortona. She is learning English and Spanish and was glad to practice a bit, and although her English was little better than my Italian, we understood each other perfectly. Another example of a happy encounter!
By the way, I think I forgot to mention that I saw a sandaled monk at the Coop store earlier this week. When was the last time YOU saw a monk at the grocery store?? It’s truly a different and exciting world here!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
A Casa
It was a day at home today. I really hated to squander a day with the rental car by going nowhere, but somehow I just couldn’t get up the enthusiasm for a long day of driving. The sun was out part of the day and it was ALMOST warm!
My legs and knees were bothering me today, a bone deep ache in the thighs and shins, and my knees have taken to snapping and popping when I move them, like the knee cap is sliding back into place each time I bend or unbend. That snapping and popping comes with a bite of pain too. I am sure I will adjust to all the hills and stairs eventually and I can already feel my thigh muscles becoming stronger.
Tomorrow I must get gasoline and return the car to Arezzo, but not until the afternoon, so I will explore Arezzo a bit before trying to locate the car rental company to make the return and question all those charges on the paperwork I signed when picking up the vehicle. I will then need to take the train back to Cortona, really to Camucia, the town at the foot of the hill. I have only taken the train once or twice in Germany 20 years ago and I am a bit nervous about the whole thing, but I know I can do it.
I did more grocery shopping today. I am not a bit impressed with the bakery here in town and the grocery store is about half the size of a 7-11, so I have stock piled enough food at the supermercato to last a 3 month siege. Fortunately, the apartment is well-equipped with a refrigerator about 2/3 the size of mine at home which is quite large by European standards.
For those of you interested, unleaded gas is $7.88 a gallon here. I put in 10.5 gallons yesterday before driving to Chianti, which came to……..well, I’ll let you do the math!
A bright spot today was finding a café that makes café’ mochas! Of course it’s in Camucia and not Cortona, but I will make a stop there tomorrow before heading for Arezzo. Also, it seems I forgot my tweezers. I bought another today, and managed to lose it before getting home. It must have been left in the shopping cart. I would take that as a divine sign, but not even the Universe is going to keep me from plucking my eyebrows!
My legs and knees were bothering me today, a bone deep ache in the thighs and shins, and my knees have taken to snapping and popping when I move them, like the knee cap is sliding back into place each time I bend or unbend. That snapping and popping comes with a bite of pain too. I am sure I will adjust to all the hills and stairs eventually and I can already feel my thigh muscles becoming stronger.
Tomorrow I must get gasoline and return the car to Arezzo, but not until the afternoon, so I will explore Arezzo a bit before trying to locate the car rental company to make the return and question all those charges on the paperwork I signed when picking up the vehicle. I will then need to take the train back to Cortona, really to Camucia, the town at the foot of the hill. I have only taken the train once or twice in Germany 20 years ago and I am a bit nervous about the whole thing, but I know I can do it.
I did more grocery shopping today. I am not a bit impressed with the bakery here in town and the grocery store is about half the size of a 7-11, so I have stock piled enough food at the supermercato to last a 3 month siege. Fortunately, the apartment is well-equipped with a refrigerator about 2/3 the size of mine at home which is quite large by European standards.
For those of you interested, unleaded gas is $7.88 a gallon here. I put in 10.5 gallons yesterday before driving to Chianti, which came to……..well, I’ll let you do the math!
A bright spot today was finding a café that makes café’ mochas! Of course it’s in Camucia and not Cortona, but I will make a stop there tomorrow before heading for Arezzo. Also, it seems I forgot my tweezers. I bought another today, and managed to lose it before getting home. It must have been left in the shopping cart. I would take that as a divine sign, but not even the Universe is going to keep me from plucking my eyebrows!
Chianti
I drove the beautiful hills of the Chianti region today. My goal was to return to Greve in Chianti where I bought a lovely bracelet of alternating copper and silver links, hung with a ripe grape cluster made of champagne colored crystals during my trip with my mom. I’ve never seen anything like it and I wanted to see what else the little shop might have.
I exited the main highway too early and embarked on a beautiful route of torturous twists and turns I’ve dubbed the “Italian roller coaster. I might add that I have ridden the Scottish and Irish roller coasters as well. All of them share similar razor-sharp hills which descend sickeningly into deep gullies by way of tight hairpin curves on the narrowest roads I’ve ever seen, with nary a guardrail in sight. All of the so-called roller coasters effect me the same way…they seem to have an extremely strong diuretic effect, which today left me to negotiate the spaghetti-like curves, a mere 8 feet ahead of a screaming diesel truck driven by a wild-eyed man belching smoke like a chimney, while attempting to clamp my knees together so as not to become the victim of an “accident”, vehicular or otherwise.
I made a pit stop in Radda in Chianti, gulped down a coffee (which also has a diuretic effect, mind you), loped down the stairs, through the door, down some more stairs, and around the corner to the restroom…only to find it occupied! Experiences like this built character or so I’m told. Personally, I think they built bladder control and the macabre desire to hang out in the Depends aisle of the grocery store.
After what seemed like 6 hours, I arrived in Greve in Chianti, drove ‘round the town looking for parking for 20 minutes, then ran to the store as though it contained the Holy Grail, only to find it was out of business. Disaster! Then it began to rain. It took another hour to get back to the main highway, by which time I was nearly in Florence. I thought I’d stop in San Gimignano to see if Bella Rita was at work, and to visit a little shop with exquisite Italian stationary and cards. Guess what? Neither shop was open! It was just one of those days where you are busy every minute, but accomplish little. Fortunately tomorrow is another day, fresh and untainted, with no mistakes or mishaps in it. I shall paint myself a new day full of beauty, hope, and promise!
An older gentleman patted me on the cheek today as though I were una bambina, reminding me of how much I miss my own nonno. It was almost like having a nonno (grandpa) again for just a moment.
I exited the main highway too early and embarked on a beautiful route of torturous twists and turns I’ve dubbed the “Italian roller coaster. I might add that I have ridden the Scottish and Irish roller coasters as well. All of them share similar razor-sharp hills which descend sickeningly into deep gullies by way of tight hairpin curves on the narrowest roads I’ve ever seen, with nary a guardrail in sight. All of the so-called roller coasters effect me the same way…they seem to have an extremely strong diuretic effect, which today left me to negotiate the spaghetti-like curves, a mere 8 feet ahead of a screaming diesel truck driven by a wild-eyed man belching smoke like a chimney, while attempting to clamp my knees together so as not to become the victim of an “accident”, vehicular or otherwise.
I made a pit stop in Radda in Chianti, gulped down a coffee (which also has a diuretic effect, mind you), loped down the stairs, through the door, down some more stairs, and around the corner to the restroom…only to find it occupied! Experiences like this built character or so I’m told. Personally, I think they built bladder control and the macabre desire to hang out in the Depends aisle of the grocery store.
After what seemed like 6 hours, I arrived in Greve in Chianti, drove ‘round the town looking for parking for 20 minutes, then ran to the store as though it contained the Holy Grail, only to find it was out of business. Disaster! Then it began to rain. It took another hour to get back to the main highway, by which time I was nearly in Florence. I thought I’d stop in San Gimignano to see if Bella Rita was at work, and to visit a little shop with exquisite Italian stationary and cards. Guess what? Neither shop was open! It was just one of those days where you are busy every minute, but accomplish little. Fortunately tomorrow is another day, fresh and untainted, with no mistakes or mishaps in it. I shall paint myself a new day full of beauty, hope, and promise!
An older gentleman patted me on the cheek today as though I were una bambina, reminding me of how much I miss my own nonno. It was almost like having a nonno (grandpa) again for just a moment.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Montepulciano and Other Thoughts
I’m very excited that I am able to use my own computer at the internet point, because the computers there could not read my flash drive and I was unable to update my blog until today. I’ve taken some nice pictures and am glad to be able to share them.
I am enjoying a beautiful view out the window as I write this by candlelight. I try to be economical as the utilities here are extremely expensive. Candles add a romantic touch anyway, and I could use a bit of romance!
Yesterday I stayed home here in Cortona. It was Sunday and I was surprised by how many shops were actually open for business, but then this is rather a tourist town. I joined in the passegiata, stroll, which the locals take around town in the early evening. I am too shy to really strike up a conversation with anyone though….and my Italian really just isn’t strong enough to support more than “Hello or “Goodbye.” I do make it my mission to learn a new word each day. It’s remembering the new word that next day that’s the problem!
I was a bit melancholy yesterday. I checked my email Saturday to find no email from my family, and none from my Italian friend with whom I’ve been exchanging email for nearly 6 months. Perhaps now that I’m here he is no longer interested in getting to know me. I confess to sending a rather whiny email asking him if he no longer wanted to write, to which I deservedly received no reply. I am reminded of what my friend, Edie, tells me about having expectations. I don’t THINK I have expectations, but the fact that I was disappointed says that I did, in fact, anticipate SOMETHING. Often I’m like a small child craving love and acceptance. Please like me! I’m nice, I’m funny, and I’m worth knowing! I need to be more mindful of having expectations, either good or bad, of others. It really only leads to disappointment and triggers a negative thought pattern, which I am trying to break. If my Italian misses out on knowing me and looking my happy face, he will never know what a good friend I could have been, but it’s really no reflection on me. After a good cry and a fair night’s sleep, I felt better. Still no email from my family though, when I checked today, but a nice one from Debra…many thanks for being the first, Debra!! It came just when I needed it!
Today I got up relatively early, 7:00, and drove to Montepluciano where I parked and tackled a BIG HILL. The trick is to meander up hills extremely slowly and to have people and stores to watch while I’m walking, as a distraction. I bought a beautiful free-form, glass heart made in Murano. Its dichroic glass so is iridescent and sparkles in a rainbow of blue, green, and gold. Really, I’ve got to quit shopping! I also treated myself to a lovely cappuccino made by a personable (and handsome) Italian man. The price? One euro standing at the bar. It costs more to sit and drink.
Back in Cortona, I sat on the stairs of a public building in the main square, Piazza della Repubblica, and chatted with a Canadian couple, David and Judy, who are touring Tuscany and Umbria for 10 days. There were also some American students there who are studying at a local art school for 3 months. They mentioned it snowed last week! No wonder I am always cold. I purchased a pair of fuzzy slippers at the Coop to keep the feet thawed, but seem to have grown two large, 5 digit ice cubes where my hands used to be! It takes me a long while to warm up enough to fall asleep at night. In looking for a small blanket of some sort that I could cover up with when watching TV, I opened a wooden bench with a hinged seat to discover a pair of hideous marionette type dolls with painted faces. I nearly came unhinged! Truly, I was a much happier woman before I opened that bench. I could have nightmares about those things, but I won’t!
I am enjoying a beautiful view out the window as I write this by candlelight. I try to be economical as the utilities here are extremely expensive. Candles add a romantic touch anyway, and I could use a bit of romance!
Yesterday I stayed home here in Cortona. It was Sunday and I was surprised by how many shops were actually open for business, but then this is rather a tourist town. I joined in the passegiata, stroll, which the locals take around town in the early evening. I am too shy to really strike up a conversation with anyone though….and my Italian really just isn’t strong enough to support more than “Hello or “Goodbye.” I do make it my mission to learn a new word each day. It’s remembering the new word that next day that’s the problem!
I was a bit melancholy yesterday. I checked my email Saturday to find no email from my family, and none from my Italian friend with whom I’ve been exchanging email for nearly 6 months. Perhaps now that I’m here he is no longer interested in getting to know me. I confess to sending a rather whiny email asking him if he no longer wanted to write, to which I deservedly received no reply. I am reminded of what my friend, Edie, tells me about having expectations. I don’t THINK I have expectations, but the fact that I was disappointed says that I did, in fact, anticipate SOMETHING. Often I’m like a small child craving love and acceptance. Please like me! I’m nice, I’m funny, and I’m worth knowing! I need to be more mindful of having expectations, either good or bad, of others. It really only leads to disappointment and triggers a negative thought pattern, which I am trying to break. If my Italian misses out on knowing me and looking my happy face, he will never know what a good friend I could have been, but it’s really no reflection on me. After a good cry and a fair night’s sleep, I felt better. Still no email from my family though, when I checked today, but a nice one from Debra…many thanks for being the first, Debra!! It came just when I needed it!
Today I got up relatively early, 7:00, and drove to Montepluciano where I parked and tackled a BIG HILL. The trick is to meander up hills extremely slowly and to have people and stores to watch while I’m walking, as a distraction. I bought a beautiful free-form, glass heart made in Murano. Its dichroic glass so is iridescent and sparkles in a rainbow of blue, green, and gold. Really, I’ve got to quit shopping! I also treated myself to a lovely cappuccino made by a personable (and handsome) Italian man. The price? One euro standing at the bar. It costs more to sit and drink.
Back in Cortona, I sat on the stairs of a public building in the main square, Piazza della Repubblica, and chatted with a Canadian couple, David and Judy, who are touring Tuscany and Umbria for 10 days. There were also some American students there who are studying at a local art school for 3 months. They mentioned it snowed last week! No wonder I am always cold. I purchased a pair of fuzzy slippers at the Coop to keep the feet thawed, but seem to have grown two large, 5 digit ice cubes where my hands used to be! It takes me a long while to warm up enough to fall asleep at night. In looking for a small blanket of some sort that I could cover up with when watching TV, I opened a wooden bench with a hinged seat to discover a pair of hideous marionette type dolls with painted faces. I nearly came unhinged! Truly, I was a much happier woman before I opened that bench. I could have nightmares about those things, but I won’t!
Monday, April 7, 2008
San Gimignano
Saturday Morning I crawled out from under my toasty, puffy comforter and streaked through the cold apartment to turn on the hot water heater for a shower. I’ve noticed that the large, arched windows of my living room have no coverings and face the cathedral across the street. Parts of the cathedral are undergoing repair and there is a large crane and scaffolding across the narrow street directly in front of the windows. There are also workmen. I must remember that as I travel from bed to bath in the future… The toilet and a sink are in the bath upstairs, and the shower is in a utility room off the kitchen. The shower has lovely gray tumbled marble tile and makes me wish for a similarly luxurious bathtub in which to take a candlelit bath.
The drive through the countryside to San Gimignano is breathtaking. Lovely old villages, hilltop villas, walled cities, and beautiful rolling green hills dotted with silvery-gray olive trees. The town itself is high on a hill; a walled fortress city dominated 14 towers build by wealthy families during the middle ages. There were originally 72 towers, built for both protection and as a symbol of the owner’s wealth.
Once inside the city I stopped at a small art gallery featuring glass, silk clothing and purses, and some lovely Tuscan multi-media paintings. Then I found the real treasure, a lovely woman named Rita who, having lost her husband to cancer 3 years ago, dreams of visiting the Unites States. Rita is studying English from a 4 inch thick Italian-English dictionary, much as I study Italian. She seemed very excited to meet me and told me how she loved John Wayne and would like to visit Cong, Ireland where he filmed “The Quiet Man” with Maureen O’Hara. She was a bit put out that her husband had once gone salmon fishing to Ireland with 4 friends and left her at home! We chatted for quite some time in mixed Italian and English and she shared her email address with me. I bought as small blue glass pendant as a memory of Rita, and when I stopped by to say “Arrivederci” upon leaving town she gave me three kisses on the cheek for “luck”.
Just before my departure for Italy my wonderful co-workers treated me to lunch at an Asian restaurant. In my fortune cookie was a fortune, “You will have many opportunities for happy encounters”. First I meet a handsome stranger on the plane, and now Bella Rita. How lucky I am!
The drive through the countryside to San Gimignano is breathtaking. Lovely old villages, hilltop villas, walled cities, and beautiful rolling green hills dotted with silvery-gray olive trees. The town itself is high on a hill; a walled fortress city dominated 14 towers build by wealthy families during the middle ages. There were originally 72 towers, built for both protection and as a symbol of the owner’s wealth.
Once inside the city I stopped at a small art gallery featuring glass, silk clothing and purses, and some lovely Tuscan multi-media paintings. Then I found the real treasure, a lovely woman named Rita who, having lost her husband to cancer 3 years ago, dreams of visiting the Unites States. Rita is studying English from a 4 inch thick Italian-English dictionary, much as I study Italian. She seemed very excited to meet me and told me how she loved John Wayne and would like to visit Cong, Ireland where he filmed “The Quiet Man” with Maureen O’Hara. She was a bit put out that her husband had once gone salmon fishing to Ireland with 4 friends and left her at home! We chatted for quite some time in mixed Italian and English and she shared her email address with me. I bought as small blue glass pendant as a memory of Rita, and when I stopped by to say “Arrivederci” upon leaving town she gave me three kisses on the cheek for “luck”.
Just before my departure for Italy my wonderful co-workers treated me to lunch at an Asian restaurant. In my fortune cookie was a fortune, “You will have many opportunities for happy encounters”. First I meet a handsome stranger on the plane, and now Bella Rita. How lucky I am!
Settling In
The first thing I needed to do upon settling in was to find groceries. Maria graciously provided directions to the “Coop” (pronounced “cop” in Italian) in Camucia, a town at the foot of the hill, and after a bit of driving around I located the shopping center. In Europe you must insert a 1 Euro coin to unlock your shopping cart from the collection point. I’ve taken to leaving a coin in the car so I am never caught without. The system works well as everyone returns their carts and there are always children willing to return the ones left loose to collect a little bit of money. We really need to institute such a system in the USA! At any rate, I poked around the supermercato picking up this and that. Things are quite expensive in Europe, but even I was shocked to see that boneless, skinless chicken breasts are $16 a pound and are sold in packages of 1!! Returning home I successfully located parking and hiked into town only to fall exhausted into bed.
Friday was a day for exploring town a bit. I am looking for a ceramic olive oil bottle for my mom and one for myself, but didn’t find the perfect one yet. I did buy some beautiful note cards…Italy has beautiful papers, only to find they are like postcards with envelopes, not the folded cards I’d wanted. That explains the reasonable cost. Unfortunately I bought 4 of them. They should work well for thank yous or small notes to friends and I will give some to my mom too.
After making a list of cleaning supplies and food items I needed, I did have to travail back to the Coop in Camucia for a bigger shopping expedition. This time parking in Cortona was a nightmare. I circled around, up and down the hill, looking in vain. Each time I’d spot a tiny space, someone would just be pulling in ahead of me. There was a fair amount of traffic, which I eventually noticed were the same cars driving ‘round and ‘round, looking for parking just as I was! Obviously, I was going to have to be much quicker in the future-and willing to park in a postage stamp sized space. Eventually I had success, and then began the trek through the gate, uphill to the apartment. Once I reach the front of my building, there is an open doorway through which are more steps, then through the front door and another steep flight of stone stairs to my apartment. I was so tired after lugging 30 pounds of groceries I had to stop several times. I had a few minutes to catch my breath and try to stop that alarming wheezing sound was making and do it all over again as I had a second load in the car!
I’ve noticed an interesting phenomenon since arriving in Italy. During the night someone has apparently removed my previously functional legs and replaced them with a pair of rubber ones. These rubber legs generally have the consistency of jell-o, with an interesting tendency to completely lock up at the worst possible moment, leaving me leaning against a building eyes popping and lungs burning, gasping audibly for air like a fish out of water. I pretend to look for something in my bags while I wait for my legs to loosen up so I can proceed. Of course, there are usually some interested observers to witness my humiliation and for their benefit (or is it to save myself some bit of embarrasment?) I try to “suck wind” with my mouth closed.
The apartment has thoughtfully been equipped with two additional sets of shin-scraping stone steps. There are 4 down to the kitchen measuring, inexplicably 9, 9, 7 1/2, and 9 inches respectively. The 3 steps up to the bathroom are no better at 10, 9, and 6 inches. Impossible to get any sort of rhythm going and I simply lurch from one to the other hoping I won’t fall on my face. I also must say, 10 inches is a high step for someone as short as I! I can plainly see I am going to get exercise whether I want to or not!
Friday was a day for exploring town a bit. I am looking for a ceramic olive oil bottle for my mom and one for myself, but didn’t find the perfect one yet. I did buy some beautiful note cards…Italy has beautiful papers, only to find they are like postcards with envelopes, not the folded cards I’d wanted. That explains the reasonable cost. Unfortunately I bought 4 of them. They should work well for thank yous or small notes to friends and I will give some to my mom too.
After making a list of cleaning supplies and food items I needed, I did have to travail back to the Coop in Camucia for a bigger shopping expedition. This time parking in Cortona was a nightmare. I circled around, up and down the hill, looking in vain. Each time I’d spot a tiny space, someone would just be pulling in ahead of me. There was a fair amount of traffic, which I eventually noticed were the same cars driving ‘round and ‘round, looking for parking just as I was! Obviously, I was going to have to be much quicker in the future-and willing to park in a postage stamp sized space. Eventually I had success, and then began the trek through the gate, uphill to the apartment. Once I reach the front of my building, there is an open doorway through which are more steps, then through the front door and another steep flight of stone stairs to my apartment. I was so tired after lugging 30 pounds of groceries I had to stop several times. I had a few minutes to catch my breath and try to stop that alarming wheezing sound was making and do it all over again as I had a second load in the car!
I’ve noticed an interesting phenomenon since arriving in Italy. During the night someone has apparently removed my previously functional legs and replaced them with a pair of rubber ones. These rubber legs generally have the consistency of jell-o, with an interesting tendency to completely lock up at the worst possible moment, leaving me leaning against a building eyes popping and lungs burning, gasping audibly for air like a fish out of water. I pretend to look for something in my bags while I wait for my legs to loosen up so I can proceed. Of course, there are usually some interested observers to witness my humiliation and for their benefit (or is it to save myself some bit of embarrasment?) I try to “suck wind” with my mouth closed.
The apartment has thoughtfully been equipped with two additional sets of shin-scraping stone steps. There are 4 down to the kitchen measuring, inexplicably 9, 9, 7 1/2, and 9 inches respectively. The 3 steps up to the bathroom are no better at 10, 9, and 6 inches. Impossible to get any sort of rhythm going and I simply lurch from one to the other hoping I won’t fall on my face. I also must say, 10 inches is a high step for someone as short as I! I can plainly see I am going to get exercise whether I want to or not!
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