Slept late after making pasta with tomatoes and oil and garlic for dinner last night. I could hear the Italian family across the courtyard dining with their friends. It was heartwarming. I am writing again which is a very good sign. I can’t believe how comfortable I feel here. Today I went to see another Health Club, because Palestra Ricciardi was smelly and their machines were very antiquated.
Today I went to the new gym, Klab, and it is much cleaner, but expensive. I will join that club and try for a refund at Palestra Ricciardi. I toured the area around the train station, and looked at Scoula Lorenzo de Medici. I think Cynthia was right,,,,,,I will probably enroll there, because it has a larger student body and I will get to know more people. Plus I think the curriculum is more diverse and there will be a better chance for me to enroll at my specific level. Then went to the train station and oriented myself with the ticket process. I had my first conversation in Italian with the ticket agent. It was fluid and he understood me completely and I understood him. I learned how to use the self-service ticket machine and found out the schedule for the trains to Napoli for my trip to Ischia, which I hope to take on Tuesday or Wednesday.
After seeing the gym, I headed for the cell phone company and asked some questions. I’m not going with Pixcell. Tomorrow I will get a SIM card with Vodafone or WIND. Then I browsed around the Lungarno and reminisced along the Arno about the first time I was there as a 16 year old student, when I bought a charm of the Pieta on the Ponte Vecchio. Can’t believe that was 35 years ago. I also recalled the photo of me and Dennis on one of our Italian vacations, on the Ponte Vecchio.
Then went to La Bussola, the restaurant owned by Bob Mc Intyre's daughter Sandi. It was closed, as today is Sunday. Then went to the supermercato, where I bought pancetta, anchovies, bread, pomodori, laundry detergent and water and wine. I did my first laundry today and my jeans came out white. Somehow, I bought powdered bleach instead of laundry detergent.
