Priest-right out the gate-even before coffee. Just stepped out the front door and bam, there he was. Cappuccino. Croissant. Priest followed me in to the place, so clearly he didn't hear that I'd met my Sunday obligation. I was about to pull up my recap from Saturday to show him, but he was joined by a friend and seemed to forget about me, so I dodged that bullet. Whew!
Went to the Market. Found some brands that label-wise look like they've got US equivalents, but had very different names. Except tictac. Apparently the Italian word for tictac is tictac.
I wanted all the things, including something called Russia salad, which from the ingredients looked like a type of potato salad. Being Irish af, I'm all about trying anything with potatoes in it, so I gave it a whirl. In fairness, I've no basis for comparison, so I'm not sure if that's the way it was supposed to taste, but at the very least Italians shouldn't make Russia salad, because it was basically about half a jar or mayonnaise with some vegetables mixed in, and it could ruin their reputation. If it was made the right way, Russians shouldn't make it either, because it was ga-ross.
I had the most amazing pear I've ever had. Immediately turned back around, headed for the market, and bought more. Now I have to figure out how to smuggle some home with me. Drug trafficking? No, son... I traffic in old world produce, and I'm here to tell you, it is far more worth the risk.
Had a picnic in Piazza Santa Croce. We were protected from pests by a medium-sized brown and white pigeon who for some reason appointed himself our lunch bouncer. For over an hour he patrolled back and forth in a semicircular perimeter he set in front of us and wouldn't let any other birds near us. We named him Richard. For some reason there was one Finch he allowed past the perimeter on occasion and even shared the scraps we threw with him. We called him Finchy McGee. There was another finch, Shakes McCool (bit of a spaz, that one) that joined Finchy a few times, but Richard didn't like it when Shakes got too close, so mostly it was just Richard, Finchy, and us.
Did some laundry. Oh dear lord, the soaps they use here smell divine. They even have scented starch, which smells lovely and how brilliant is that idea? I always lament using starch at home because then my clothes don't smell as good as they did. No need to worry about that here... Want your clothes to be wrinkle free and smell so good everyone sniffs you? Italian scented starch to the rescue! So that's more stuff I've got to smuggle home with me.
Does anyone know the rule on laundry care items? How many of those can I bring?
Had our Aperitivo on the terrace of our airbnb and watched the sunset. Glo-ri-ous!
Decided to keep to the neighborhood for dinner, so we ate at this adorable little cafe in Piazza Santa Croce. I had pumpkin soup with ginger, pork loin, and roasted potatoes - happy to report it was just the salad - Italians can go right on making roasted potatoes, because they hit that one out of the park. Frankie had house made spaghetti with wild boar. We had Vin Santo and cookies for dessert.
We love this area so much we started scoping out the real estate situation. Turns out the palace across the street is for sale. It's 12 million euro, but it's got 16 bedrooms and 20 bathrooms, so we're thinking of starting a commune. Who wants in?
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