A New Friend

Leif is one of the leaders of the Firenze Bike Club...I joined him last evening for an apertivo at Sei Divino, where Rebecca's paintings are on exhibit (Rebecca is the woman who rented my apartment before me) and got to know a new friend. Leif works as a tour guide for several bike touring companies in Tuscany, and is a lifetime "all-around" cyclist who's done everything from time trial racing to loaded touring, to mountain and road biking...etc. We talked completely in Italian and felt good that I could actually communicate on a social level. It is much easier for me to talk Italian with one person, rather than in a group conversation, because a one-on-one conversation is slower and more relaxed. Leif suggested that once I get to know the roads here, I could perhaps become a tour guide too. Wow. I'm thinking of taking a pause from school to digest all the grammar I've learned, and spend more time riding, getting back into shape and taking advantage of other more practical ways to practice what I've learned so far. But continue my lessons with Lucia and my meetings with Filippo.