First Weekend

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Well, I arrived Friday morning and have been going non-stop ever since. I finally managed to get everything set up so I can access the internet from my hotel room. I've gotten some wonderfull photos from the windows of my room, but my camera batteries have died and my battery charger isn't working. I'll work on finding some more batteries soon so I can upload the shots. I have a view of a street cafe below the balcony from my bedroom and a view of the hotel terrace and some very old buildings from my bathroom.

My flight into Milan arrived an hour late, so I missed the shuttle I planned to take, but made the next one. Then the shuttle took twice as long to get to the train station as I expected, so I had 7 minutes to find Giovanni and get on the train to Brescia. And my phone does not work here, so I had no way to call and let her know where I was. Somehow we managed to make it to the train on time, but I will never again travel with two checked bags AND two carry on's--even if I am staying for a full month. Fortunately, my limited Italian vocabulary allows me to say "I'm sorry" and "excuse me" so I could apologize to the man I fell on when I missed the step on the shuttle and all the people who had to squeeze together to let me and the suitcase collection get to my seat on the train. They were all very nice and helpful. Those who understood me responded with "no problemo"

Giovanni took me to her house and fed me some wonderful spaghetti for lunch and let me rest. She planned to spend this weekend at her flat in the mountains (pre-Alps) and asked me to go with her. I was exhausted, and a weekend in the mountains sounded wonderful. However, little did I know, Giac already had a full weekend planned for me, so we decided she could take me to the mountains later in my visit.

Friday evening Giac and his wife took me to a dinner party. It was hosted by Guido and Francesca, who live in a fascinating building. The building is about a 5-10 minute walk on narrow cobblestone streets from my hotel. (It's exactly as quaint and charming as it sounds.) When you enter the front door there is a glass panel on either side of the entryway showing the Roman aquaducts under the house. (And since that means their house was built after they quit using the aquaducts, I'm pretty sure that makes it younger than Giovanni's house.) Many of the other party guests spoke English quite well and made an effort to talk to me. There were at least 5 physicians present and at one point the conversation was about the relative quality of the two local hosptials, but it was in Italian, so I can only imagnine what I would have been able to learn if I had studied Italian instead of German in college. I would have loved to tell them about my dissertation, but decided not to inflict it on them.

Saturday morning I walked to the local historical museum, Santa Guilia. It is in a nearby monestary that dates back for centuries. It shows the history of humans in the Brescia area back to prehistoric times. In one part they have enclosed the stone and mosiac floors of a building that was uncovered on the sight. There are suspended walkways around the excavation so you can see it well without damaging the find. It is really a great historical museum. To get to Santa Guila I walked past what remains of an old Roman building of some kind. I did not expect to be so impressed by them, but it was just so unexpected. Not 50 feet away is an apartment building and a cobblestone road runs right in front of the ruins and is still in use. I think that is what struck me the most, not that they have ruins from the Roman empire, but that they live with them and are in such close proximity on a daily basis.

I'm learning to navigate this part of the city based on the decor of the outdoor cafes. If any of them ever switch out the table cloths, I could be in trouble. My backup plan is to use gelatto shops as landmarks.

That is only a little of what I've been up to, but all I have time to tell you now. I have some work to do before my presentation in the morning and I only have a short while before I have to get ready for the dinner meeting.

Arrivederci.

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