Another day of dense fog, ominous clouds and intermittent rain in Pietrabuona. Would love to stay home again and just read/study/nap/write in no particular order. But duty calls, I have promised to join Riccardo and his son, Vittorio, for lunch. I hope that the fog will clear up by noon so I can see where I am going. And more importantly, other drivers can see ME. Driving here is a scary combination of Keystone Kops and lawlessness. Italians drive down the middle of the road, straddling the solid white line until oncoming cars necessitate swerving into their own lane at the very last freaking second. It’s unnerving. Charlie and I agreed on almost everything but this is one case where our opinions diverged wildly. He loved driving here. He loved that Italians drive decisively, as if they have somewhere to go and don’t dawdle. He drove like an Italian. Me, I’m grateful to arrive at my destination in one piece and not have killed any pedestrians along the way. Where there are no sidewalks, people walk along the streets, in dark clothes, or cross the street at faded pedestrian crossings without waiting for the light to change. I make a note to remember where those barely visible pedestrian crossings are and to be on the lookout for people. Also, dogs since they don’t bother with pedestrian crossings at all, sigh. And I think tailgating (In Italian, tallonare) is the national sport second only to soccer.
I spent a lovely afternoon with Riccardo and Vittorio and their high energy dog, Paco, who never stopped moving for one minute. R and V seem to be at peace now and have settled into their lives without Antonella who, until her premature death, was the center of their world. Vittorio, with very strong opinions about everything, is surprisingly open to whatever comes next. He would like to come to America, and we talked about taking a road trip together. Maybe after he gets his Master’s degree.
Came home and took a 2(!) hour nap. I didn’t realize I was so tired. When I woke up, I heard Stella and her housekeeper, Arminda, arguing. I went downstairs to see what all the fuss was about. They couldn’t decide which months comprised autumn, which months comprised winter, etc. I was still too sleepy to care. Besides, Internet.