a really folk-rock situation

I have to say that life is good here in Castiglion Fiorentino. These last few days have been filled with nothing short of supreme contentedness. After what has seemed like weeks of smothering heat, the skies finally opened up on Wednesday, and it has been raining on and off ever since. I got caught in a huge rainstorm on Wednesday afternoon, as I was walking from the school down to Britt’s house. I ran for cover under a nearby loggia (an arched covering) and ended up being stuck there for an hour. Luckily there was a chair, and I pulled up and watched it rain. I have never heard thunder quite this loud before – I would have not been surprised in the least to see an actual chunk of gray sky come crashing to the ground. It even started to hail (which, I suppose, is an actual chunk of sky crashing to the ground). It was lovely. It has rained 2 of 3 days since then, and I have to confess a melancholy love of rainy weather and cool afternoons. It smells like autumn outside.

I have found that if you let worry go, good things find their way to you. I call it God’s providence; you may call it extremely good fortune if you like. Regardless, I have found myself cloaked in kindness these last few weeks. Two of my dear friends, Doug and Summer, are here for the week, and I have already found my sides splitting with laughter. I have found work (sssshhh, don’t tell) washing dishes at a restaurant in Arezzo (with the guys in my band, no less), which is making up for the school being closed during August. In fact, our band is going to be playing at the Ferr’Agosto celebration at the restaurant this coming Sunday night. Ferr’Agosto is a national holiday in Italy (it coincides with a major Catholic holiday), and the owner of the restaurant wants us to play that night (I have no idea who is going to wash dishes that evening but I can assure you it won’t be me).

Washing dishes isn't exactly glamorous, but, as Gumo is so fond of saying, it makes for a really folk-rock situation. He is convinced that once our band is famous, we will all look back and laugh at the sweltering summer nights we spent washing and drying silverware. I am sure that is true; I look back at last night and laugh even now. There is a group of Neopolitans who are working on a project in Arezzo (muratori, they are called; carpenters, wall-builders, etc) and their company is under contract with our restaurant, so they eat there every night. Last night one of them bought a copy of my CD and someone put it on the overhead speakers; quite a strange thing to be washing dishes in a foreign country while the clientele is listening to you sing. Regardless, I soon had acquired 20 new fans, all of whom came by the kitchen on the way out the door to flirt and say bel voce, etc. Wacky Neopolitans.

We ended up in Pienza today, a beautiful town, not too far away, that is world-famous for its pecorino cheese. O, Mama mia. (Imagine if we went around saying, "oh, my mother."). I had a huge sandwich made with salami and pecorino, so huge I had to smash it down just to fit it in my mouth. We wandered the main street for a while, taking delight in the setting sun and the supremely good panini. Pienza is one of those towns ridiculously full of charming alleyways, ancient walls covered in ivy, and lookout points that seem to be some sort of movie backdrop. We hung out in the main piazza for a while, near a Renaissance palace built by a Pope. When we got tired of people-watching, everyone decided it would be a good idea to give me a really folk-rock hairstyle. See Exhibit A.

Meanwhile, the folk-rocking continues. I am about to begin seriously pursuing venues for the band to play in January, when the guys come over to visit from Italy. If you know anyone at all who might be able to help with booking this sort of tour (far harder to book than mine was, which wasn't easy), let me know. And don't forget that I still have about 2 weeks open in October, should you find yourself needing me to come play in your living room. Likewise, you could always take an Italian holiday and catch us over here in our natural setting. We have three more shows before I leave...

lots of love to you all and i am looking forward to seeing each of you soon...
vanessa