s a n d y f e e t . e x p o . i t a l i a . 9 9

sunrise from Paolo's balcony

Arividerci Positano... Not much to report for today. Now that I can connect I have much catching up to do on E-mail, etc. so I spend a lot of time working at the house. Take a couple of strolls, shoot a few pics, do a little shopping. Mostly trying to relax to get ready for another day of travel - thinking about what I can shed from my growing pile of possessions. I have not bought much and nothing big but my bag is filled and straining at its zippers. After some renegotiation, I settle my bill with Paolo and see little of him after that. He is coughing and grumpy when he awakens but has one more last little kindness to bestow upon me -- a lemoncello to go. I tell him to call me if he ever gets back to Texas and he can stay at my house - gratis.

Salve Cesena I think I am getting an early start (I get to the internal bus stop by 7:30) but it is almost not early enough. It is 9 before I get out of Positano and noon before I arrive in Naples. In Roma I get my tickets straight through to Cesena. The trip is fairly expensive (64.000 Lire) and I find that my assigned car - #5 - is the diner car and my seat does not exist. It is a long trip to Bologna where I swtch trains again - the last leg of my trip and I am impressed by the two teenage girls sitting across from me who have obviously just paid a visit to a book store: one is engrossed in Baudelaire, the other in Herman Hesse and they keep reading passages aloud to each other with great enthusiasm. I almost miss my stop but once made aware of my problem the two lit fans prove another pet theory of mine (that people who like books are generally nicer than everyone else) and scramble to help me get my luggage on the track before the train leaves again. I am deeply grateful. I found my hotel easily, took a nice hot shower, touched base with Azzurra, tried connecting with no success and went to sleep early.

One of Cesena's squares just before siesta time. Lots of old men on bicycles - probably discussing politics as tomorrow is election day in Italy.

June 12 - Cesena I sleep well and until 9 am - very unusual for me so I must have needed it. I follow the signs toward the center of town and find a cafe for an espresso and croissant, which I consume standing up. I pay about $1.50 for this unsatisfying experience and see sympathy in the eyes of the cheerful young woman manning the cash register who seems to put an additional measure of friendliness in the "bon giorno" she tosses as me as I walk out of the door. This small kindness for some reason makes me feel very lost and homesick indeed and I weep quietly behind my shades as I walk down the main street of Cesena. A few minutes later I am over it and I think there must be something interesting to do/see in Cesena on a Sat. morning and am determined to find it. Left: feets on deserted streets. Don't know why the camera felt the need to flash but i have discovered a new way to make my nose disappear.

I keep following signs to the center of town and manage to stumble on the market area. Now this is more like it! It seems like there are hundreds of booths and a big crowd of spectators and shoppers and I feel much better. I stroll and look and touch and ponder and no one seems to notice my American dress or my foreigness. The venders smile and speak to me in Italian and I am able to pass as a local for a few minutes, anyway. I end up purchasing two dresses - one made in Australia and spend a grand total of 30,000 Lire - less than $20. I also manage to find a copy of the English language Herald Tribune and then a sidewalk cafe where I treat myself to a glass of wine and some panini.

lunch

By the time I head back to my room at the Alexander (about 1:30) the streets are for all purposes deserted - it is siesta time - and the shops all closed. I get back in plenty of time to take a shower, try on my new clothes and relax a bit before my 3:30 ride with Azzurra's father to the wedding. Here I am, hard at work in my room at the Alexander

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