Sarahnissima
Italy and such as

(Sorry about the delay everyone. I’ve had some technical difficulties. I don’t know what I did. So this is a long one and, sadly, only somewhat entertaining. Enjoy!)

Friday, August 1, 2008

Today was something out of the ordinary. This morning we all (Ciambella, Chris and I) got up and got ready (“you know, like you do”), but today instead of falling into our typical patterns and routines we left together for the steps out front of the Biblioteca Nationale. We were sidetracked momentarily when we ran into Lara and her family as they were walking down Via dei Neri on their way to the Uffizi. We chatted for a while, but soon said goodbye and continued on our way. We sat out on the steps in the quickly-warming sun and waited. Today we were going to be swept up and taking to a far away land called Carmingnano. Before too long our landlady, Anna, pulled up and we all hopped in her car. (For the record Ciambella sat in the front and long-legged Chris and I sat in the back, both destined to wrestle with motion sickness for most of the day.)

We drove through the city, first in a circle that looped back toward the Biblioteca Nationale then on across the Arno, past the Pitti Palace, back across the Arno, and off into the rolling hills of Tuscany. I can honestly say that I have no idea how we ended up taking the route we did, but I suspect that it has something to do with crazing driving rules and one-way streets in Florence.

It was nice to be in a car again. Other than our lift home from I Tatti the other day I haven’t been in a car since January. Ahhh… it’s so nice. Zipping through town, watching those sad, sweaty people struggling as they walk (ha ha ha… who walks when there are cars around?). Needless to say I enjoyed it. I was just beginning to think that cars were the best things ever when Anna slowed down and pulled into a gas station. (Oh, yeah. Gas… Gas is expensive… Cars break down and cost lots of money… It’s all coming back to me…)

You know, businesses will go to great lengths to get repeat customers. Take this gas station for example. When Anna pulled in the attendant came over to the car (it was not self service) and while the car was filling he handed her a baseball cap with the gas station’s logo emblazoned across the front, a key chain, and a repeat customer card. It was so wonderful! After 12 fill-ups you get a free bottle of wine! How perfect! Nothing screams responsibility behind the wheel like a free bottle of booze at the gas station! (Only in Italy…)

We drove on to Carmingnano. I’m not really sure how far out we were. Maybe about 30km or so. (Ok, ok. For all of you people in my life—aka my dad and my father-in-law—no, I have not taken the time to find this city on a map. Please don’t think less of me. Ok. Moving on.)

As it turns out Carmignano is a nice little town on a hill overlooking vast expanses of farm lands filled with olive trees, corn, and grape vines. The day couldn’t have been more beautiful. The sky was richly blue and the clouds were so white they seemed to bounce off the blue backdrop. The fields were variations of muted yellows, greens, browns, and silver (the olive trees). For maybe the second time since I’ve been here I saw Italy as I imagined it would be. Now that it is officially the dry season the whole landscape has changed. The colors have dulled and lost their lusciousness from the spring, but have adopted a whole new color palette in exchange.

We went into the small, quiet church of San Michele and upon entering my eye scanned the nave until it fell on the familiar scene of the Visitation by Pontormo. It was so beautiful. It was more than I expected. We spent about 40 minutes staring at it, discussing its innovative elements, its beautiful colors, and its graceful lines. After gawking for a while we went off to lunch, making a quick stop at a bakery to pick up a giant bag full of cookies—very important to have around, don’t you think?

The restaurant we were planning on eating at was closed so we went off in Anna’s car to another spot. We stopped by her country home on the way out (she needed to pick up some things for her boyfriend) then continued on through the twisting and turning of the Tuscan hillside roads. We ate at a dirty shop that sold eggs and fruit and assorted packaged goods. Sounds appetizing, you may be thinking, and you would be almost close to being right. The shop had about five tables in the back where they served lunch. Apparently it was a family operation that had been going on for many years, once operated by the parents, but now run by the children. It’s one of those places where the same old men sit at the same tables day after day after day. Of course, when you throw a table of three Americans and an Italian into the mix things just go crazy.

Our food was okay (Ciambella’s was the best), the wine was bland (we mixed it with water to make it better—a common Italian practice at lunch), and the temperatures were flirting around 1000°, but the conversation was nice and we all had a good time.

After lunch we winded our way back down the hill and back to Florence. Chris and I were suffering from raging cases of motion sickness and there wasn’t a lot of air moving around in the backseat of the car. When it’s that hot outside you just can’t seem to cool off the inside of a car. I had asked Anna to stop by a store outside of the city where I could pick up a big fan for the apartment. She stopped at an electronics superstore (as “superstore” as they get here in Italy) called Euronics. While we paid 20€ for a tiny, weak fan from the shop down the street in centro, they had large, standing fans at Euronics for 16€, twice the size of our fan for less. Oh, this is why I love me some superstore.

Back home we set up the new fan. It was nothing more than a lesson in futility. It was 32.7° in the apartment (that’s about 91°) and the air wasn’t moving at all. It was lovely. We ate dinner. We sweated. We watched TV. It was hot and miserable. Eventually the heat broke our collective will and we all decided to retire for the evening.

And so, from the center of the earth, goodnight.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

I woke up this morning around 10 and enjoyed my breakfast of coconut yogurt & peaches with strawberry jam toast. When I say that I enjoyed it, I mean that I enjoyed it at first, but soon I realized something horrible. It’s my breakfast nightmare. What was that flavor? Oh, no. It couldn’t be. Oh, yes, it was: garlic. The last time I got some butter there had been some garlic on the knife. This is a problem I encounter occasionally. It’s gross. Strawberry jam toast does not go well with traces of garlic. So, with a heavy heart I had to say goodbye to my toast and move on with my day.

Chris and I spent the day wandering around Florence, in search of some nicer shirts and pants and for Chris. While out and about we stopped by Eby’s, a little Mexican restaurant by the sketchy alley, for lunch. Eby’s has the most amazing burritos. Sadly, they are never hot enough for me, but they’re still great. My favorite is the spicy potato and chicken burrito. They call it the El Conchita, or something like that. Highly recommended if you’re ever in Florence.

In the afternoon we found some nice things for Chris and stopped in at The Paperback Exchange, an English bookstore here in Florence and the prime location for Syracuse students to sell back their books at the end of the semester apparently. The store was full of Kenneth Clark and Martin Kemp, not terribly common in your average bookstore, and there were tons of copies of Vasari’s Lives and Boccaccio’s Decameron and Dante’s Inferno. I wanted one copy of everything, but I settled for yet another copy of Oscar Wilde’s Picture of Dorian Gray. That brings my total copies of that book to three, two in English and one in Italian.

After depleting our shopping reservoir—not very tough to do—we headed back to La Scala exhausted. We lazied around until Sean and Ciambella came in later from their day at the lake. Ciambella and I had an emergency pedicure session and then the four of us watched Best in Show. I thought that the evening would be over there, but at the last minute Vanessa Avery called and invited us to join her and her cousin at Angie’s.

Chris and I met them there and stayed for one beer before calling it a night. Now it’s late and we still have to pack for our trip to Rome, so goodnight everybody.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

I woke up this morning and got ready as quickly as I could. I made mind-blowingly delicious omelet sandwiches for our train trip. We took the 9:09 regional to Rome. It took almost 4 hours, but was half the price of the much-faster Eurostar so we took one for the team and settled in for the long haul. It actually went pretty quickly. We arrived in Rome just before 1.

We stayed at the Flann O’Bryan Rooms. The Flann O’Bryan is an Irish pub in Rome near the train station. So basically Chris and I stayed at an Irish pub. Our room was in a townhouse about three blocks away. It was nice, small, but nice. We even had a little balcony, which was a pleasant surprise. We ate lunch over at the pub (overpriced, not that great, and definitely not Irish pub fare).

After lunch we went to Santa Maria degli Angeli just down the street. It’s a really incredible church. It was designed by Michelangelo and built into the walls of the baths of Diocletian. It was dedicated as a Christian church to Mary and all the Christians who died during the construction of the baths. I’d never been there before so it was a totally new experience for me. I was surprised by how huge it was. It seemed to go on forever. Very cool church.

After Santa Maria degli Angeli we went past the Piazza Barberini and on to Santa Maria della Concezione, another church I’ve never been to. We went straight to the crypts. Santa Maria della Concezione is a Capuchin church with one of the creepiest and coolest things I’ve ever seen. They have used the bones of dead friars to decorate the crypts. Unfortunately you aren’t able to take pictures while you’re down there, but I don’t think it would have mattered if I did. It’s just unbelievable. You really would need to see it in person. The crypt was small, but impressive. They would have a skull (sawed off in the back to make it flat) with pelvic bones on either side like wings. Vertebrae would be lined up like ribbing on the vault and rib bones and jaw bones would be arranged like rosettes and other decorative elements. It was both beautiful and horrifying at the same time. In the last room was a sign that read:

“Quello che voi siete noi eravamo, Quello che noi siamo voi sarete.”

(“What you are now we used to be; what we are now you will be.”)

After that lighthearted romp through the macabre, we went over to the Spanish steps, soaked up some sun, listened to some singers, sweated some more, and moved on to the Piazza del Popolo. We checked out the view from up on an overlook before continuing our tour of Santa Maria churches at Santa Maria del Popolo. This church was one of my must-see sights for this trip. Inside are two works of Caravaggio that are just beautiful: The Conversion of Saint Paul and The Crucifixion of Saint Peter. They are beautiful in the pages of books, but even more stunning in person.

After the church we passed some time people watching in the piazza and cooling our feet in a fountain of ice water. It was relaxing until I realized that my toes were turning purple and I could no longer feel my feet. After the ice bath we strolled down the Corso, people watching, window shopping, and a little bit of actual shopping. On the way back to the hotel we stopped by a grocery store and picked up some things for dinner. We ate our dinner in the air-conditioned comfort of our cozy hotel room. I already feel like we’ve been in Rome for weeks…

Monday, August 4, 2008

Chris and I checked out the breakfast offerings over at the pub. It was pretty decent. Chris even took a few sips of a cappuccino. It was a miracle. First step: one sip of cappuccino; second step: straight espresso.

After breakfast we went over to San Pietro in Vincoli (Saint Peter in the Chains). It was a refreshing change after all the Santa Marias. We stopped in to see Michelangelo’s Moses. I saw it a few months ago with Hatfield’s class, and I was thrilled to see it again. I got a call from my Aunt Sue right as we were walking in telling me that they would be in town in about an hour or two. That was a little bit of a change of plans from what I expected and it meant that we would be making quick work of our sightseeing this morning.

After Moses it was off to Piazza Venezia to pick up the 44 bus to Trastevere. We were swept across the river and through the woods to the beautiful little gem of the Tempietto, designed by Bramante. Unfortunately, despite its advertised hours, it was closed. I was shocked and a little annoyed. Dejected, Chris and I walked around and around in search of our next target, Santa Maria in Trastevere. (It was the return of the Santa Marias!) My trip to this church was specifically to look at six capitals that supposedly had my gesture on them. If they did, I couldn’t see them.

That was pretty disappointing, but the trip was far from being a waste. The church was gorgeous with very impressive gold mosaic work in the apse and a beautiful scene of Christ and Mary Enthroned. A very worthwhile trip.

A quick call to my aunt led Chris and I to our next destination: the Visconti Palace, where they were staying. Since we weren’t sure what the best bus to take would be we ended up walking what seemed like miles (and probably was) from the church to the hotel. We spent a few hours socializing—it was so great to see family.

We had a long, Italian-style lunch with everyone on the Piazza Navona and then Chris, Uncle Steve, Lindy, Sid (family friend), and I moved on for “Sarah’s Tour of Four Roman Churches.” Along the way my Uncle Steve attacked some caribinieri, Italian cops. It was a photo op if ever there was one.

Our first stop was the famous Pantheon. “Beautiful, gorgeous. Wish you were here.” I’ve been there a few times before, but it doesn’t get old. Then it was on to yet another Santa Maria: Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, just behind the Pantheon. I felt it was my duty to show everyone something a little disappointing in the form of Michelangelo’s ugliest work, the Risen Christ. Then the tour moved on to Sant’Ignazio to gaze at its false ceiling. We ended at San Luigi dei Francesi. I saved the best for last. Here we gazed at two more of Caravaggio’s best pieces: The Calling of Saint Matthew and the Inspiration of Saint Matthew. Ahhh… So gorgeous.

After the whirlwind church tour we all went back to the hotel. Dinner was at a little pizza place around the corner from the hotel. The restaurant was less Italy and more Aspen. I wouldn’t have been surprised to see a giant moose head on the wall next to a shot gun, but the food was Italian and it was delicious. It was so nice to be able to spend a nice dinner with my family.

When the night was over, we all said goodnight and Chris and I caught a cab back to the hotel. I still feel like I’ve been in Rome for ages.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

We had breakfast at the pub again today. I don’t get to say that very often.

Chris and I were off to the Capitaline Museum after breakfast. This was yet another place in Rome that I’d never been to. I was very pleasantly surprised by how nice it was. Plus I got a discount since I’m a student. That doesn’t happen as much as I’d like so it’s always nice when it does. I couldn’t believe how many important works of art they had. I saw the bust of Socrates, the Flavian woman, the boy tying his sandal, the dying Gaul, my gesture (in the form of Harpocrates), and so much more. It was wonderful. Plus part of it was air conditioned, which was really wonderful!

After the museum it was off to San Giovanni in Lateran to catch the 218 bus to the catacombs. We went first to St. Domitila, but (despite its advertised hours) it was closed. So we went on to the catacombs of St. Sebastian. I’d never been to the catacombs either.

We got our tickets and waited our turn for the English-language tour to begin. Almost immediately after descending the steps that lead beneath the ground we could feel the drastic temperature drop. It was amazing. I had to wrap myself up in my scarf to ward off the almost immediate goose bumps.

The catacombs were incredible. I wish we were down there for longer. I don’t think either one of us got a whole lot out of the guide though. I’m mean, yes, it was an English-language tour, but I think Chris and I were the only ones who actually spoke English, our guide included. Oh well, it was cool (literally and figuratively) nonetheless.

After emerging back into the intense heat of the living above ground we caught the 218 back to San Giovanni in Lateran and walked back towards our hotel for some relaxation before dinner with the family. We made a quick pit stop at Santa Maria Maggiore, but couldn’t visit for long. There was a visiting cardinal and he was conducting a service inside. Must remember to visit that church during my next trip to Rome…

Back at the hotel we proceeded to pig out on leftover prosciutto and Pringles from last night’s dinner. I fell asleep for a little while and the next thing I knew it was time to leave for our 8 o’clock appointment at Charreada, a Mexican restaurant across the river that came heavily recommended by Lara.

Chris and I took our seats outside and waited for Aunt Sue, Uncle Steve and Lindy to arrive which they did shortly after. I was happy to see that Sandee had joined them so we all moved over to a table for six and settled in for a great Mexican dinner in Rome. I had such a great time once again with everyone. It was sad to say goodbye at the end of the night. I suspect that the next time we eat dinner together again it will be at Christmas and in a very different setting.

Since we were both tired and very far from the hotel, Chris and I decided to splurge on a cab back. It was a wise decision. I don’t think I would have made it otherwise. It was another very long and very hot day in Rome. Now it is over and it is time to relax and sleep. Goodnight to you all.

(The writer of this blog would like to extend a very special thank you to her favorite aunt and uncle [I promised!] for all their generosity the past two days in Rome and for all their love and support over the last 28 years. Thank you all so much for such a memorable trip to Rome. I’ll see you again in December!)

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

This morning was a little slower than I had expected it to be. Chris and I moseyed our way over to the pub for breakfast, checked out, and left our bags behind the front counter as we set off for the last long day of our Roman Holiday.

Our first stop was the only stop that I had planned for. We walked over to the Villa Borghese to make our 1 o’clock appointment for the gallery. This was yet another place I had never been to in Rome—what a successful trip! Much to my surprise I had made our reservation correctly and everything ran according to plan. We picked up our tickets and patiently waited for 1:00 to arrive.

At the appointed time we went into the gallery and I was blown away for the second day in a row. The Borghese Gallery has a lot of Bernini, most notably the David and Apollo and Daphne. The David is gorgeous—I love the tension in his face, supposedly a self-portrait—but the Apollo and Daphne took my breath away. It was absolutely stunning. Oh! I only wish I could transport all of you to that room so that you could see what I saw. Bernini was really showing off with that one. The way he manipulated textures to show the transition of Daphne’s skin into the leaves and bark of the tree was incredible. Definitely a highlight of my trip to Rome!

There was a Correggio exhibit going on and while I’m not a huge fan I found it to be really beautiful. I had one of those moments when I feel so fortunate to be living here with so many opportunities to see such amazing things in person. Once again I have to say, don’t let anyone think that I don’t appreciate what I’m doing here.

After the gallery we tooled around the grounds in search of the bike rental office, which we never found. It was always just around the corner. Funny how that happens, huh? We eventually gave up and decided to head out of town.

We stopped at the Hard Rock Café for lunch. Yes, yes, I know what you’re thinking. We really embraced the culture of Rome on this trip, didn’t we? We stayed at an Irish pub, we ate at a place decorated like an Aspen ski lodge one night, a Mexican restaurant the next, and the Hard Rock Café on the last. Not too Italian, but I enjoyed every minute of it. It was so nice to sit in a restaurant and listen to people speaking English while English-language music played, to see bathrooms with normal toilets, to be served unnecessarily ridiculous portions of food, and to not have to try to speak Italian to the server. Oh, sweet release! I ate barbeque. I don’t even really like barbeque; I just knew I wouldn’t have another chance to eat for about five months. It was heavenly.

With very full stomachs we went back to the pub to retrieve our bags. On the way there we made the executive decision to split up in an effort to ensure that we caught the 5:55 Eurostar train back to Florence. Chris ran to get the bags and I went ahead to the station to buy the tickets. Our plan worked beautifully and we made the train with no problems.

The ride back was really quick for me. I slept most of the 1 ½ ride back. One minute I was staring uncomfortably at the people sitting across from me, the next we were in Florence. It was like magic. We walked back to the apartment, which was horribly hot, as expected. We didn’t make it too long in the land of the living. We both decided to retire fairly early after our busy trip to Rome.

And so that concludes my tale of my latest vacation in Italy.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Bright and early this morning Chris was off to I Tatti and Ciambella was off to Berlin leaving me free to enjoy the apartment all myself this morning. I toyed with the idea of going Macaulay Culkin on the place, but instead I just took my time with everything I did. I watched The Rock in Italian (loved it), read a little about silence (hated it), and watched some TV. All the while I positioned and re-positioned the four fans we own around the apartment in an attempt to find the best way to move the stiflingly hot air around. I had all the windows closed and all the blinds drawn and all the fans pointed at one spot on the couch. Clearly I had given up on moving air around in favor of just cooling myself off.

Chris came home from I Tatti and looked a bit like a drowned rat. He was sweating so badly. I almost felt bad for him. I figure with this experience and all this heat we are really building some incredible character. I told my dad not long ago that I expect that someday we will have more character than we know what to do with.

After a short while the buzzer rang. Now I should say that the buzzer rings more than you might expect. Normally when the buzzer rings I answer it. Normally when I answer the buzzer there is a Mormon or a salesperson or a gypsy on the doorstep. That, my friends, is no fun for me. So this evening when the buzzer rang I quickly said, “Ignore it!” to Chris. You can’t fool this girl!

Anyway, so though it broke Chris’ heart to go back out into the heat (and climb the steps again) we left shortly after that to the grocery store. We needed everything. This is what happens when you go out of town for a while. You come back and all the sudden you’ve got no food. Yuck. I hate big grocery trips here. For one thing, they are kind of embarrassing because the Italians just don’t do big shopping trips. So while I’m standing there with an overflowing basket of bananas, sausage, bread, prosciutto, tomatoes , onions, milk (tons of milk), cereal, chocolate and whatever else may catch my fancy, some 80 lb Italian chick is standing in front of me with a quarter of a watermelon, a bottle of water, and piece of cheese. It’s terrible. Ciambella and I have often commented on our fictional dinner parties or our imaginary house guests just loud enough for those around us to hear. Aren’t we clever?

So Chris and I had just walked into the grocery store when, as I was inspecting the tomatoes, a shriek of joy filled the air. I looked up in time to see Lara and her sister, Megan, running from the back of the store in my direction. (I get that reaction a lot actually. People looooove seeing me at the grocery store.) It seems that L and her sister had locked themselves out of Casa LSD and were roaming the mean streets of Florence looking for me. Yeah, so the moral of this story is that it’s not only Mormons, salespeople and gypsies who ring my buzzer, sometimes my homeless friends do too. Lara said that after we didn’t answer the door they checked Angie’s Pub (we weren’t there) and then Gelateria Neri (my reputation precedes me) and when we weren’t there either they figured we had to be at the grocery store. Ok. Moral number two of this story: I am a boring, boring person who should seriously consider changing up my routine just in case I’m being stalked.

While I put embarrassing quantities of food into the basket Lara and Megan told the harrowing tale of how the front door of Casa LSD was shut in slow motion at the exact moment that Lara was saying “I… don’t… have… my… [click]… keys…” The S of LSD is in Chicago, which wasn’t of much consolation for Lara today, and the D was roaming around Spain somewhere for all we knew. He’d left his phone in Florence and was as a result totally out of reach. Their landlord wasn’t answering her phone and in fact, Lara had left her phone in the house. (Lara’s cell phone skills will be saved for another day, but the fact that she left the house without it isn’t in the least bit surprising.) So basically, they were stranded.

Chris gave them his phone, which looks like a sports car, but that’s not important right now, Lara and Megan went out into the mean world to find a ray of hope, and Chris and I went back to La Scala. We made some rockin’ pizza for dinner and settled in to watch some Forsythe Saga (remember that?). We were about halfway through an episode when I got a text from Chris/Lara asking for a bed for the night. And that is the story of how we got surprising houseguests here at La Scala today.

Lara was understandably thrilled to not only have a place to sleep tonight, but also to stumble upon a Forsythe Saga party. The four of us sat around watching the web of intrigue unravel before us until about midnight. I made sure they were settled in Ciambella’s room and we all said goodnight. And with that, I will say goodnight to you too.

Friday, August 8, 2008

This morning after Chris left for I Tatti I finished up the laundry that was littering the living room and quietly started a hefty batch of espresso. It was about that time when my guests woke up and joined me in the kitchen. We all enjoyed our morning lattes together while we sat around chatting. Not long after that they resolved to try once more to locate someone, anyone who could help them into their locked-up apartment.

After they left I had planned on doing some research, but instead I did my best sloth impression as I crawled around in the heat. I was waiting to hear from Lara. If she got in the apartment I would be leaving to head over there, otherwise she and Megan would be returning to La Scala. Then I got a text message. They’d gotten in. That was at about 1:30.

So I got ready and headed down the Arno to the newly-opened Casa LSD.

Today was a big day. Today was the opening ceremonies of the XXIX Olympic games in Beijing, or Pechino, as the Italians say. By the time I arrived the show had already started (it started at 2pm here), but I didn’t miss much. We sat around and talked about every last detail of the program. We were waiting with baited breath for the main event: the Parade of Nations. Lara was on the same page as I when she astutely surmised that the purpose of watching the opening ceremonies was to locate all the hot guys from other countries. Absolutely correct. Especially the Australians. They’re nuts.

Well, there seems to be an alarming lack of hot athletes in the Olympics this year. Oh, well, just as well, I guess. I can’t understand anything the commentators are saying anyway so I won’t understand any of the heart-wrenching stories they love to tell. Guess I’ll just have to watch it for the sportsmanship and all that.

Just after the US team rolled into the “Bird’s Nest”, the Olympic Stadium, Chris rolled into LSD. Not long after that Dan, the wayward Spain traveler, rolled in too. With the addition of two more bodies the temperature in the apartment rose by about 40°. We all watched the end of the ceremonies and collectively marveled at the endurance of those girls dressed like tennis players in high heeled boots that jumped around the whole time the athletes were coming in.

By that time we were all pretty hungry and so in honor of the Olympics we went to get some Chinese food for dinner. It was delicious. I mean, it’s no Flying Tiger, but I’ll take it.

After some loafing around Chris and I finally left around 10pm. The air was nice and cool outside as we walked down the Arno. I was graced with a call from my big brother—a big surprise. That made the walk home just fly by.

Once back it was clear that it was time to say adieu to the day and hit the sack. Until tomorrow, be good sports and remember to just say no to doping.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

I had such a slow morning today. Sometimes it’s necessary. In the case of today it wasn’t so much a lazy morning out of necessity as out of lethargy. Chris and I didn’t really accomplish anything. We watched the Olympics and Wedding Crashers and that was about it for most of the day.

It’s been interesting watching the Olympics here. There’s no Bob Costas so we don’t really know what to do with ourselves. There is this one guy whom we have affectionately dubbed “Roberto Costas” who is always leading the commentary, but it’s just not the same. They don’t show all the events going on, just the ones with Italian athletes which means that we’ve been watching all those lame sports like archery and shooting and fencing and boxing. (Sorry if I offended any of those avid fencers out there.) Plus I’m having a terrible time understanding what the commentators are saying. They talk too fast for me. I guess I can’t complain. Something tells me that I’m getting more out of it than Chris is.

While we spent our day trying to earn the gold medal in couch-potatoing, we got a text from Dan inviting us to a dinner party at their place tonight. At about 4 Chris and I managed to pull ourselves away from the couch and venture out into the world in search of stuff to make a salad. All of the little markets on my street were closed (now that’s it’s August everyone is on holiday) and Magi has terrible veggies so we ended up over at Standa. Ordinarily I would do anything to avoid going to Standa, but I was in a pickle. That supermercato has horrible long lines and there always seems to be a screaming baby with complaining parents in line in front of me. I hate it there. Today Standa had a surprise in store for me.

Not only was it a mecca of delicious-looking fruits and veggies, but it was virtually empty. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Then I found a jar of salsa! A jar of salsa! I couldn’t believe it! I mean, sure, it’s not normal salsa, but it’s something! And they had Doritos-type chips. It was crazy! I went nuts like a, well, like me in a Kroger. It was a successful trip, despite my initial reservations.

Back home I made a salad of romaine and spinach with strawberries, blueberries, and these little plum-type fruits with a honey-lime dressing. It tasted pretty good and was really beautiful to look at. Chris and I left the apartment around 7 with the salad in hand and headed down the Arno the Casa LSD.

We had dinner tonight with Dan, Clark, Analia, and Earl. As usual I ate too much. I don’t understand how it happens. One minute I’m normal and the next I’m eating paella, eggplant parmesan, tons of bread, mozzarella balls, salad, watermelon, and frutti di bosco (basically mixed berry) jello. Also as usual, it was all great and the conversation was wonderful. (I tried to post my last blog while I was there, but it seems that I can find a way to have technical difficulties no matter how easy the program is. Sorry about the delay.)

Towards the end of the night Lara and Megan got home from their day in Lucca. We spent the rest of the night just hanging out, talking, watching some Olympics, and checking out a few SNL clips online. It was a great time, as expected. Chris and I didn’t head out until about a quarter to 1 in the am.

Now that we’re home, we’re melting. It’s 1:37am and the apartment is a toasty 28.8°. That’s pretty warm for the middle of the night. I’m tired and it is well past time for bed. Buona notte.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

This morning I got up, started the laundry, and read an article about my gesture. Chris got up shortly after that and I made us a huge breakfast of scrambled eggs with peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, garlic, basil, and cheese. It was delicious. We also had some peaches that I just bought the other day. They are so fresh and delicious right now. I love them.

After breakfast we took our positions on the couch and turned on the Olympics. Something tells me that will be the trend for the next two weeks… I started reading a dissertation on religious uses of silence and Chris manned the computer. That continued for a while until I began obsessed and started cleaning the apartment like a crazy person. I swept and mopped (amazing since I never mop) and finished the laundry and cleaned the bathroom and the kitchen. Our landlady will be here tomorrow to check our water heater and Ciambella and I figured it might be nice if on at least one of her trips she found a clean apartment over here.

Once I had finished ravaging the apartment with my cleaning madness I went right back to where I began: on the couch reading about silence and watching the Olympics. During the scherma (fencing) I found myself torn between rooting for my host country and the hot guy from Spain. I chose wisely; the Italian won the gold. Once it became clear to us that they were re-showing the same random sports that they showed this morning Chris and I turned the sound off and put a movie on the computer. We watched Failure to Launch. Ok. So it’s no Wanted, but it was pretty close. It was absolutely terrible. The plot was not only not believable in any way, but it was poorly written, poorly acted, and ultimately one pathetically laughable movie. (My apologies to all those Failure to Launch fans out there. Well, actually… I take it back. What are you thinking?)

And that is how we ended our day. It was surprising busy for me despite my short entry. I’m going to go on to bed now. Good night, folks. Hope you had a great Sunday!

Monday, August 11, 2008

I almost had a little bit more to add to yesterday’s entry, but unfortunately for all of you I don’t. After Chris and I had gone to bed last night I got a frantic call from Vanessa Avery. By the sound of her voice I thought that a band of pirates had kidnapped her cousin or something, but no, lizards had invaded her apartment. That of course would have been my second guess. There was some confusion as to whether Chris and I would put on our cowboy hats and wrangle us some lizards, but ultimately the situation was resolved without any further involvement on our part. Too bad. Something tells me that would have made for some great blog fodder.

So this morning as my mind drifted off into the realm of “what if” I enjoyed the solitude of the apartment. Ciambella is still in Berlin, for a few more hours anyway, and Chris was off at I Tatti. I made a strong espresso and ate a huge bowl of yogurt, berries, and a weird plum-like thing and prepared the apartment for another steamy day at La Scala.

Feeling a bit panicked about my symposium research I figured that it would be wise to concentrate on my work so I set up a little work station at the desk. My goal for today is to read at least one article and type up my notes from two previously read articles. We’ll see how that goes.

I was expecting Anna, our landlady, around 1 so when she showed up at a quarter til I was a little surprised (good thing I already put the laundry away—no one wants to unexpectedly walk into a jungle of underwear). She didn’t stay long. She had forgotten some paperwork for the water heater so right after she arrived she was out again with the warning that the water heater guy might show up while she’s out. (Ok. I can do this. I can speak Italian to a water heater guy. I’ll be okay.)

Well, none of that mattered because Anna returned before the water heater guy and she read her book while I read my articles while he took the cover off the water heater and then proceeded to hit it with a wrench for a while. I don’t really know what exactly he was supposed to be doing to it, but I can safely assume that banging a water heater with a wrench once a year is necessary for keeping it in working order.

Anna left with the water heater man after he was finished kicking the crap out of the thing and I went back to my research. I watched (sort of) the Americans beat the Swiss at beach volleyball. Chris got home around 5:30 and Ciambella, fresh off her German holiday, and the Quiet One followed soon afterward. We all spent a little while trying to acclimate to being around each other again in our small two bedroom and very warm apartment until the time came for us all to leave and head over to Za-Za for dinner.

Not long after the four of us settled into our table at Za-Za, which seems to be reserved for us because every time I’ve been there with more than one other person I’ve been seated there, Vanessa Avery, her cousin, Lara, Megan, Dan, and Clark showed up. We spent our dinner laughing loudly and obnoxiously, you know, like we do, and talking about all sorts of things (bugths!). I had such a great time. That seems to happen when I go out with those crazy people. I have to send a special shout out to Lara’s sister, Megan, for really jumping in there with us. I’m very impressed.

After dinner—after we finally got our bill, sheesh!—we went on to Casa di Sizzle so that Clark could dance and we could, hopefully watch some Olympics. I promised Lara that Francesco, the owner of Casa di Sizzle, would have diving on because he’s awesome and wouldn’t let me down. When we walked in and saw that brand new, shiny plasma TV we knew that my assumptions were right on. Not only was he showing diving on the Eurosport channel, but it was synchronized diving! Oh, Francesco… I guess that’s why they pay you the big bucks.

We were there for far too late when finally the troopers, Chris and I plus the kids from LSD (I guess it’s now more like LMD temporarily), said goodnight to the Olympics and Francesco and his friendly wait staff and headed out in the cool night and then on home.

And that’s that. A dopo.

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