Italy Journal
Wednesday, February
27, 2013
TENNIS, ANYONE?
Mara and I enjoyed another delightful afternoon at the
indoor tennis court today. She complained that her back was hurting before we
started, so I suggested that we not play. She insisted that she would be fine,
and she has an appointment for a massage afterwards. We played, but I couldn’t
tell any difference in her tennis. She played very well.
After tennis, Mara showed me an apartment that her family
owns and wants to rent. Will and Gina are coming next week, and are looking for
a place here to rent or buy for vacations, so I checked it out for them and
sent them an email about it. It will be interesting to see what they decide to
do. They are also going with our real estate agent Luca to look at other places
while they are here.
Thursday, February
28, 2013
MADONNA AND CINZIA
This proved to be a busy day! Enzo and I took the car to
have the snow tires swapped back for the original tires so that Peter could
return the car to Milan tomorrow (thank you, Translator Man!) While we were
waiting, we got a coffee across the street and walked a little ways to the
Church of the Madonna of Flowers. Enzo told me the story about a woman who, in December
in the 1300’s, was about to be raped by two men. She prayed that they would
leave her alone, and the Madonna appeared. The men were so frightened that they
ran away. On that same day every year since then, the plum trees in the garden
next to the church have bloomed. Every place else, the plum trees bloom in May,
so this is a special place where they consider a miracle to have happened. We
could still see the blossoms and some fruit on those trees even now.
Later in the morning, Peter and I had a visit from our
friend and former Italian tutor Cinzia and her baby Martha. It was delightful
to see both of them. The baby was happy and loved her “WOW! I FEEL GOOD!”
greeting card with the Georgia Bulldog on the outside! Like our grandsons, she
immediately started dancing on her mommy’s lap when she heard the music. It was
so good to see Cinzia again and to catch up with her. She’s had a tough year,
with Martha’s premature birth by 2 months, her mom’s death and her dad’s
surgery; but things are smoother now. She suggested we go to Bercau Restaurant
together again when we come back in June. We’ll look forward to that, Cinzia!
Thank you for the visit.
Ciao!
Colleen
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