Up at 9, took the bus today to school, had a big lunch at Trattoria Anita near the school recommended by the teacher Massimo, then bused back to the hotel, then back to school for my one-on-one lesson this afternoon at 4:30pm. The teacher, Mara, was quite good, and I’m feeling that the current group teacher isn’t doing it – and my classmates are of the same opinion. I explained quickly to her in English where I was with Italian, where my concerns were, and we spent the remaining 50-minutes speaking Italian. I resort to “um” and “ah” throughout, but can mostly get it done – and when I properly use a preposition or the past tense, or remember a word – I am thrilled. I am totally aware of the fillers I’m using, as when doing my public speaking in English they are not there.
The days have been quite hot, and by the final time I was back at the hotel I was feeling it. I went into the common room and asked for a beer, which was delivered ice cold in a glass – and was consumed while watching the Arno flow by. I finally got focused enough to think about dinner, and asked the hotel about a local, simple place for dinner after the big lunch. He suggested Café Gamerini which was a 3-minute walk past the consulate – really nice place, great server for whom it was his second day, and I had a croque monsieur to be more international.
I have been trying to confirm my Tuscan Winemaker’s Experience that Jessica gave me as a birthday gift and have been having problems for a week. I called Jess and she sorted it out in 2 minutes – that was the total of my tech support for this trip so far! The trip is a 5-hour excursion to Chianti this Saturday with wine, food and the beautiful Tuscan countryside.
The days have been quite hot, and by the final time I was back at the hotel I was feeling it. I went into the common room and asked for a beer, which was delivered ice cold in a glass – and was consumed while watching the Arno flow by. I finally got focused enough to think about dinner, and asked the hotel about a local, simple place for dinner after the big lunch. He suggested Café Gamerini which was a 3-minute walk past the consulate – really nice place, great server for whom it was his second day, and I had a croque monsieur to be more international.
I have been trying to confirm my Tuscan Winemaker’s Experience that Jessica gave me as a birthday gift and have been having problems for a week. I called Jess and she sorted it out in 2 minutes – that was the total of my tech support for this trip so far! The trip is a 5-hour excursion to Chianti this Saturday with wine, food and the beautiful Tuscan countryside.