Day Two

1 Decembre 2008
Day Two.
Starting the way yesterday ended was not my hope. It was cold, and the apartment, still empty. In my best estimate, I woke nearly every 2 hours to the sound of shutters being thrashed against the façade of the centuries old structure, in what appears to be a typical breeze through this high hilltop city. At about noon, local time (6am for my body clock mind you), I sat up, cocooned in 3 blankets and two layers of clothes to explore the city. Still without a shower, I give myself a once over, and am surprisingly preserved (HACCP works! 40-140 people, that’s Fahrenheit). So, layered up, expecting the worst, I step outside…IT IS WARMER OUTSIDE THAN IT IS IN THE APARTMENT! Apparently the drafty windows filter out increased temperatures in order to maintain safe storage of live protein. Thanks, but next time, I’d prefer normal body temperature. As it were, I ran upstairs, partially disrobed, down to one layer, with my computer and strolled the streets to find the restaurant. After losing myself once or twice through the narrow streets and winding dead-ends I finally get myself on track and locate the restaurant. I step inside, at no surprise to Erio, my surrogate host while Chef Lorenzo and Kevin are touring North America. He tells me that I was misinformed about the internet access at the apartment, and I will have to access it in the restaurant only. Fair enough, I’ll have to find a way to creep in early to satisfy my needs to communicate with friends and family (hopefully you’re all commenting and giving me your updates here and in my e-mail(s) as well!). Anyway, after posting my first blog, writing e-mails and having expired my computer battery, Erio ushers me out of the restaurant because it is 2 o’clock and we’re closed until 7:30. 10-2, 7:30-close. It is the slow season, so I imagine the schedule reflects that fact. So, in the rain/hail, I scamper back to my refrigerated abode and explore what I can do to keep me warm…and then a fuse blows. No lights. No POWER. The fuses in the hallway dictate that all is well. The Fuses in the entryway reflect the same. I can’t help but half laugh and fully curse this predicament, wondering what exactly I’m going to gain from this adventure. Even now, I am engulfed in this experience as a COMPLETE page turner (sorry for the cliché Professoressa!) but I genuinely cannot wait to know what is in store for me next. So here we are, the descending sun, the cold, my empty stomach, and my Italian-English Dictionary:

Alloro Then
Tagliate Beef
Para But (which is SPANISH, too, and here I thought that would only confuse me)
Ma Then
Asciugamano Towel
Coniglio Rabbit
Peperone Bell Pepper
Melanzana Eggplant
Zucchina Zucchini
Repose (rest) In Reposo
Roast Arrosto, Arrostire(meat, also the infinitive)
Braise Brasare

A much shorter list today, but, there wasn’t an 8 hour flight involved, and I spent as much time as I could sleeping to pass the time. At about 5pm, Eleonora, Chef Lorenzo’s wife, let herself into the apartment to assess my predicament. It is at this point that I should have called Rosanne Innes, my high school Italian teacher, to praise her up and down because I could understand nearly every sentence and phrase that Eleonora used to express herself. I was stunned at my own cognoscente abilities, and it proved worthwhile. Using as few words as possible, I explained that I had stayed in these conditions the night prior and was prepared to do it again. She insisted that I pack a bag for the evening and repeated three times that she would arrange a place for me to stay. I was to meet her at the restaurant at 7 (mealtime, d’ora di mangiare ) and she would have news for me. Grazie Mille! Dinner was delicious, Rabbit in the style of porchetta, roulade stuffed with potatoes, olives, herbs and rabbit liver. Simple, well seasoned, as were the peperi, melanzani e zucchini. All finished with a drizzle of olive oil. I can get used to this. I brought my knives, and my computer, so I sharpened my most used tools, and updated my parents and one of my brothers on my news. Eleonora used Erio to translate, and booked a hotel room for me. It has HEAT! and HOT WATER! So, now I’ve showered, written, learned and am ready to sleep to recover, instead to avoid hypothermia.

Ciao Tutti!