last thoughts of Perugia
+ the cold weather added to the medieval flair of the city. there is nothing more i like then seeing my breath come out into the freezing air, even when the sun shines.
+ old people here fought harder for the free chocolate then the kids, and that says a ton. i mean, elbows are weapons. and so are italian leather stiletto boots on matronly women. saw a giant perugina baci the size of a small car. drink some chocolate liquor flavored with mint.
+ i bought a couple of chocolate SALAMIS. yes, fake chocolate salami sausages, complete with a dusting of fine sugar to complete the realistic skin and sugar string.
+ i had a looooong dinner last night with a group of Italians, one of whom i met in Rome. an interesting exercise, partly exhilirating and partly holy shit scary. not a single one of them, other then Paulo, spoke English at all. not their fault; more mine for not readying my language skills more before coming over here. and there i was seated between 10 hot women and a couple of guys and kinda like a deer in headlights. but after an hour, i loosened up and they asked me the usual ("aaaaah, San Francisco!! eees beautiful!? si?" and "Bush or Kerreeee?"). i still can't roll my R's but my pronunciation is better after last night. dinners in Italy are hours and hours of eating and drinking. its their equivalent to the U.S. watching TV (yet the women are amazingly skinny here) and they eat all night. so i finally got my main secondi course at 11pm. and i was already stuffed with cheese, prosciutto, wine, awful beer, and these wonderful olives stuffed with lamb and cheese and then FRIED. heaven. i also showed them my Italian Conversation lifesaver of a book and how Skip had scribbled out the offensive lines such as "Do you have a condom" or "Would you like to go home with me". i love him. and they all thought he was handsome (or, "andsoom.") duh!
+ things i miss in the US: super carnitas burritos from El Castillito Taqueria. spicy tuna rolls from Sushi Zone. cheeseburgers. tacos. salsa. thai panang. spicy black bean sauce. big cobb salads. friends. boyfriend. family. not in that order. can you tell i am hungry?
+ things i don't miss about the U.S.: huge cars. the SUVs of Italy are the tiny two seater smart cars. i love the small cars here.
i leave tomorrow morning for a town with a population of a little over 4000. so you may not hear from me until Verona, after the 20th.
also: i think May or June an Oakland move will commence for Skip and I. this has me bouncing.
ciao!
+ old people here fought harder for the free chocolate then the kids, and that says a ton. i mean, elbows are weapons. and so are italian leather stiletto boots on matronly women. saw a giant perugina baci the size of a small car. drink some chocolate liquor flavored with mint.
+ i bought a couple of chocolate SALAMIS. yes, fake chocolate salami sausages, complete with a dusting of fine sugar to complete the realistic skin and sugar string.
+ i had a looooong dinner last night with a group of Italians, one of whom i met in Rome. an interesting exercise, partly exhilirating and partly holy shit scary. not a single one of them, other then Paulo, spoke English at all. not their fault; more mine for not readying my language skills more before coming over here. and there i was seated between 10 hot women and a couple of guys and kinda like a deer in headlights. but after an hour, i loosened up and they asked me the usual ("aaaaah, San Francisco!! eees beautiful!? si?" and "Bush or Kerreeee?"). i still can't roll my R's but my pronunciation is better after last night. dinners in Italy are hours and hours of eating and drinking. its their equivalent to the U.S. watching TV (yet the women are amazingly skinny here) and they eat all night. so i finally got my main secondi course at 11pm. and i was already stuffed with cheese, prosciutto, wine, awful beer, and these wonderful olives stuffed with lamb and cheese and then FRIED. heaven. i also showed them my Italian Conversation lifesaver of a book and how Skip had scribbled out the offensive lines such as "Do you have a condom" or "Would you like to go home with me". i love him. and they all thought he was handsome (or, "andsoom.") duh!
+ things i miss in the US: super carnitas burritos from El Castillito Taqueria. spicy tuna rolls from Sushi Zone. cheeseburgers. tacos. salsa. thai panang. spicy black bean sauce. big cobb salads. friends. boyfriend. family. not in that order. can you tell i am hungry?
+ things i don't miss about the U.S.: huge cars. the SUVs of Italy are the tiny two seater smart cars. i love the small cars here.
i leave tomorrow morning for a town with a population of a little over 4000. so you may not hear from me until Verona, after the 20th.
also: i think May or June an Oakland move will commence for Skip and I. this has me bouncing.
ciao!