"This Week in Reggio..."
Well, I'd just spent about an hour composing my weekly note, only to have the computer go psycho and delete it for me... How thoughful!
Anyway, I'll try to recap...
Saturday: In the morning, Alle and I went for a drive which took us to Pietra di Bismantova, an awesome rock formation in the mountains nearby. From a distance, when we first could see it, there was a moment of "OOoooh-aAAAaaaahhh" when it was framed on either side by the snow-capped mountains beyond. I took pictures of the scenery and of the tiny church nestled beneath the rock, and we relaxed and enjoyed the warm sun and cool breezes for a while. I kept trying to get a shot of the bank of clouds nestled between two mountaintops, but I don't know if I quite managed it... Then we headed home for a late lunch and a nap (nap for me, anyway - Alle opted to read my novel). After I woke up, we walked to the city center to do a little shopping. A little ring shopping, that is... We selected two simple, gold bands at the tiny jewelery shop near his old house, and then we walked to the piazza in front of the town hall. The celebrations for Carnival and San Valentino's Day were still going in full swing - little kids in costume (like this), parents buying them balloons and candy, the open-air markets bustling with activity, confetti everywhere... And we walked home in the coming dusk, before Alle went out to get us some Chinese takeaway and we watched Pink Floyd At Pompeii (which he'd never seen) while we ate. then off to bed around Midnight.
Sunday we slept late, and after lunch made our way to Canossa for our private tour (by Alle and Rob's friend Maria) of Castello Rossena. This castle in the hills outside Canossa is around a thousand years old, is remarkably well-preserved, and now is a hostel for travellers! The views here were incredible too, and I tried to get pictures of the Emilian fog, but again, I don't know if it worked out... Then Alle took me for a drive through the outskirts of Parma, to the roads where he and his mates ride sometimes. I don't know how he does it! I mean, the ascents! The descents! No guardrails on winding roads! I was intimidated in the car, for Heaven's sake... As evening fell, we drove home, and after dinner, we sat and watched my DVD of the making of Dark Side of the Moon... cool...
Monday was pretty normal, really... work for Alle, stuff at home for me...
Tuesday we went shopping after he got home from work. We went to Grand Emilia, the shopping mall near Modena, to find a new blouse for me for the wedding. (I wound up buying three - plus a lace scarf - pretty!) We also shopped for food for me to cook while he's away in Russia next week...sigh... On the way home, since neither of us had eaten and it was nearly 9:30 pm, we stopped at the McDonald's in Reggio Emilia and had a sandwich each, splitting some fries and a Coke. I could swear that the chicken sandwich tastes different from what they have at home, now... it tastes like it did 20 years ago, when I loved 'em best... Maybe it is the sandwich from 20 years ago - who knows? But I liked it all the same... We put our things away and trundled off to sleep, satisfied with having got the things I needed.
Wednesday brought the visit of his friend Claudia, and my first taste of Italian Gelato (like ice cream, but much, much better...)! We savored Pistachio, Hazelnut, Nutella and Giovanne flavors (I think that's how to spell that last one...), and Claudia broke our "no gifts" clause for the wedding by giving us a set of sheets for the bed. (Flannel, blue, with a cool, retro pattern on them.) We talked until late in the evening, reading The Book of Bunny Suicides, and then she bade us Buono Notte and left. Rob and Andrew visited Dad during this time, but we didn't meet up. We'd made plans for Thursday night, though...
Thursday morning, it was snowing. Rob told us that it was snowing in the mountains (and drizzling in Reggio). Later in the morning, our drizzle turned to snow, which clung to the trees but melted on the street. As the day progressed, the temperature dropped, and the snow made its presence felt. However, we had plans for the evening, and a light snow wasn't a problem. Alle and I thought it a good idea to check out the ristorante where everyone would meet after the wedding. A nice dinner out before he left for Russia, and we'd take Rob and Andrew along. However, we didn't count on the following:
The snow had fallen all day long.
It was sticking.
Alle's directions to the ristorante weren't accurate.
He was low on gas.
People drive like idiots even in the snow.
What should have taken maybe a half-hour or so took us nearly an hour and a half, and we settled in at our table in a dining room with only one other patron. We ate our pizzas, spoke to one of the gents running the place, and explained our hope of seeing the hall where we would be on the night of the wedding. That became another 45 minutes of discussion and planning (and a free bottle of wine!), and we didn't leave the place until 11pm. After removing nearly two inches of snow from the car windows, we made our way back home down snow piled streets and past a few cars overturned in the canals alongside the road. It was Midnight by the time we got home and said good night to Rob and Andrew, and we made our way upstairs to where Dad was anxiously awaiting us. We went on to bed, but stayed up later still, discussing our plans and the decisions made that evening, before we drifted off somewhere after one a.m...
This morning, the snow was melting, but I took some pictures anyway. Of Alle, getting into his car (lol), and then of the street in the snow... Gosh, I hope they turn out, this time... Oh, yeah... This appeared in the paper on Wednesday, though we didn't find out about it until last night, when Rob told us. Apparently, Dad has been scanning the paper every day, waiting for it...
And that's all for now... I'll help Alle pack tonight for his trip, and then see him off in the morning...sigh again...
Buongiorno, all!
Ciao!
Kim
P.S., from what I understand, this is where we'll be married...Nifty, huh?
