Lucky 13

Dear Readers,

Thank you, those of you who said you're looking forward to the blog. It pushed me to fill that dreaded blank page tonight.

Fred and I THINK this is Year Thirteen in Viterbo, Italy, where we spend the month of July. He teaches. I work remotely: Laptop. Caffés. Wifi.

It's only Day Two, or Three... depending on whether you count the day we arrive, which is nothing but planes, busses, keys, and SIM cards. There's not a ton to report. The heat's insane. Not only outside, but inside our apartment. We've had this tradition of having wine and cheese on our balcony every night before dinner -- something Italians don't really do. They have wine. They have cheese. But they do not do the "cocktail hour."  This year we have a nice new place, but no balcony. (The man who owned the place we have stayed for several years now died. His daughter has put it on the market.) So we're thinking we might need to take our show on the road. Bring our wine (and beer) and cheese down to the street and find a public spot to sit and watch the world go by. I had not realized how important this little tradition was to us.

Classes started today for Fred. This being a holiday week makes things slow for me, typically, but a few things came through to keep me tethered -- which I need and like. I don't do well with free time. I did, however, walk a couple of miles to a gym I'd learned about on line and thought I might join. Until this year, I've gotten my exercise walking, but it gets kind of lonely (and this year, hot), and I thought, maybe I can find some classes at a gym to give my day more structure, and keep my head (and body) healthy. They advertise 18 euro for a month. A new offer for new clients. Yeah, right, I thought. Twenty-two bucks for a month??? But I am here to tell you it is NOT TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. It is TRUE. It took some time --- I with my Google translate, she with hers, but in the end, the girl at the front desk of this amazing club gave me a card to come in any time I want for the month -- including pilates classes, zumba, cardio, etc. I told her that in the US if you join a gym, you cannot quit because even if you try, they will charge your credit card for months and months and months after you have "quit."  She said, Oh, no. Not here. And get this --- I did not have to give them my credit card! All cash.

So... all I have to do now is show up. Oh, and three times during this month I can go to their spa.... which is a sauna and some other kind of hydro massage. I totally won't go, but it's nice to know it's there and part of my deal. There's also a pool, which I won't bother with, and have no idea if I have access to.... But stay tuned for how I do at an Italian pilates class!

Women's World Cup Soccer has also been fun. I scouted out our spot yesterday to watch the US/England game, first trying the bar where we last watched a World Cup game. I asked, "Sta sera? Qui? Calcio feminili?" (Tonight? Here? Women's soccer?) I pointed to the tv. As she said, "Si! Si!" her body language and intonation said, "What? When? Why? Yeah, I guess! I can put that channel on!" She was enthusiastic but baffled. But she did it. We came with another couple from the program but were driven away after the half by a semi-obnoxious/too-talkative British ex-pat, who was either deaf or just could not hear anything but his own voice... So we watched the second half -- a victorious half -- at home. All good. (The ex-Pats we have met over the years have all been insufferably self involved. A generalization? Maybe... but this has been our experience.)

Today, after I joined the gym, I walked another mile or so and bought a clothes drying rack. Balconies in Viterbo are for growing plants and drying clothes (sipping wine, not so much).... and without a balcony, I needed an alternative to the clothes line provided, which would require me to hang out the window and clip everything to the line... pully it in......in......in... and always lose something to the depths of the courtyard below... I'm just not up for that.  So I bought this huge thing for 20 euro and walked the mile back with it.

I realized today I spend a good deal of time when I'm away from home creating a new home that feels like home. I spend my time searching for things to make life go more smoothly, as if we aren't away. Kind of defeating the purpose of being away. But today was: batteries for a clock in the apartment, so we don't have to find our phones to see what time it is... The clothes drying rack... and I joined a VPN -- an online thing that allows me to watch American tv... like Sunday's Big Little Lies.  So good!

I've saved the pics for last... Captions underneath.

Drinks at Durgin Park (It still lives!) at Logan Airport.....not quite the same as the real deal, but Fred did recognize a waitress in an old black and white photo on the wall from when he was a kid.

Women's World Cup at Cris Bros. Bar.

An American cocktail hour. The colorful balls in my glass are those plastic ice cube type things.
First time using them. Worked well since the wine was still warm.... 

My new gym... Not a wall of mirrors like so many gyms, but huge plate glass windows looking at the Medieval city of Viterbo.

Funny --- the pics on the gym's bathroom wall.... If I had know this type of bum squishiness was revered I wouldn't have bothered to sign up.

The White House's Mother's Day tweet photo irritated me because of the terrible placement of the apostrophe... And at the time, I also found it irritating that the White House was wishing us a happy Mother's Day. (Unfair, possibly, I admit.) So I was wondering if they'd do the same for Father's Day. They did indeed.... with a blue (not pink) color scheme... sans serif (not serif) font... all caps (not upper and lower case) .... version. Somehow this bugs the #$%#&*& out of me, but I admit... if it were from the Obama administration, I might not have even noticed the gender-specific sensibilities of the design...

That's all for now. Thanks for following!