Nick and I just returned from visiting his Aunt and Uncle's house in Vasto.  Aunt Tina smothered us with love and food and more food and Uncle Giuliano was kind enough to not only drive us around to see the other relatives in Vasto but also showed us the Vasto  

lighthouse and some of the tucked away beaches in Vasto which were wonderful views of the coast that we would not otherwise have been able to see as tourists.  In Italy, December 26th is also a holiday - the saint's day of Santo Stefano - and in Vasto, December 27th is cousin Barbara's birthday so we had three solid days of festivities. Three solid days of large meals, sitting around the table afterward playing cards, watching TV and just relaxing.  After dinner on the 26th, Aunt Tina, along with the help of her mother and Nick's Uncle Giuliano made a fried doug called "scripelli".  Covered with sugar 

or honey after they are cooked, scripelli are delightful.  Aunt Tina made a boat load of other goodies during our stay but I think that my favorite was her ravioli stuffed with pancetta and parmesan.     ---------->

(Or, was my favorite the dessert raviolies that were stuffed with cherry filling and fried?  I can't decide.)

All of this relaxing felt well deserved after our five hour train ride to get to Vasto was spent standing the whole way.  UG!  Yes, on foot the whole train ride.  The train was so full that we didn't even make it inside the car.  Our "seats" ended up floating somewhere between the entrance, the bathroom and the sliding door leading to the the space between cars where all of the smokers went to get a breath of "fresh air" when 

they couldn't get off at one of the stops or hide in the bathroom.  I thought for sure that it would be the longest four or five hours of my life but it turned out to be quite a jovial ride.  Everyone seemed to be happy to be on their way to visit someone for the holidays and the constant moving to let someone on/off the train OR into/out of the bathroom OR through to the next car provided enough distraction that the time went by about as quickly as it would have if we

had had seats.  Everytime that we had to let someone through it was a complicated puzzle of people and luggage and shopping bags  - but that did not include the time we had to let the portable bar through (a miracle it made it) with it's coffee and beer and snacks headed to the next car.  We took the bus back with reserved seats.

New Year's Eve was a flurry of activity in the San Ambrogio neighborhood (that's where we live).  Outside our kitchen window in the public space where the market usually is there was a HUGE New Year's Eve party which began to pick up speed around 10:00 pm.  There was loud music to dance to and people were setting off fireworks left and right.  It seemed to me to be hundreds and hundreds of fireworks especially when the clock struck midnight.  They were going off on both sides of the apartment and while it was fun to see I confess that the loud noises (I mean REALLY loud, not just obnoxious neighbor loud) made me feel like I was in a war zone.  We slept in our guest room that night, away from all of the windows (the guest room is a private loft above the living room) and it was surprisingly quiet.  (I love to sleep!  Even on New Years Eve!)

This weekend the winter group of students are arriving.  They will be spending roughly ten weeks here in Florence and then they will switch places with another group of students who are in London.  I have to say that while I'm looking forward to meeting them I'm still getting over missing the last batch of students who were here for the fall term.  I don't know how Janet does it three times a year meeting, getting to know and saying goodbye to everyone.  Janet is pretty amazing though and we've already seen more than one former student make great efforts to reconnect with Janet while they are passing through Italy.

The December break has felt a bit too long for me.  I don't handle well too much idle time.  I've read Dicken's Christmas Carol, an autobiography of an obsessive collector and now I'm diving into Les Miserables which I might put aside for something lighter once I get through the first or second books of it.  Thankfully, in Florence we have an English bookstore called the "Paperback Exchange" and there are two other large chains that have English sections in them but the "Paperback Exchange" is a wonderful store with plenty of new and used books and a nice cookbook section too.  It is a gem of a store in the heart of the city - they even have a free, clean bathroom that you can use if you ask nicely.  That in itself is worth noting in the tourguides!  Aside from reading we've been taking lots of long walks and I've been trying to discover new views and places in the city.  One of our favorite walks is up to San Mineato where the monks make and sell honey and soaps and other gifts and there is the best view of Florence from up there.  It's quite an uphill hike but worth the effort.

(San Miniato al Monte - photo courtesy of igougo[dot]com)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

FOOOOOOTBAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!!

Last night there was a soccer game going on at the stadium in Florence.  The stadium is about three miles from where we live and we are separated by several tall buildings but we could hear the roar of the crowd from inside our apartment with the windows shut.  The entire time the crowd was singing, yes SINGING and the singing would only stop when it was broken by the riotous wave of a roar when the Florence team scored or even came close to scoring a goal.  It was absolutely contagious -the sound of joy, pure joy.  I was ready to open up

 our kitchen window and start cheering and singing along with them. What fun!  Everytime they roared I'm sure that the level of adrenaline in my blood system went up.  We have talked about going to a game before but the sound of the crowd from across town makes me even more anxious to go.  For the record, I haven't been to the stadium yet and that is not my photo. 

And speaking of adrenaline, on Monday we went to see the new James Bond move (in English).  I was excited the instant I realized that the opening scene took place in a Tuscan town that we had been to just two days earlier.  Siena!

SHORT TRIP                                            

The photo here is of Nick and I during a day trip to 

Siena.  (I don't know why I look a bit too serious here.  We were having fun.) Siena is one of many beautiful hilltop towns in Tuscany.  Now, it's true that I usually find myself writing about our trips and various adventures but I promise that this is not a year long vacation.  We are busy with many mundane day to day activities - cooking, cleaning, etc. which are very boring to write about.  I thought I would be able to keep up this blog on a more regular basis but, I often find myself sitting down at the computer only to stare blankly at the screen and wonder why anyone would want to know what I bought at the market today or how long it took to walk to school.  So, anyway, Sienna was beautiful but kind of a blur to see only in one day.  It's a small town with all of the picturesque cobblestone streets and beautiful churches and cozy corners where someone is hanging out laundry (so maybe mundane things are interesting?) near a beautiful terrace full of plants and trees.  We climbed two towers, visited two museums and went inside the main cathedral of the town which had stunning floors where various stories of church history and saints had been inlaid and carved in various colors of marble.  I confess though that my favorite part of the day was our long, four course lunch (appetizers, pasta, meat and dessert) at Boccon del Prete which was recommended to us by one of the attendants at the Civic Museum gift shop.  Siena is also the home of a very famous horse race (done bareback!) called the Palio whose history dates back to ???  the date eludes me right now.  We are hoping that we can try to see it this summer though I hear that you need to plan for this at least a year in advance to see it so who knows.  We'll try.  If you have time it's worth it to google the Palio race.  I have found the best information about it here 

www.slowtrav.com/italy/tuscany/siena_palio.htm .  

Also in sienna we found this cute little shop, closed of course, where they made these beautiful little clay horses with the jockeys on top and even a 

a track to go with it.  The sign for the hours of the store said something like "Open: every now and then.  Closed:  After we open". There are a dozen or so specific neighborhoods in Siena and each neighborhood gets the chance to enter a horse in the race so not just anyone can enter a horse in the Palio.  Each neighborhood has it's own flag which determines what colors the jockey's wear in the race.  And at what event in Siena does the new James Bond open up?  The Palio!

Also this month we had a short trip to Rome with the students.  We have been to Rome together before when we visited Italy two years ago but I wasn't feeling well most of the time and we had decided to stay outside of the city center which turned out to be poor pl

anning on our part.  So, long story short, my memories of Rome were mostly annoying and tiring and I thought I'd be happy to never set foot in Rome again.   However, this time we had an absolutely fabulous time and, dare I say (?), that I even liked Rome better than Florence.  It might have been the fact that we didn't have to cook or clean the entire time we were there or the fact that we had our own personal tour guide (Janet) to show us around, or it could have been the fact that the weather was absolutely PERFECT the whole time we were there with 

sunny skies and beautiful little clouds intermittently floating around as if to say "Hello, and welcome to Rome.  How may we serve you?" We also happened upon several great restaurants while we were there.  Good food can make a bad day good but this time it made a great day better. One neighborhood in Rome, the Trastevere, particularly struck my fancy.  It was an area that had the feeling of being in San Francisco or the French Quarter of New Orleans.  Very artsy & hip & fun.  We stumbled upon a shoe store that looked more like a modern art museum.  Once I realized that there were no prices anywhere I was not so sad that the store was closed.  We also found more than one cozy little bookstore and other artisan shops. I hope to get to go back.

FINDING MY WAY

I've been doing pretty well with getting around Florece and typically I don't need a map anymore but one particular day I ventured outside of the city center to go to a market I was curious about.  I took the bus there and wondered around the market (which was disappointing) for at least an hour, an hour and a half perhaps.  When I was done I was really done - tired, hungry, feet aching, the works but I quickly came to learn that the return bus stop was not where I expected it to be.  So I walked a bit further down the route from which I came thinking that I would eventually hit a bus stop.  I went further and further and took a few turns until finally I was completely disoriented and did not know where I was or how to get where I needed to be.  One guy tried to tell me in broken English where the station was and I headed that way but it just didn't seem right to me so I turned another way.  That was a bad instinct.  I should have kept going because I ended up being lost for 30 or 40 minutes and what seemed like an eternity.  I conceded to the idea that I just might have to sleep on the sidewalk that evening.  My only source of happiness during this time was an older woman with a little 4 or 5 year old boy who was laughing at a small pile of dog poop. I listened to the grandmother explaining about how little dogs sometimes have to "fare un po-po" too.  Eventually, I managed to squeak out enough Italian to find out from someone where the river was and in which direction the big cathedral is and someone was able to point out in which direction the train/bus station was and I finally managed to find my way back.  It was a long morning.  Ironically, on my way back I gave directions to an American couple who didn't know how to get to the train station.  

OLIVE PICKING

Nick and I and a few students had the good fortune of being able to help out with an olive harvest during the last weekend of October.  Friends of Janet and Giovanni own about 50 Olive tress and agreed to let us come out and help - a few students went each day.  We spent about four hours in the morning raking olives off of the branches with these bright orange little, plastic hand rakes (some with extension poles to get the olives high up) and trying very carefully not to step on the ones we'd raked off.  Each tree was surrounded on the ground by a large net to catch all of the olives and when it appeared that they were all down the net would be used to corral them all together and dump them into a basket.  We broke for lunch for about and hour and a half and then, with our bellies very, very full, it was back to work for another two or three hours.  So why don't I have any pictures of this adventure?  Well, a couple of reasons.   Reason #1 was that I had been told that the boss was a stickler and was easily irritated when people weren't working diligently so I didn't want to be the goof off running around taking pictures.  Reason #2 was that, well, I forgot the camera.  Ug.   There was one student taking pictures whom I will get copies from someday soon but until then you'll just have to imagine it.

On a separate occasion we were able to taste fresh olive oil at a food festival (the olives which we picked were just pressed last week and we haven't received our bottles yet) and I was very surprised to find it very spicy and bitter.  I almost wasn't sure if I liked it but we bought a small bottle and now I find myself drizzling it onto every meal (even breakfast!) and snack that we make in the kitchen.  A little pepper, a little salt and some bread to dip.  It's like nothing we'll ever taste at home - well, outside of California anyway.

GREVE IN CHIANTI

Yes, I remember over a month ago promising to tell about our trip to Greve...

The dog pictured here is Rocky.  Rocky was one of two dogs (I didn't get a picture of Luna) who lived on the property of the Podere Torre - the name of a bed and breakfast/farmhouse where we rented a tiny apartment for a couple of days in the region of Chianti.  Several of you have heard me talk about how I only knew Chianti wine from what I've seen in our Illinois grocery store so, up until recently I only knew it as something that looked to me like instant headache in a bottle.  While I've never ventured to try the stuff at home, tasting Chianti in Chianti was very special.  Mildly dark and fruity and it doesn't put me to sleep like most red wines.

Of the two dogs, Luna was the protector of the house and always barked for the owner when visitors came near the main door.  Rocky was the playful one always vying for your attention and sort of adopted us during our stay.  He stuck around our apartment for most of the time.  It could

have been because I gave him back rubs from head to tail everyday, or, it could have been that I cracked open walnuts for him to eat, or, it could have been that we played fetch for hours throughout the weekend OR it could have been the bones from that huge steak that I gave the owner to give to the dogs.  Who knows but we had a very faithful friend during our short stay.

Staying at the Podere Torre was a bit of a challenge because we do not have a car and it was a 50 minute walk to and from town.  We used a taxi to get groceries but pretty much stayed at the apartment for most of the time except for one or two walks into town just for fun.  "Slow travel", I believe it's called.   The view from the Podere Torre was so spectacular that I barely needed a book to read.  We were up in the hills looking out over the Chianti valley with the olive orchards and vineyards heavy with fruit but not quite ready to be picked.  It was dreamy.   We cooked outside on the grill and enjoyed a fire during some of the first of cooler fall nights.  The one surprise at the Podere Torre was waking up each morning to the sound of gunshots from the hunters near by.  It was not the season for wild boar (a Tuscan specialty) so they must have been hunting wild fowl.  We were in the county though so we should have expected it.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and we'll be having dinner with all 25 of the ACM students plus Janet and Giovanni.  Orignally we were going to split the group and we would host half at our house and half at Janet and Giovanni's but none of the students wanted to be separated for the Holiday.  I can't blame them.  So, at the last minute, Janet has found a public space to rent where we can all fit cozily together and a few students are coming over to our house tomorrow morning to help make pies. It won't be the same as home of course but it will be very, very memorible.  Can't find canned pumpkin anywhere so we're making that from scratch.  Can't find pecans so there won't be any pecan pie.  We do have apples though, lots and lots of apples so it will still count as an "all american" pie for Thanksgiving - it's just that the apples were grown in Tuscany...and the turkey and potatoes and everything else for that matter.

Happy Thanksgiving everybody.  I hope this finds you with a full, or soon to be full, belly and, more importantly, friends and family and at least one tradition to engage in besides eating.  Sorry if this is long winded.  

Take care & happy holidays,

Sunshine

I feel like making lists today so here goes:

Things I miss from home:

Fall in the midwest - most importantly pumpkins and the Scenic Drive in Knox County 

My bicycle

Dark roast coffee, American style *

Avocados

Frozen Waffles

*Italian espresso is made with a lighter roast of coffee and dark roast is hard to find (impossible so far).  Coffee is everywhere of course but if I try to brew it like I do at home it doesn't taste the same.

Best American movies watched in Italian:

Little Orphan Annie

Back to the Future

Batman Begins

Over the Top (you remember, that Stallone movie about arm wrestling...yes, arm wrestling)

The Mummy

Best American Cartoons watched in Italian language:

Spongebob Squarepants (really it makes more sense in Italian)

The Simpsons

Batman

VENICE

Okay, no list here.  Since I last wrote we have had a short trip to Venice with the ACM students.  I have struggled on what to write about it because, although it was a highlight of my year everything I can think to say seems so cliche.  Before going there, Venice, in my mind, seemed so stroybook/fairy-tale-ish that I could barely believe that it was a real place.  Our first move was to get on to the water taxi and ride down the canal to where our hotel was.  It was a breathtaking first view of the city and I was giddy, absolutely giddy.  I even squeeled.  Though we were only there for two nights the magic never wore off.  We had a corner room in the hotel that looked out over the canal and in the morning I could see the cruise ships coming into port. (I never knew those things were so huge.  Before I knew it was a cruise ship I thought the whole of Venice was floating away!)  Our first morning there was the first day of fall weather for us and we went from upper 80's in Florence to lower 60's with mighty winds in Venice.  Nick and I were prepared but I can't say the same for the students.  We had to divvy out extra jackets and sweaters and scarves to those who were underdressed.  And rain, lots of rain that morning.  But OH, did it make for a romantic setting.  Venice in the rain is just as good as Venice in the sun.   By mid-afternoon the clouds had cleared and it warmed up a bit.  So, besides the weather all I can really say about Venice is that everything you've ever heard about it is true & unexaggerated.  Magical, romantic, oozing charm out of every little crevice you can find.  It still seems like a fairy tale.  

The highlight of the trip was getting to see the church of San Marco.  In 828 AD the bones of the Apostle Mark (yes, that's the "Mark" as in "Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) were stolen from Greece (supposedly to keep them from being plundered by the Muslims) and, with great effort and smuggled in in vats of pork they were moved to Venice and have been there ever since (although for centuries they were hidden, buried within the structure of the church).  Mark became the patron saint of Venice and the gigantic, multi-domed San Marco was built at the entrance of the city.  San Marco is dripping from top to bottom with gold mosaics, just dripping.  The only part not covered in gold mosaics is the floor and that too was stunning.  Though staring at the floor was a little unnerving because they are almost all completely uneven and slightly sunken in spots due to the architecture of the city.  Oh yes, the piazza was covered in pigeons - thus the photo of the bird with San Marco in the background.

Oh!  Also while we were in Venice Sean Lennon and Yoko Ono were visiting.  I think that everyone but Nick and I saw the

m either on the street or at the Guggenheim museum.  It wasn't a huge deal but it did add a little sparkle to our already magical weekend.

It has almost been three months and I am finally feeling settled here.  About halfway into the second month I think that I experienced a bit of culture shock.  When going through the stress of a culture change there is never one thing that you can put your finger on and say, "Here, this is what frustrates me", no there is just a series of unfamiliar things that slowly but surely start to get under your skin.  The bright side of that is that if you know that what you are experiencing is a form of culture shock then you know that it will pass and it did.  In the meantime I soothed myself with whatever American movies and food.  I was soooo happy when "Annie" was on one Saturday morning and also, renting "Superman" online was a big help one other day.  As for food, I must confess that McDonald's never tasted better.  I didn't even mind that I had to pay for ketchup.

That's all for now.  Here's another picture I took out in the country of some wild crocuses (croci?).  The students had a fall break last week and so Nick had time off and we took a short trip to the Chianti region.  I was surprised to learn that Chianti wine is not the headache in a bottle that I know of from the states.  More on that trip later.

PACE

(Which ironically means "peace" in Italian)

One of the reasons I love the midwest is because of the pace of life there.  No one is ever in too much of a hurry and if they are they will have time to think about it while they are stuck waiting at the next train crossing.  I find that even though we are in the city it feels similar to home in that regard but in different ways.  Waiting in line here is an art form.  Tardiness is accepted.  Students in my Italian classes and even the instructors will wander in five, ten minutes late and no one ever seems to care.  If I miss out on the farmers market one morning and have togo to the grocery store, I can never expect that just because there are more than three people in line that another register will open up.  I would not say that waiting in line is fun, but when everyone else is doing it, it's not so bad!  It is a practice that helps one to wade through the enormous amount of bureaucracy that exists.  A couple of weeks ago Nick went to the National LIbrary here in Florence and he applied for a library card.  It took him TWO HOURS!!  I stayed with him through the first hour and left to fend for himself as I headed home.  I cannot tell you all of what was said in taht first hour because it was all in Italian but there was a lot of the librarian talking and Nick nodding his head.  I had to laugh because whenever Nick tried to write something down that he thought was important the librarian would stop him and tell him that it was all written down ( I could understand at least that much).  But Nick still had to sit through and hour + of talk. (Later when Nick got home he seemed to think it was worth the wait because after I left he was given a tour by the librarian who had worked there for 30+ years.  The library was beautiful and the librarian talked a little about the flood in 1966 that destroyed many books in the library.)

OUR DREAM CARS...

Sunshine's Dream Car                 Nick's Dream Truck (Yes, it really is a truck!)

THE COUNTRYSIDE AND DOUGHNUTS ON THE BEACH

This past weekend we were able to enjoy some time outside of the city.  Janet, who is the director of the ACM Florence program (she has been here long enough that the children of former students are coming on the program) and her husband Giovanni, invited us to go with them to their summer/weekend home near the small town 

of Chianni.  It was a much-needed getaway from the city.  To be among the trees and the birds and animals again was a dream come true for me and the higher elevation meant cooler temperatures and less mosquitoes - a dream come true for Nick.  We were also only 20 minutes from the beach and were able to spend the afternoon swimming and eating lunch on the beach of the Ligurian Sea (which blends into the Tyrrhenian Sea, I'm not sure exactly which one it was.)  After lunch, the doughnut vendor walked by and I couldn't resist the idea of eating doughnuts on the beach so I bought one stuffed with cream filling.

At Janet and Giovanni's place there is a fox named Lola who comes by everyday, conveniently around diner time. After being named it was discovered that Lola is in fact a boy fox but the name stuck.  Lola has been coming around for several years now and has grey whiskers.  He is tame enough that he will eat food if you hold it out for him, but he's still a fox so he won't stay close for long.  If were all in the house Lola will sometimes come up to the door and peek inside.  Aside from the fox there are also three cats that meander in and out during the day.  The moderate climate means that the doors and windows stay open most of the day when you are home so even though the cats live outside they can come and go as they please.  They are not very affectionate since they are still a bit wild.  ONly the momma cat dared to let us pet her. I also must add about our weekend that Giovanni is a wonderful cook and fed us well while we were there making the weekend like a mini-vacation for Nick and I.  The first night we had mussels and clams with pasta and for the first time ever I got to eat squid that wasn't deep fried in a restaurant - this was my favorite.

THE ACM STUDENTS (AKA - The English Speakers!)

The students all arrived safe and sound about two weeks ago.  A few of them had to wait a few days for their luggage to catch up with them.  Nick and I helped to get all twenty-five of them moved from the hotel into their host homes.  I have been ever thankful for the student's presence not only because I love college students but also because they all speak English!  Shortly after my second week here I practically cornered a couple in the wine shop when I heard their American accent.  First, I said, "Oh, you are American?"  and after getting a positive reply I just gave a big grin and said "HI!"  They were from Washington, CD and, thankfully, they were quite nice and chatted with me for a bit.  I think that they realized I just wanted to talk to someone in a familiar language.  I was sorry discover that they were only vacationing and would be gone in a few days.  Being able to speak English with other English speakers is like comfort food for the brain.  However, when I'm out in public going into the shops or at the market I always try to use my Italian.  Even when you're bad at it most of the locals seem to appreciate it when you try.

Last week I started the second level of Italian classes.  I love my new instructor, Maura.  She is very funny and animated which makes her easy to understand even when you don't pick up all the words.  One student that I sit next to is Anna who is from Amsterdam.  Anna is 19 and Italian will be her 5th language.  This is her first time away from her family ever.  She and I have become friends and went out for cappuccino one afternoon after she expressed how horribly lonely she was feeling.  After our cappuccino we walked through the market and decided to visit one of the bigger museum/churches that neither of us had been to yet.  I realized walking around with Anna that it was my first time walking through Florence with anyone other than Nick.

ODD MOMENTS OF CITY LIFE

Having the market in our backyard can, at times, be a source of entertainment.  I love to listen to them set up in the morning.  On Saturday mornings the market is always the busiest.  One Saturday I had the windows open and Iheard the beautiful female operatic voice coming form the market below.  I looked out to see a man in a big yellow hat and a red plaid skirt on over his jeans.  As he stated to dance toward one of the vendors they shooed him away.  He stopped singing but I guess he wasn't discouraged because he proceeded to pull out a small white balloon and blow it up and used the air in the balloon to play a recorder/flute Then he looked around, packed up and left!  

CHURCH SERVICES

We have attended various church services all over town.  The first one we went to was a monastery where they had the monks chanting as part of the service.  It was quite stunning to hear this live and not just as a concert but as the actual worship in the service.  it was even more stirring because the service was held in the crypt of the church and the sounds echoed off of the stone walls.  It was held in the crypt, I presume, because it was a small service and the chapel there is more size appropriate.  The Sunday before last we hiked up the hill to a tiny little church that was small enough that even my language instructor hadn't heard of it.  I have liked this one the best because even though it was in Italian it was the first church that felt like a genuine community and not just a place where tourists visit.  It was so nice to see everyone lingering around to visit with each other afterward.  I also enjoyed seeing children there too.  I'd like to go back there but it was quite an uphill hike to get there and we were covered in sweat when we arrived.  There are only two services that I know of in the city center that are in English.  We have been to one of them but I actually don't mind going to the Italian speaking churches as long as there is something on paper to follow along with.  Being familiar withthe Bible enables me to translate the verses and at the very least I can think on that and the images of the centuries old art for the duration that we are there.

A STORY ABOUT HOMEMADE PIZZA

One night I made homemade pizza.  It was a good lesson in which yeast to buy for bread making and pizza dough.  Don't get the kind that I bought.  End of story.

Hey, but it turned out okay.  (Anything tastes good fried!)

Tomorrow we leave for Venice for a trip with the students.  It will be a short trip and very scheduled but I can't wait.  And Oh!  We had a rainstorm today almost as good as the ones in the midwest.  That's twice that it has rained since we've been here.  

ARRIVAL

I barely remember our arrival two weeks ago (was it really only two???) but with good reason as I was barely conscious from the lack of sleep on the way over. I have a few flashes of memory of that first day including 1. Being flattered by the security guard at the airport who
 assumed that I was German. (I hesitated to tell her that I only s

poke English.) 2. Meeting our ever-accommodating landlady, Nicla (nee-kla). When she found out we drink Italian coffee every day she immediately went out and bought us a moka pot (a stove top espresso pot). Nicla is a primary school teacher and invited us to stay with her sometime at her place in Puglia. She is a dear. She also made sure that we had olive oil and balsamic vinegar in the kitchen to start our stay off properly. 3. Jet lag & falling asleep with a cup of coffee in my hand. When I felt the sleep twitch come on and my hand jerked I decided to put the coffee down and go for a walk instead. Our first couple of days it was important to stay awake in order to fight the jet lag and get a decent nights sleep. Mostly, we just tried to stay on the move and avoided staying at home or else it was too tempting to nap. The last time we traveled overseas we found ourselves wide awake at 2:00 in the morning, starving with only small chocolates from the airplane to tide us over until the morning came. Didn’t want to repeat that.

THE APARTMENT

                                        

Our apartment fits us perfectly. I have found nothing to really complain about. No, we don’t have a terrace but we do have two really great piazzas (intersections with space for the public to gather – usually in front of a church) that are spitting distance from the apartment if we feel the need to sit outside. The one behind us has either a concert or a film showing almost every night. Most of the music has been cover bands playing American music, which at 

home I probably wouldn’t go for but it’s been nice to hear something familiar. We don’t often go to these events (since we can hear them from the window anyway) but we did go to watch an old black-and-white Italian film the other night. Thankfully, there is a building in between us and that piazza and the concert speakers point away from our win

dow. Everything feels pretty normal here in the apartment except that there are no screens on the windows (this is the norm) so we sleep under a mosquito net. Kinda fun!

MUSEUMS

We haven’t spent too much time in the museums since we have all year here but our first night we visited the San Giovani Baptistry (the baptistery of the Duomo -the largest & most famous church in Florence). It was a stunning way to start our stay here. I could have camped out on the floor and stared at the ceiling and it’s paintings all night long. http://www.operaduomo.firenze.it/english/luoghi/battistero_4.asp Other than that we’ve been to one other large museum and Dante’s former home.

GUITAR BAR

One of my favorite things that we stumbled upon was a tiny, tiny bar called “Guitar Club” I don’t think it was a typical Florentine place and maybe that’s why I liked it so much (waves of being homesick come and go) The entrance led us down thick, wooden stairs into what felt like a small cave that could hold 20-30 people max. The décor was some cowboy-americana theme. A small stage toward the back held three microphones, a couple guitars and a bass guitar, two chairs, various cords and a western horse riding saddle. Left of the stage were a few dozen pictures of American Indians and various Native American artifacts like dream catchers. To the right of the stage were posters of the owner and his band. Seeing all this in the damp cave light by candlelight seemed both bizarre and extremely comforting at the same time. There was no cover charge for that night’s music but the 6 euros (that’s 9 bucks!) that I paid for my drink make up for that fact. The “band” that was scheduled to play turned out to be the owner, who seemed to be of retirement age, and his friend the bassist. Nick and I were the only people in the audience for the first half-hour or so as the owner, Andrea, cranked out, in Italian mind you, country-western songs like you’ve never heard them including a Johnny Cash song (“Wanted Man”) and a few of the owner’s own songs. By now I felt as if the 6 eruo’s for my drink was worth it. We asked the bartender, Peter, if they had a list of musicians playing to which he responded, “Sometimes they play [pointing to the owner] and…sometimes, someone else plays”. I regret not having the camera with us but I predict that we’ll go back.

ITALIAN CLASSES

On Monday, after walking for thirty minutes and climbing up the 5 flights of stairs to the top floor of "Linguaviva" I started my Italian lessons.  The building has an elevator but it is a wrought iron 1920's looking, Alfred Hitchcock-ish monster of a machine.  It is slow enough that when you press the button to call it down you have enough time to walk up the stairs (and possibly back down again) so I figure I might as well get the excercise.  By the time I got to the top the first time I was winded but slowly I'm getting used to it.  Certainly, it makes our four

th floor apartment seem like a breeze to get to.  

I was put into a beginning class that was 

already in progress. Not having had much sleep the night before, my first day was horribly stressful and I had doubts about going back the second day (and instead waiting for a new beginner class to start) but day two turned out to be not so bad. Besides feeling more comfortable my second day there was another person just starting out so I was no longer the “new girl” in the class. There are about 10 people in the class. Several of them are from Venezuela, two are from Chile, one from Sweden, one from Tunisa, another girl from the States and one from Japan. The Japanese girl and I are the slowest in the class since the rest, already knowing Spanish and French, have a distinct advantage to learning Italian. Our instructor, Enzo, is very gracious and patient and does his best to accommodate all levels in the class room. I think that I was a little naïve about how quickly I would learn the language. It is slow going but, at the very least, I can buy what we need from the market and ask where the bathroom is.

TODAY 

Today is a national Holiday, Farragosto - the equivalent of Labor Day in the U.S. - and almost everything is closed except for the very touristy spots. We took a very long walk this morning up the hills and around Boboli Gardens en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boboli_Gardens, but were disappointed to learn that it is 10 euros (each!) to get in. We decided to save it for the springtime when there will be more in bloom.

In my Italian class we had to write a paragraph on the ideal weekend. My paragraph read that on Saturday I went for a bike ride, did some gardening, and went to the beach and on Sunday it rained and I stayed home and read all day and drank American coffee. Bikes are everywhere in the city and I miss having mine to commute with. I also miss my yard. Here in the city center there is very little plant life and you have to walk across the bridge over the Arno River to get to the greener areas. I find it a little disheartening but a brief dose every now and then seems to do the trick. And rain, I miss rain. Today was the first day that it rained (or was even cloudy) since we have been here. Temperatures have been in the 90’s since we arrived and today the temperature dropped at least 12 degrees. It has been heaven sent.