I have been wondering, with all the little things that were going wrong, if either Etna or Sant'Agata (patron saint of Catania) was trying to dissuade us from staying here. I can't work out which and that is probably the problem, that I have been trusting in both of them and they are historically in conflict with each other. Or something. I know Sant'Agata "stopped" the lava flow. I expect she didn't really.
Despite thinking we were safe to use the "second" sink in the corner of the kitchen, until the landlord can come to fix the main one, I went to make myself a cup of tea and found myself paddling through water. Oh, I'll just mop that up, I thought, it must be from last time. I opened the door to under the sink. The bucket was full to the brim with water. How is that possible, I thought. It turned out Jo had used the washing machine, which was connected to the same pipes I suppose. I opened the door to the corridor, where the cleaning stuff is kept (it is a large flat) and joy, the water was sloshing all over the floor, in the little room. Definitely don't want to be a plumber now.
Yesterday I checked out the local Sunday market. Far from finding a light duvet (it's getting colder) or any house-y things, it was only veg and cheese. But everyone was there, jostling at the stalls, and the veg was fresh and cheap. I have more broccoli than I could ever eat for €1 and I bought a large pepper and a fennel for 80 cents together! I made some rather delicious pasta with broccoli and a ricotta nut sauce (out of a jar). The freshness of the broccoli was amazing. Very tasty, and with vitamins literally going straight into my bloodstream with every mouthful.
On the way back from the market I passed some religious types who were doing the old Sunday call for other religious types, trying to save you at the roadside with a microphone and a guitar. There was some painful singing. You could still get the general gist, I mean you know what these people say in English so it was quite easy to pick out all the stuff about Jesus dying so you can live, etc etc. I walked on by. Reminded me of a picture of Jesus we saw in the ice cream parlour back in Giardini Naxos. He looked quite handsome. Jo remarked at the time that even Jesus had to look good for the Italians, and that if there was a "sexy Jesus" at the church, she might be persuaded to go herself.
Today things are looking up: the landlord and his dad fixed a growing list of small things that needed fixing, so everything in the flat should now be working! Jo went to the gym, finally, after trying to join for 7 weeks, and came back on some sort of endorphin-high. Thank god she loved it. I had a nice lunch with my workmate and her Italian boyfriend who was quite encouraging when I tried to say a few things in Italian. Best news of the day, my phone is back on (hooray!!!!) and I bought some small boots, and another purchase, that are like an Ian Dury song :) The only downside is having confused the pre-intermediates about the past continuous. I knew I would.
It's still warm here. Still not coat weather. We were sat outside having lunch. Madness.
HERETIC
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