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weathering the
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 Wow on a lot of fronts!!! It is the end of July, and the temperatures continue to soar here, but that is nothing new. It hovers between 98 – 102 F (38 – 40 C). It is coming up on my first month back in Rome, this time to stay, but sometimes I wonder with the bureaucracy that is Italy. Rosa and brought in the paperwork back in April regarding our marriage status and when she went in yesterday, 3 months later, to find out if anything had been done, as this relates to my getting permanent residency here in Italy, saving hundreds of euros in import fees of my stuff etc., they had done nothing and the papers continue to sit in a pile collecting dust with the bureaucrats, saying they have up to 6 months to deal with this. In the meantime, I need documentation to stay beyond the 90 days showing I am allowed to stay here. She even was told by some non – natives, awaiting their immigration status, to speak Italian at the city hall when she started speaking English to the bureaucrats. I think the American in me sometimes rubs off on her. I am surprised she didn’t go off on them in Italian saying some choice words. I am glad I was not there. I would have. I was here opening doors for the workers, working on our new home, or gutting it, so that everything new can be done and something to look forward to, as well. Oh, and we flew to Catania to attend the wedding of one of Rosa’s friends, where we spent the weekend.
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So, given Rosa and I had time before the concert, since it did not start until 9:00 pm last Wednesday night, we thought going to Perugina for the tour of the factory would be fun to do, so we hopped into a taxi and 23 Euros later, we were there. And, yes, it would have been, if we had known that a reservation was required and only two tours are offered each day, we would have gotten tickets in advance, except on Saturdays with three tours a day, but it is a Wednesday. You guessed it, and the website is not clear. When we arrived, we were told, along with 10 others, from Sweden and Hungary, and others, that they were closed for tours that day. Like Walley World from “National Lampoon Vacation”, when the Griswald’s arrived, after the long, long, full of craziness trip from Chicago, we were stopped at the entrance. Okay, our taxi ride was only about 20 minutes or so, but the sentiment is there.
 Heat and humidity are the call of the week and the foreseeable future, and the rubbish on the streets of the Eternal City, at least in parts. I know this is everywhere in the western world it seems. As you know, the past three summers I have lived in Roma, different parts as I took and apartment, here, and apartment there and for sure, July was the hottest month and then it seems to dissipate. This year, July, has been especially stifling and while it is only half done, the heat wave continues, but again, I have heard this across Europe and in the US as well. The excitement of being here in Italy, given the current climate in America, no pun intended, is still there and just the other day, Rosa and finalized the design of the kitchen, so one headache down. I do see the condo coming together by October, which is when we need to be out of the condo, we are currently in downstairs from our new home. I am writing this post from Perugia where we arrived late, on what was supposed to be a fast regional train of 2 ½ hours, that turned into a 4 ½ ordeal, as we made several long stops due to train breakdowns, in stations, maybe the grid shutting down due to the excessive heat, some up to 25/30 minutes for reasons unknown. At least there was air conditioning and at the end, the conductor offered a snack for the inconvenience, but we are here and fortunately, we were able to get some good food at a restaurant, about 10:30 pm last night called the Black Cat and it was very good, been around for 50 years, but unlike Roma, places here in Perugia close earlier, so we ordered from some premade items and enjoyed dinner.
When I arrived the 4th of July, it was late and so I booked into the Hilton at the airport, but more importantly, Rosa was there awaiting my arrival and while it had only been 2 ½ months, the time melted away. I was truly home where I was to be, with her and it was wonderful and still is. It is a funny thing that I thought the place that we would stay for 3 months until the condo was completed (fingers crossed), this is Italy don’t you know was in an apartment in momma’s building. No, it is the same building as our condo which is wonderful. Less moving later which is a blessing. Not that I have lots of stuff and don’t plan to accumulate, but the building does not have an elevator, so I will be getting in my steps. It was also so cool to see De Lillo Bachrach on the address button, not only on the outside gated, yes this is a gated courtyard and building complex and on the address label of the actual building, C7 is home. Momma got that done and I almost cried about this amazing journey I have been on to be here.
The Wi-Fi here, as expected, was a bit iffy, but seems to be good now. Typical. I was not happy with Mint Mobile and expressed as such, but after many fits and starts, over about a one-month long process with them, the Wi-Fi calling seems to work, but I am afraid to mess with the phone settings for fear of losing the connection, but also must tether my US phone to my Italian phone when I am out. May I will write down the settings for each situation, until it becomes automatic. Stuff to learn and get used to and lots of things to work on. Yesterday met with a local DMC (Destination Management Company) for those reading this not in the industry that has a focus on truly unique experiences around Italy.
 As I mentioned at the end of last week’s blog, I headed out of London and took a few days for myself up north to Newcastle and to a little village called Seahouses, and the opportunity to see my birds. I have had the pleasure over the past 35 years to see puffins in several different places from Alaska when I first saw them back in 1987, on a halibut fishing trip, where I did not catch any fish, got seasick, but found a focal point and it was a little bird off the side of the boat and it was puffin. I want to say that it was a tufted puffin, but it also could have been a horned puffin. In any case, it was a puffin and that was the start of my love affair with these amazing little birds. I have held rescues, rest in peace Toti, in Iceland and returned to Alaska to see a circus of puffins on a few small ship sailings, taken a boat trip off the coast of Maine. I also saw them cliffside the last time I was between conferences in the UK, this time last year in a little town near Hull. Of course, this love affair with these amazing little birds lead to the naming of my travel agency back September 2007 and the collection of art and other collectibles are some of the few things I have retained over the years and will be shipped later this year to Italy. It was hard to decide what to keep and not keep and eventually, I will donate, but I plan on being around awhile and wish to enjoy the collection for now. In any case, the return to Newcastle was nice so I had a chance to see it more fully, via a Hop On Hop Off circuit, as last year, I used Newcastle as a base to see Hadrian’s Wall. This time, it was to have another chance to see birds and the train and bus to this little town of Seahouses was very plenty. When I got there, I was not sure the boat would get out, as the whitecaps on the North Sea were intense, but we did, and it was quite a roller coaster ride. While the first boat I went on those 35 years ago, was a seasick ride, I had no issues this time, as I had prepared myself with a version of Dramamine and ate properly beforehand. |
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November 2024
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