Easter week

The week leading up to Easter (our fifth week in fact) has certainly been interesting. It was really great that Dick and Dorothy came for a visit, to keep us company as it were. While we were in school in the mornings and early afternoons they would hike about the city on their own, exploring the little alleyways and backstreets inside the walls, Dick stopping at an occasional enoteca and engaging the owner in conversation about wine while Dorothy investigated the ceramic shops.

On Monday we met Dick after school -- Dorothy stayed home with a sore throat -- and had a panini at our favorite bar, Quattro Cantoni, and then just strolled before going home. The four of us drove in later for passegiata and dinner at 8 pm at Da Divo, returning home late into the evening. On Tuesday after school the four of us drove south out of Siena through the "crete senese" (the clay hills of Siena) and came into the city (again) for dinner that evening at Boccon del Prete, another of our favorite spots.

On Wednesday we ate at Enzo’s and had a thoroughly delicious meal, again enjoying the repartee with our favorite waiter.

Unfortunately, at least for me, I chose “tonno rosso” (red tuna) which was “molto crudo” (very raw) for an antipasto and about 2:30 the next morning became very sick. (At least we think it was the tuna.)

Anyway I couldn’t go to school – I rather felt like I was 10 years old, unable to go to school because I was sick – although Susan went in Thursday for both the lessons and the theater hour.

By the time Susan got back home I had rallied a bit and felt slightly better although still weak, no appetite and felt quite tired naturally since I had slept little during the night. Nevertheless we had to get Dick and Dorothy down to Rome so they could catch an early flight out Friday morning and about 2 pm the four of us headed off to our night’s lodging, a B & B, the Casa Plazzi, overlooking Lake Bracciano just north of Rome. We stopped at Orvieto for about an hour and a half or so and I dozed in the car while Susan and D & D hiked into the city for a bit of exploring. We arrived at our B & B about 7:45 that evening after a most challenging drive through the back roads of northern Lazio and eventually found our lodging after many twisting and turning tiny streets brought us to their gate. We ate dinner at about 8:30 or so, the only other guests was a German family who arrived a bit later than we did having missed a train connection.

The Casa Plazzi is an interesting place – the owner Gianni Plazzi was for many years in the music production business, and specialized in film music production working on most of Roberto Benigni’s films (but not Life is Beautiful). His house was filled with fantastic things to look at, a very eclectic collection of things to tickle one’s curiosity, and was a wonderfully designed space. It had a breathtaking view of the lake, which ran the entire length of the house. He had a staff of two, a man and a woman helping him and they were characters right out of a Fellini movie, the woman about 30 or 40 had a most gentle nature it seemed and whose expressions changed dramatically moment by moment. We could not have asked for a better or more understanding host for this rather rushed part of D & D’s trip.

After a delicious dinner we headed for bed and got up the next morning at 4:15, showered and left to get D & D to the airport, a drive we were told of about 45 minutes. The directions we had been given the night before by our host were a bit turned around, or so it seemed to us, and in the dark, along the shores of Lake Bracciano we became lost. Not to worry, 15 minutes later we found – or thought we had found – our way and sure enough we had and we soon had Dick and Dorothy at Terminal B, Fiumicino airport. We said goodbye and then headed home, having to get back for our theater show for the end of the session “festa”.

We got back to the apartment about 9 or so and I had to take a short nap – in fact we both did – but got up after about 15 minutes or so, a bit refreshed. I called Luisa Tampone to tell her what had happened and that we would not be coming down to Cerignola for Easter. Her sister Angela called a bit later asking of we would change our minds, that there was a bus we could take from Siena to Cerignola and even her father Peppino got on the phone to ask us to reconsider. We really felt the disappointment but I was simply dead-tired, hadn’t really eaten much except a bit of food the night before, and just felt like I wanted to sleep the entire weekend. Plus we still had to go to school for the show! And so we packed up our things and headed into town for the Grand Finale.

We got to school about 10:30 and had just a few minutes of our regular class session with Egina before the morning break. I got a chance to meet our new student, Stacey, from the UK. She is working on her Italian before entering school and had originally been placed with the elementary group but found it was too basic and is now with our Intermediate I group – and her Italian is very good indeed.

We joined the other “cast” members about 11:30 and made our final preparations for the show. Eduardo, the director and instructor in our class as well, was absent since he had to return to his family’s home on the island of Ischia (off the Bay of Naples) for the Easter (Pasqua) holiday. So the show went on pretty much without a hitch – although I still stammered a few of my lines in Italian of course – but we all had a grand time and the rest of the school seemed to enjoy themselves. We said goodbye to Florina, one of the six of us in the show, as she heads home to Switzerland after being in school here for 3 months.

After the show everyone went downstairs for a light lunch of cheese, salami, bread, crostini with tomatoes, wine, etc. A few of us, including David whose 2-week stint is up and heading off for Venice and then eventually back to Japan, headed off to the Campo to chat for a bit and share an early afternoon aperitivo.

About 4 or so the group broke up and Susan and I left for home, planning to meet David at a nearby enoteca near the Campo at 8 that evening. We did indeed come back into the city to use the Internet (carrying the laptop of course) 6 pm but I was so tired that we went home, fixed a quick meal and went straight to bed early.

Indeed, I slept nearly 12 hours Friday night and after a restful day in the apartment – excepting a brief foray in the morning to buy groceries and another short hop into town later in the afternoon – we had another peaceful evening of doing nothing but sipping a delicious Vino Nobile from Poliziano, fixing some homemade pasta we had picked up earlier in the day and going to bed for another 11 hours of rest.

We awoke to an Easter Sunday of rain, fog and cool temps and one surprise: we had apparently “sprung forward” early this morning. So when I thought I was getting up at 7 it was really 8. So spring is here it seems.

Anyway we are staying here in Siena this holiday weekend, to rest and refresh ourselves. Moreover, our Italian is still in need of serious work and I have missed two class sessions (Susan one) so we also need time to review and catch up as well.

But we are truly sorry to not spend this weekend of all weekends, this holiday of all holidays with the Tampones, the food the conversation and in particular their warmth and kindness that family has always shown us, will be sorely missed. We look forward with great anticipation seeing them all next month after we leave Sicily and drive to northern Italy.

Happy Easter and Buona Pasqua!