Sometimes, I should confess, some Genovese are shocked by my passion for their city. The waitress on Sunday ... she couldn't believe that I had chosen Genova, over the UK and New Zealand!!???
But honestly, at the moment, my life feels like I'm a child again and so joy is the simplest thing really. Small things ...
In these days, joy can be found in succeeding down at the shops. This morning I bought sweet tomatoes, and a pile of focaccia - because there's a party in the mountains tonight and I'm going.
But best of of all, I bought an abbonamento mensile integrato. A month-long bus ticket, so much cheaper than the 10-ticket book I've been using. Thank you to Outi for that idea.
And everyone was so kind to me, to this non-fluent child of the South Pacific, wanting to live in their city.
The photograph ... here's me, casually writing, ohhh, that's just the bounty of my magnificent success!
And there's Coco, my beautiful cat companion here in the city. She came to check out my purchases. We talk. Well really, I'm her slave and I ask her if she needs anything. She likes to wake me in the night, wanting me to rub her belly, to stroke her head and honestly, she taps me on my nose if I try to ignore her and cover my face. Or she kneads my hair ... which is quite disconcerting at 3am. Running her claws through the length of it but never touching my skull. I'm quite impressed but remain disconcerted that she can even do that.
I'm fairly sure she thinks she's hilarious. I find her more amusing during daylight hours however, I have been known to laugh weakly, as she insistently works on waking me up a couple of times every night.
And yes, I could close my bedroom door but I can't. I think it would upset her and anyway, I guess it's nice to be checked ... you know, that I'm still breathing.