If you’ve ever had a day when your internet is moving along very
slowly, and then BAM, it starts to move fast, then you know what my day was
like. All week, I’ve been trying to open a bank account and setting automatic
bill paying. Today, all the chips finally fell into place, and even the bank
had no delays. 
The morning was used up with banking, and then the afternoon
was used up by cooking. I made pranzo (lunch), which was basically a salad and
some zucchini con pomodorini (zucchini and little tomatoes) over some pane
(bread). We at a little lighter lunch knowing we were heading to Ristorante
Netti tonight. I also cooked lunch for tomorrow, beef osso buco.
This evening, my cousin Mario and his fidanzata (girlfriend
in this sense, but also means fiancé) Cassandra stopped by to say hello and
catch up. It was nice to see them. Shortly after they left, Mario’s parents, my
cousin Renato and his wife Dorette, arrived and we headed al centro (to the
center of town).
Centro was desolate when we got there, with the exception of
restaurants. We had to wait for a table at 9:30 at night, and didn’t get to
order until 10:15, eating at 11. When we got done, we headed back, passing an
Elvis impersonator who arrived in a pink Cadillac escorted by three American flag
emblazoned Harley Davidsons. They rode right past the restaurant. As I’m
writing this sentence, at 12:52 a.m., there are fireworks exploding above the
town center. Summer has officially arrived in Italy.
