I was awakened by a text from Claudio at 7:26 asking if I was awake. Well, no, was the answer. I was still in bed. I replied in Italian in the hope of making a fresh start on day 2. After a quick shower I flung some clothes on and left having had nothing more than a glass of peach juice for breakfast.
Claudio and I walked to the workshop and set to work. He gave me a brief tour, which was interrupted several times by the phone; a taste of things to come! Claudio got me going straight away. I had to break reeds from the reed blocks before removing the old valves and the 'cera grossa' (old/dead wax) from the edges of the reeds. 7 reed blocks took me 3 hours...a personal best to beat next time! However, I did a good job apparently. It was certainly a bit 'noioso' (boring) and messy!
A lunch (first food of the day) of homemade pasta was had before I headed back to my apartment and tried to organise my room a little. Soon after, Erica popped her head round the door asking if I wanted to go to the supermarket with her. Well, after this morning's breakfast (or lack of) debacle I thought it wise to pick up a few essentials to sort my own breakfast every day. Cereal, fruit, bread, iced tea and biscuits, not to mention Nutella, were purchased, although Erica didn't let me pay. "Next time!" she said.
The next few hours were spent watching a movie in my room, as the late afternoon breeze wafted in through the open window. The weather was superb today; sunny and hot with a light breeze. Fa bello!
At 8pm Simone and I headed to Broni, a small town 5km from Stradella, where we met his Viking friends! Fear not, we're not talking ancient Nordic invaders here. The Vikings, as I understand it, are a group of ultras (supporters) for Broni's women's basketball team, of which Simone is a coach. A good group of guys and lots of food! I can now also claim that I'm in an Italian newspaper - a journalist was there to interview a couple of them and a photo was taken. The Vikings insisted I join in! I spent the evening speaking Spanish with a guy called Aris - he's half Greek, half Italian but studied in Spain for a while. We conversed easily in Spanish on a range of topics. My Italian improved today, though, and I used it more.
Already tired, we now advanced to Stradella where we met Erica and her friends, including her boyfriend, in a pub. They were playing Cluedo when we arrived but that soon bit the dust. On the way home Simone gave me a brief tour of Stradella by car. Tomorrow is a free day, so I intend to explore the town.
I'll be glad of a lie in tomorrow, first!
Ciao tutti x
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