Recent Adventures

So the other day as I left the apartment to venture down my favorite street hoping to discover something new and beautiful, I was stopped dead in my tracks. I SWEAR I smelt Krystal. Yes, Krystal burgers. My tummy is rumbling just thinking about it. Of course, it wasn't Krystal and the smell passed within seconds, but I have been doing so much of this "recognition stuff" lately. Every day I swear I see people I know- one day it's Kat Boyd, the other it's Ben Lowenthall. My brain is in overdrive trying to spot the familiar. Obviously I know it isn't them but it's funny to me every time it happens. So warning: if I am home and don't say hey to you on the street- it means I still think you are a figment of my imagination.

Lately I have been spending a lot of time thinking about how to spend my free time. I have traveled down the main roads countless times but know it's time to explore some unfamiliar places. There is nothing better than feeling like you have seen the whole town, only to come upon a new piazza or a new cute cafe you would like to try. It amazes me how every time I set out to wander without expectation, I am continuously blown away. I hope I will never stop exploring and discovering. The other day I was in one of those 'not expecting to find anything new' moods, but I still let myself 'get lost' in the town. Reggio isn't that small, but it's just comfortable enough that you know how to find your way home from any point, and if you continue to wander you'll usually see something familiar within 15 minutes. So as I was focused on taking the road less traveled, I stumbled upon the most beautiful piazza- one that I had never expected to see. It was on a Tuesday, the day where vendors set up shop in all of the piazzas in town. And it was SO lovely. I had to resist buying all of the gorgeous fresh flowers that were available, but next time I'm going for it- maybe make Grandmother Meme proud and press some!

Speaking of Meme (for all of the Pollock's) I have the most interesting story. Yesterday I went to check out this "gym" (more of a spa with exercise equipment). They introduced me to the pilates trainer who was from Scotland. She was beyond nice to me - invited me to sit with her, have some herbal tea and 'have a chat.' I told her that I was new in town and would be here for about 9 months and she said she did the same thing in Paris when she was my age. Anyway, I told her that my family was from Scotland and that our family name was Beattie. She stared at me with disbelief, "my grandmother was a Beattie!", she said. I was so excited! We need to get Nana on the geneology to do some research. She said she had never known of another Beattie clan, so maybe we are distant relatives?? We ended up chatting for some time and she gave me her contact information and told me to call with anything at all and also invited me to go for pizza some time next week. Like I said, extremely wonderful and kind.

Today I woke up, cleaned up the breakfast table, and then set out with plans to explore and then end up in the park to read- but of course that isn't what happened :) I am finding that nothing ever goes to plan- one of my "lessons" from this trip is how to "roll with the punches" but I will get to that later.

I took another new road that introduced me to some lovely restaurants I would like to try, as well as some cute shops where I won't be able to purchase anything, but it's still fun to window shop. I found the piazza that I had discovered the other day, Piazza Fontanesi, and then kept walking until I found my way to a main street- Via Farini- currently one of my favorite city streets because of this incredible bookstore, a fantastic vintage shop that I visit almost daily (currently for inspiration only- I swear it's the Italian mini-Agora, Airee would be proud), some amazing cafes, and last but definitely not least, the public library.

Every day I try to push myself to do something I am timid to do, things that are so small, but to a foreigner it feels like pulling teeth. For example, walking into a crowded cute and swanky cafe, ordering a cappuccino and a pastry in Italian, and then wondering how much it will be, trying to translate the amount, and the fishing out the euro coins out of my wallet and not knowing where to put them- on the counter? in their hand? or in the silver dish? It's different everywhere you go. Where should I drink- at the bar? at the back counter? at a table? It's hard to act cool and collected when you seriously don't have a clue! But I love that I am continuing to laugh at myself so much, rather than stress- another one of my big "lessons." So today I accomplished two of my 'small goals.' Killing two birds with one stone, the challenge and the reward, I ordered a cappuccino and a cornetto (an Italain croissant that is to die for). It was absolutely delicious! After that, I felt so inspired that I decided to give the library a try. I have been once before and attempted to find the Inglese section to no avail, but today I tried again, and succeeded! I am not lying when I say this, my eyes welled up with tears when I was shown to the single isle of English books. The shelves were stocked with delicacies like Jane Austen, Dickens, Hemingway, Steinbeck, and Bronte, but they also offered some breathing room with guilty pleasures like Pat Conroy, James Patterson, Danielle Steele, and Agatha Christie (AAR anyone?). I was filled to the brim with happiness! I don't know what it is about books, but just one look at them and I get the warm fuzzies. And THEN I almost fainted when I saw they had Harry Potter in every language. Maybe I can check out English and Italian to compare and help me with my Italiano. I also thought about checking out an Italian baby book, talk about basic. But I had to resist. I need to finish my Dan Brown- no more double fisting with the written word.