Nonetheless, I was without caffeine so once again submitted to the 5 Euro espresso doppio. Must get myself back to that one cute place where I managed to get a doppio AND honey croissant for only 3 Euros!
Checked the forecast just to make sure I didn't have more rain coming, as tomorrow I plan to get some laundry done. There's a free washing machine at my place, but no dryer...just a clothesline, which is of course the smart and ecological way to dry your clothes. Well, no worries...sunny and 95 every single day. I'm hot.
Lingered in the courtyard for quite awhile, then made the hike back to ye olde former gardener's residence, just in time for a little lunch (you guessed it...cheese and cured meat, though I picked up a melon on my way home, but the dude said "per domani", which I was pretty sure meant I shouldn't eat it right away, and once I consulted my dictionary confirmed as much). Then packed up the cello and hit the autostrade for Cacciano for my first cello lesson in 20 years.
Self-portrait while driving on the autostrade:
In line for my biglietto for the toll road:
Civitella in Val Di Chiana from the road:
Got to Cacciano around 3:00, where Emily was there to greet me. We set up camp in the dining room of what looked like a fabulous Tuscan hill house. Had a great lesson -- my memories of cello lessons of the past are rife with tension and struggle and labor and judgment and trying to get away with not having practiced enough. So I was a little nervous but obviously had nothing to lose, as I told her I didn't practice much, and she said my playing was in pretty good shape. She gave me a bunch of good technique tips, then we worked on the first movement of the Shostakovich Sonata, and finished up with a little Lee duet. There was lots of help with getting rid of tension, which is something one constantly has to work on, and while I know this intellectually, it is remarkably helpful to have an observer to touch your thumb and say "relax your thumb", and touch your shoulder and say "relax your shoulder", and so on. It was a great lesson, and surely among the most enjoyable I've ever had, not only for the great instruction but also the interaction with someone who speaks English!
Emily and my cello in front of Cacciano:
Then I hit the road back to Firenze, which gave me time to think about the impact that tension has on our lives. Basically, we're all always getting tense in one way or another, and then not having a good time, or not getting what one expects from one's body, or not communicating effectively, and the more tension we have, the more nothing seems to go right. I noticed how I was really tense and stressed when I first started my vacation, because everything was new and seemed like this huge challenge. Then after a few days you start getting your rhythm and not freaking out about stuff, just going with the flow, and as soon as you just start doing that, everything ends up going more smoothly and just working out. Hope I can keep that nugget of wisdom handy when it's time to find my way to France.
Driving by a sunflower field near Civitella:
Getting gas at the service area -- note the AutoGrill in the background. Can't wait to check it out on my way to France:
Got back around 6, once again managing to NOT get lost. Had a swim, then made dinner (spaghetti carbonara and salad again). Then took an evening constitutional, walking up the lovely treelined street in my 'hood, called Viale Nicolo Machiavelli, which is chock full of fancy villas and lovely parks.
Then practiced cello for awhile to help enforce all the good stuff Emily had taught me, noticing how much easier it was to play. Then chillin' and reading and off to bed.
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