Today it's hot as hell. I went to see my geometra who introduced me to a nice guy in the assistenza fiscale office and then I went to the bank and then to the post office and paid my ICI - property taxes - here in the village. The muratori were in my cantina working on the walls and floors. I bought two more fans for the house and did a grocery shop at a village store. Later in the day I watered the garden and later still I took the trash to the tip. One can't do any of these things without socializing all the way to and from any point. You run into almost every soul you've met since you arrived a year ago and everyone greets you and, more often than not, stops to talk. The guy from the news and stationery store, the tobacconist, the pensioners, the herbalist, the local cop, the real estate agent, and local farmers - we all take an interest in one another. And that's not to mention the socializing with the bank teller, the store keepers, the postal clerk and the people in the offices
One gets up with the sun, breakfasts, checks e-mail, showers and dresses, does errands, cleans house, has lunch, reads, takes a nap, works in the garden, takes phone calls, opens a bottle of wine and makes dinner, watches a movie, goes out to the piazza for some air, and then thinks about going to bed around midnight or later. (I think you skip the nap in the winter when the sun comes up later and there are fewer hours of light and little gardening.) Nice life.
We also have a new museum with paintings done in the 14th and 15th centuries by Lorenzo di Pietro called Il Vecchietta, Simone Martini, et al. They were born here but the paintings had been taken to Siena and Montalcino. Now they're back.
It was a busy weekend. Trips to the nursery and the picture framer and visiting Paolo and his donkeys and dogs. Lots of gardening and then dinner at Carmela and Eugenio's with Gary and Zak. We watched Italy score one goal for themselves and one for the U.S.
Troppo gentile!!! And Brazil beat Australia.
Ciao, Mauro! Now here's the summer garden. It's coming along.
This is the last of spring and summer is nearly upon us. Zak and Gary and I went to northern Lazio yesterday to look at a stunning estate with stables, pool, tennis courts and a helicopter landing pad!!! Nice to be rich, nicer if you are a sweet person like the woman from Torino who owns the place.
We spent the morning in Bolsena, a pretty town on the lake, before going off to the property. Then we headed to lunch at a new favorite restaurant right on Lago Bolsena. Wonderful fish.
Its a very different landscape down there from what we have in southern Siena province and it's only an hour away.
Today was windy and cool for June so I did a lot around the house, or rather Gaz did a lot around the house. Along with light fixtures and toilet paper roll holders, I finally got my PACE (peace) flag flying.
My household goddess, a purchase made in Pienza from a sculptor heavily influence by Etruscan work, now has pride of place in the kitchen by the stairs up to the top floor.
And in line with my freedom to post political commentary here at expatsinitaly.com, I am sharing a link to a homeboy's column. This San Francisco columnist is hilarious and on target.
MORFORD
I keep running away from home. I think it's in anticipation of my first full year living here. Won't be going south this winter. So I went to Lucca with Gary and Zak and stayed at Luisa's villa and looked at a lovely house in the hills and checked out the Italian beach scene.
We had wonderful meals and brought back pastries from the best bakery in Lucca or perhaps in all of Toscana.
I think there are three things that are really pissing me off about my native country right now. The first is the hypocrisy of the administration in deploring the civilian massacres in Iraq by our troops.
Che palle!!! Then there's the xenophobic anti-immigrant noise that reminds me of the fascist right here in Italy: Fini's party and the Lega Nord people. And finally, the craven appeal to homophobia.
I'm really glad I'm out of there and I wish New York City and a few other places would declare independence from the rest of the nation. It's mind-boggling that the corruption issues in the government haven't provoked major strikes or demonstrations. People at home seem to have gotten novacaine shots to their brains.
So I'm back to my rants.
