Day 2 - Tuesday morning around 10 am a man came to turn on the gas. With that taken care of we could all get hot showers. Unfortunately the stove required a match or a lighter, which none of us had, so we still were unable to cook. By now my craving for a cup of hot tea was beginning to get the best of me. There are 2 women also in the house , the mother of the Brazilian girl (Isabella) and the sister of the Venezuelan girl (Maria) who are not here for their citizenship, just here to keep the girls company. Who in the heck would do that??? Anyway, they are allowed to exit anytime, so they went to the store to find a lighter. Once we could cook, things definitely improved. And for me, I now had access to hot tea. I feel civilized again. If you look at Maslow’s chart of essential items for life ( I don’t remember what it is actually called) - TEA is the basic essential element for me. No doubt about it. It’s Tea.
After lunch on Tuesday the owner of the apartment came with a repairman who spent time on the water heater and draining the radiators. Heat is now good. There are only 2 pots in the kitchen cupboards, it is minimally furnished to say the least. The landlady said that previous tenants had stolen all kinds of things so she was reluctant to put anything else in here. Great.
The day was uneventful- and no sign of any police. Figures.
As soon as the clock read 6:30 pm, my coat was on and I was out the door. First stop was the COOP ( the local grocery store) where I found a small pot perfect for boiling water. With only a large pot and a frying pan ( that is used as lid for the big pot), and these things are in use for cooking meals all the time, there is often no way to make tea, and I need it frequently. The small pot solves that issue. I also picked up some food for Wednesdays meals.
After getting this stuff stowed in the apartment, I went out again to find some dinner. The Venezuelans were making chicken and aspargus and eating in that night, the Brazilians had made a huge pot of some pasta stuff at lunch time so they were also staying in, and I was eager for some fresh air. I walked into the center of the city, which is very close, and took some pictures. I need some “evidence” for the picture albums. Of course I need to document this adventure!!! The city has an old clock tower, a beautiful church, a walled in center of the town, and shops and apartments outside the walled area for a few streets also. When you get beyond the wall on the far side of town, the land drops down sharply, so you can see the town is on a hillside. Beyond all that is just farmland as far as you can see. There is also a nice park down at the bottom of this hill. On the side of town where the apartment is located, it is flat, so you wouldn’t really know you are on a hillside, or so it seems to me when I look down the street from the apartment gate.
I wandered around exploring the streets for alittle while, and decided to stop for dinner at a little trattoria, sadly I forget the name already. I ordered spaghetti Bolognese ( what else would I choose- I’m in the heart of Bolognese territory here!), and a tomato salad. I wanted to try their cassata ( cake filled with ricotta and candied fruit like a cannoli filling), but I resisted the temptation- I had some gelato back in the apartment. It was the best Bolognese sauce I’ve had so far since being in Italy, and I have been doing a Bolognese sauce survey of sorts back in Venice. The tomato salad on the other hand was not so good. But, for a total of 8 Euros, I was ok with all that.
I walked back to the apartment, did a bit more work and called it a night. Fortunately the heat was working well, so no double layers or extra socks needed. It was a comfortable night.
No comments:
Post a Comment