Well, Easter has come and gone, only to awake and find that we are now enjoying another holiday, Easter Monday (Giorno dopo Pasqua – the day after Easter). It is a serious holiday as even more seems closed up this morning than yesterday.
We did enjoy Easter, however. After our Easter calazione (breakfast), we ventured out to walk about with the Italians. It was a little after noon and the square was crowded. Polley managed to swipe a table and chair right under the nose of two guys who I think had been waiting for it, but had briefly turned their back. We had a caffé freddo (cold coffee) as the sun was shining and it was feeling quite warm. Just beyond the caffé the street was jammed with scooters and cycles as each Italian man seemed to want to display something larger, more colorful and powerful between his legs! As we watched the strutting that was taking place, I couldn’t help capture this photo of some obvious early childhood training.
After coffee, Polley and I strolled in the opposite direction from our apartment to view the apartment that we were originally scheduled to rent. It was tucked away in a small courtyard, not far from the train station. There was really little to see and, like our current location, did not seem to have many windows. Both seemed about equidistant from the center of the historic district. From there we just wandered around the periphery of the neighborhood before returning for our afternoon glass of vino. Then home for special lunch treat. We had bought some special cheese, called Caciocavalla (horse cheese). It does not come from a horse, but is a firm white cheese that has an almost butter-like center. Polley created a delicious Caparese, using this cheese, basil and some delicious tomatoes. We ended up using the firm part of the cheese with the basil and tomatoes and using the softer part to spread on some delicious radishes. It was a real treat and made us a little bolder about our forays into the markets.
Following siesta and some reading, we ventured out to the Shui Wine Bar. They were having another Sunday night party and we were invited. We purposely waited until 8:30, for it was said to begin at 8. When we got there the place was packed.
We just can’t count on these Italians: late when we are early, early when we are late. Anyway, it was great fun. We, of course, were mostly flies on the wall, but with the variety of people, the outfits and the Italian energy, it was a delight.
And the owner, his wife and the cute little waitress always make us feel most welcome.
The weather did not fully cooperate, however. By Oregon standards, it hardly called for umbrellas (ombrelli), but for southern Italians, not used to a lot of rain, they were prepared. I enjoyed this photo of this variety of ombrelli at a table across the way.
Anyway, glasses of wonderful red wine were only 3 euro each, some Polley and I sat and had two glasses each. About 10:30, as the crowd thinned out a bit, we headed home for a late evening snack. A very memorable Pasqua, made even more memorable later that night as thunderstorms struck. In our apartment that adds other acoustical dimension. As I may have mentioned earlier, above the shower is a kind of skylight, made not with glass, but with corrugated fiberglass. When it rains, the sound is deafening. However, it must have been a full day, as wed seemed to sleep soundly through the worst of it. By morning it was cloudy, but mostly clear.
I leave with another couple of gargoyles of the day, as we work our way across the façade of Santa Croce.
Happy Easter (and the day after) to all.
Ed and Polley
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