Il 3 ottobre 2011
AssisiYesterday, after a smooth flight, which was the easiest part of the trip, and three different trains, I arrived back in Assisi around 3:00 pm. Although I had packed a lot smarter this time around, two small suitcases-one for Israel and one for Italy, carrying them up and down the stairs in three train stations left me with sore muscles, and thinking longingly about floating on the Dead Sea...alas. Andrea and Roberta, the charming couple who own the apartment I'm renting, picked me up at the station in Assisi. I also had the pleasure of meeting their two young children who loved the Israeli chocolate bar I had purchased for them at the airport in Tel Aviv; Giovanni said that the cioccolato was buonissimo! Andrea and Roberta, who also own a terrific trattoria next to la Piazza Commune, renovated the apartment themselves and it's just beautiful with a view of the Umbrian valley that seems to go on forever.
It's a good 15 minute (major) uphill walk from my apartment to l'Accademia Lingua Italiana Assisi where I study so I expect to return home in good shape, unless I eat too much pizza, pasta, and gelato which is a strong possibility. This morning, I had a wonderful reunion with my three former teachers (one of whom has become a good friend); I got big hugs and warm welcomes and felt at home and very happy to be back. There are three other women in my class, all about my age, and it's a comfortable blend of personalities and skill levels. Carla, our teacher, announced that speaking any language, but Italian, is not allowed and she will be charging us one Euro for each English word she hears! This is enough of an incentive for me to forget my “mother tongue”, although I still need to be careful because Hebrew words are mixed up with Italian ones and I had to stop myself a couple of times this morning when I used the wrong language!
During our 15 minute “pausa” I bought some groceries and had un caffe e un cornetto at one of the “bars” on the piazza; not taking long for me to resume my “lifestyle” in Assisi. The pizza and birra for lunch also brought me right back to where I “left off” last June..and so my Italian diet resumes...did I say something about returning home in good shape?
Floating vicariously... :)
ReplyDeleteYour blog is such a find. I also wrote voraciously about my time in Assisi last year, on my blog ioparlato.blogspot.com. My apartment, for the month of November, was
ReplyDelete#20 Via San Paolo and it was such a haven to me as I was recovering from the loss of my mother and taking a break from my life on Cape Cod with my husband and my newly widowed father. Andrea is a friend of a friend and his trattoria is my favorite. I look forward to reading more of your posts. Love the parallels and am eager to find out more about you.