Up on the Mountain….

So it’s been about a week and a half since the Sada
Sats left…and I am amazed at how quickly the time is
passing… I thought I would be going crazy being alone
up here on the mountain. But I am really actually
enjoying myself. And am taking day trips and doing
things in town too…


The Sada Sats left on Monday. The rest of that day
and most of Tuesday I spent reading, watching movies,
laying in the hammock…that sort of thing. I was still
pretty wiped from the Green Group so it was nice to
have a couple of days to totally veg.


And then Wednesday was my 23rd birthday! Yea! Happy
Birthday to Me! And thank you so much to everyone who
called and emailed on (or around) my bday…it really
made me feel connected to home. In the morning of my
birthday I had made appointments at the local spa type
place. I’m not sure if this is just this particular
location or all places like this in Italy…but I found
it a bit odd. Before having any treatments done I had
to get my blood pressure checked by a doctor. And it
wasn’t the lush inviting spa environment you imagine,
it was much more clinical and matter of fact. But
still…


First up was a mud bath. I’ve never done this before
and it always sounded like fun…and you only turn 23 in
Italy once right? Well…it wasn’t really a bath…you
went into this little room and take off your clothes.
Then a lady comes in with a bucket of hot mud, which
she spreads out, on a table. You lay down in the mud
and then she sort of rubs it in to the rest of your
body. Then she covers you up in lots of blankets and
you wait for about 20 minutes. She comes back,
unwraps you and you stand in a corner while she hoses
you down. It was…odd. I might try a mud bath again
if it was more of a bath type experience…I dunno.


Then, on to the massage. They are much less concerned
with modesty here than we are in the States. For
example, the therapist didn’t step out of the room
while I undressed. Second, there was no draping. At
one point when I got cold she did add a sheet… I’m
sure all of my MT friends are dying right now…I guess
they missed the boundaries talk. And, overall the
massage was ok. She used a LOT of oil and very little
pressure…but any kind of intentional touch is
therapeutic so I know I got benefit out of it.


And then on to the pedicure. It was very nice and now
I have pretty pink toes so that’s good. J I had been
thoroughly buffed and so headed into a nearby town
called Citta de Castello for lunch. After wandering
around a bit I chose a place just off the main street
of town. I had a nice lunch of pasta and
bruschetta…and of course stopped for gelato on the way
out. I came home, took a nap relaxed and made myself
a nice salad for dinner. And that’s all there is to a
birthday in Italy. J


The next two days were consumed in the anguish of
knowing that my English version of Harry Potter was
caught up somewhere in customs. This was amazingly
painful. How could the rest of the world know how the
story ends and my book is just sitting there in some
Italian airport waiting for who knows what to happen
so it can come to me! The man who works at the SS’s
real estate agency was helping me try to figure out
the customs stuff and he happened to mentioned that
there was a jazz concert in Castello on Friday night,
which was supposed to be good.


So Friday night I headed out to hear some Jazz. I
happened to notice, as I was walking towards to stage,
a bookstore on the main square that sold some English
books. And as I frantically searched the window…there
it was…in the lower corner…tucked away… the 7th Harry
Potter…in English!! But the store was closed and
didn’t open until 9am the next day. So I went and
enjoyed the concert and wondered if they had more
copies in English somewhere else or if that was their
last one. Gulp!


The concert was actually, very good. There was a nice
size crowd but not so big that it was overwhelming.
And a lot of families were there too. I was actually
amazed at how late the Italians keep their children
out. I was leaving just before midnight and I saw
people walking in with their babies and
5-year-olds…that just seems odd to me. But maybe they
figure it’s summer and their baby really wants to see
some good jazz music.


So the next morning I was up early…and on a mission.
I got to Castello and realized that this was also a
market day. So the whole town was full of people and
booths and general merriment. But I had one goal in
mind. Get to Harry. I walked into the store and
asked for HP in English. The girl went and took the
copy out of the window…it was the last one she told
me. And it was mine! All mine!! Now that I had Harry
properly in my possession I decided not to rush home
and start reading…but to draw out the anticipation.
So I wandered around the market, bought some fruit,
had a café…and when I couldn’t stand it anymore I came
home and sat down to read.


I tried to stretch it out as long as possible. I
tried to make myself get up and do something
productive after each chapter…but c’mon this is Harry
Potter and you really just can’t put it down. So in
about a day and a half I was through the book. Here
are my overall thoughts: not my favorite in the
series, but I was really quite amazed how she managed
to tie in so many things form all 6 previous books.
And she did a great job of tying up a lot of loose
ends. (I won’t say more in case you haven’t read it…I
don’t want to spoil it for anyone).


And I think I’ll end there for now. Next time: a day
trip to Arezzo, a day trip to Monte and other
enthralling tales!

Love and Blessings,
KNL