I'm quite settled in, back in my old apartment, working with my same artists, back to my routine. returning had it's hard parts but I'm glad to be back, the fall is beautiful here, and now the weather is turning cold and brisk. When I arrive at the studio in the morning after my bike ride across town my cheeks are bright pink and my eyes water a little form the cold. luckily I have lots of heaters there to keep me warm.
Raz and I have wandered the city looking for good landscaping spots for him, we've found some good ones and he's been painting quite a lot. I brought my camera along as we wandered the city, here's some of Florence:
My next goal is to document the markets a bit better. Raz and I go to the market a few times a week where we visit the Butcher, numerous stand with fruit and vegetables, vendors who sell lentils and rice at wonderfully low prices, and booths selling olives and cheese. I really love shopping in the market, it has such a communal feel to it and the food is fresh and delicious. I've also been able to find things there that aren't available in the stores where I normally shop. Cilantro has been eluding my my entire time in Italy, and I discovered it's called Corandolo here, and they do sell it in the market. I made a delicious barley salad with pomegranate and cilantro and chicken the other night... all thanks to ingredients from the San Lorenzo market.
The environment in my apartment has changed quite a bit since I left in June. I now share the flat with 3 Italian boys in their early 20's. The flat has 3 rooms, one is mine, the room next to mine belongs to a waiter named Anatoli, and the third room is shared by two Sicilian boys who are studying music at an academy in the center.
These two are nice, Pierro and Paulo, they don't speak much english and I don't know much Italian, so our interactions are brief and usually amusing. I asked Paulo if school was good, and he responded by saying, "drums" while mimicking using drumsticks. Just the other day I made some popcorn and Pierro came in and asked if I was going to watch a film, I told him no, and bowl of popcorn in hand I turned and asked how he was doing, he politely held up a hand and said "no thanks" thinking I had offered him some food. I think Paulo is kind of scared of me, but Pierro is pretty outgoing and likes Raz so they chat sometimes. They're nice, but young and still don't understand things like taking out the trash or completely cleaning the food off of dishes when they're washed. they also don't understand things like balanced meals... but I'll write more about their amusing diets later. All in all, I like these guys. their room is across the way from mine so we're able to stay out of each others way most of the time.
Anatoli on the other hand is a problem. he's a nice enough guy, but his concepts of 'loud' and 'normal hours to be awake' are completely off base. These things wouldn't bother me so much if I didn't have to share a very thin wall with him. But to try and look at the bright side it's making me much braver about pounding on someones door at 2 am to ask for silence. I think he's getting sick of me always asking to turn his music down though because today he pretended he couldn't hear me for the first few minutes of knocking. In any case, Anatoli is a problem. if I want a decent nights sleep the rest of the time I'm here, I may have to move. we'll see.
Roommate issues aside, it's nice being back. it's good to see all the people I know from last year and it's beyond wonderful to see Raz again.
I'll post again soon!
