Interactions

I may never reach the end of this post, and I don’t know why I leave it so late to write … blame holidays! Today was unfailingly sunny - it may turn out to be the best day of our week weather-wise - and I think we can say we didn’t miss much of it.

Breakfast was the usual confusion of an unfamiliar routine, and busier than last night’s dinner might have suggested. It seemed an age till we were ready to go out, but eventually we were headed down the madness of the road into the town. We found the gap in the wall - just before the hospital- ducked down some steps, and walked down a narrow road which led eventually to the fisherman’s harbour that we remembered from our last visit. (It’s right below our hotel).

That’s where I took the photo. The whole place was flapping with papal flags and arches of lights, presumably to celebrate the Papal succession, and busy with tourist wandering and locals swimming or chatting or having lunch. Eventually we sat at a tiny table at the edge of the water and had drinks and listened to an itinerant singer singing at a group at the next table.

We must’ve looked unlikely, for he didn’t approach us, but somehow the man at the table to my right caught my eye … and we ended up sharing our life-stories, in Italian, because he spoke no English. He and his wife were from the edge of Naples, had been married for 50 years, had several grandchildren and thought that Naples and Scotland had an affinity. We reached the stage of sharing photos of grandchildren, and when we parted his wife kissed me on both cheeks and said we were good people!

So there we are. I’m exhausted but very pleased at the way my Italian is working. I’ve eaten too much - but I’m also dropping. It’s midnight and I’m already in bed…

Over and out for the count.