Well, today we leave Todi. We head out this morning. The last couple of days the fog has rolled in early in the morning and settled in the valley so as I sit here writing on the balcony below me it looks like an ocean dotted with little green islands as the tips of the hills reach up through the mist. The swallows are out flying slaloms in the blue sky above. It's just beautiful.
Yesterday was just like this. So we stayed close to home. Lorenza was not in the coffee shop so we went to sit out in the piazza instead and had our cappuccino and people watched. Then we strolled around some. Stuck our heads into some stores and ultimately wound our way around to our garden terrace at the Pizzeria Cavour restaurant for lunch. Elisa, the very cheery, extremely trim, young waitress who waited on us on our very first night was there. She always seemed happy to see us after that so we were glad that she was there. Still trying to work on my Italian I told her that it was our last day in Todi (appropriately polite sad boo-boo face given as response) but that we wanted to thank her very much for all of her help. I told her that everything at the restaurant was always perfect. Grazie mille. She asked where we were staying. I told her where and asked if she knew the owner of the apartment. She said she did. She asked where we were going went we left Todi. I told her Florence for four days and then back to our home. She asked where. I told her that we were Americans but that we live on an island in the ocean in the Caribbean. I know it doesn't sound like much, but the entire conversation WAS in Italian. So I was feeling pretty good about myself.
Anyway, a couple of beers, a maxi salad for Michael and a tuna and cannellini bean salad for me and a lovely time sitting out on the terrace. When we were leaving we passed her on the stairs and thanked her again. I went to shake her hand. She did the kiss-kiss cheek thing and turned to Michael for the same. Then she looked at me and said something to the effect of, "Lei ha facce bocca?" I looked confused. So she said it again. So my minds trying to translate the Italian....but bocca is Spanish? ok go back to facce....fare is to do? Is she asking, as my French friends do, if I 'make a face' at her? (which would be a bad thing.) Meanwhile, I hear Michael saying, "Yes, yes, of course." So I'm really confused. What they heck? How can he understand her?
Well of course he could because Michael prides himself on the fact that he doesn't speak foreign languages. He just speaks English with the appropriate foreign accent. And sure enough (god damn him) that means he DID understand her because she was asking if I have face-a-bocca.....i.e. face-a-booka....i.e. FACEBOOK. Damn it. So now I am facebook friends with Elisa seen below with us outside the restaurant. Ciao for now.
Yesterday was just like this. So we stayed close to home. Lorenza was not in the coffee shop so we went to sit out in the piazza instead and had our cappuccino and people watched. Then we strolled around some. Stuck our heads into some stores and ultimately wound our way around to our garden terrace at the Pizzeria Cavour restaurant for lunch. Elisa, the very cheery, extremely trim, young waitress who waited on us on our very first night was there. She always seemed happy to see us after that so we were glad that she was there. Still trying to work on my Italian I told her that it was our last day in Todi (appropriately polite sad boo-boo face given as response) but that we wanted to thank her very much for all of her help. I told her that everything at the restaurant was always perfect. Grazie mille. She asked where we were staying. I told her where and asked if she knew the owner of the apartment. She said she did. She asked where we were going went we left Todi. I told her Florence for four days and then back to our home. She asked where. I told her that we were Americans but that we live on an island in the ocean in the Caribbean. I know it doesn't sound like much, but the entire conversation WAS in Italian. So I was feeling pretty good about myself.
Anyway, a couple of beers, a maxi salad for Michael and a tuna and cannellini bean salad for me and a lovely time sitting out on the terrace. When we were leaving we passed her on the stairs and thanked her again. I went to shake her hand. She did the kiss-kiss cheek thing and turned to Michael for the same. Then she looked at me and said something to the effect of, "Lei ha facce bocca?" I looked confused. So she said it again. So my minds trying to translate the Italian....but bocca is Spanish? ok go back to facce....fare is to do? Is she asking, as my French friends do, if I 'make a face' at her? (which would be a bad thing.) Meanwhile, I hear Michael saying, "Yes, yes, of course." So I'm really confused. What they heck? How can he understand her?
Well of course he could because Michael prides himself on the fact that he doesn't speak foreign languages. He just speaks English with the appropriate foreign accent. And sure enough (god damn him) that means he DID understand her because she was asking if I have face-a-bocca.....i.e. face-a-booka....i.e. FACEBOOK. Damn it. So now I am facebook friends with Elisa seen below with us outside the restaurant. Ciao for now.
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