This time I am not talking about Spartacus the cat but “the uomo – the man”..the Roman Gladiator rebel. As it will be raining all weekend I am downloading the Spartacus Prequel from I-Tunes…. getting my “Rome” on as it were. Oh but there is a bit of Dickens in there as I am downloading the new series “Great Expectations”… you know, just to balance out the blood and guts. Although, Dickens can be equally eerie sometimes with his characters…
I was up early this morning to squeeze in a bit of last minute studying before the test…. the dreaded test… I then found myself rushing to get ready and to get there on time. I dashed out the door with a bag of recycling for the drop off at the Piazza and bits of Provolone cheese in the other hand: breakfast. At the school, I scrambled up the 40 stairs (yes I have counted them). Thankfully my teacher does not believe in tormenting us as we were tested during the first half of class. I passed! … it was still difficult but now I am psyched… I want to find a grammar book that has exercises with the answers at the back so that I can keep all of this fresh in my mind. After coffee break and discussion of test, we played a word game called Tabu… I loved it! In fact the other students loved it as well. Will have to make a mental note of that one in the event that I start teaching English. With new classes and students, new friends are made. Some have decided to re-do the level, some are taking a break and some of us are continuing on.
Last night when I was studying Venice flashed in my mind… very clear imagery… and very strong…it was like the Soul or Spirit of Venice was coming to check up on me, show me and remind me…dirty trick I thought because this Spirit knew exactly how I would react…it was almost like I could have stepped through and I would be there. Then the pain of not being there hit me and I had to open my window. So, after my study session last night I poured a glass of wine and opened up a site I had bookmarked on Monday. It was a site of rental apartments in Venice. My contract for the apartment I am in will be up soon… well in September but to me that is soon. A week ago when I was browsing online, I had found an apartment in the Cannaregio area, 1 bedroom, bathroom with tub, unfurnished, in a XVth Century Palace, 2-3x the size of the place I am in and just a little bit more than what I pay now for rent. Its on the 1st floor which I am told might be something that I want to avoid due to “high water”, when it happens. I haven’t contacted the person but seeing this apartment gave me great hope. As I am typing this ELO is singing “Hold on Tight to Your Dream” yet again! I know… corny. As I said before a lot can happen between now and then but I want to try Venice out… Who wants to see me living in a Palace?! I do!!! I don’t care if the city is sinking… actually I do care, in fact I would like to learn more about the city and have even found myself reading articles about the preservation of the city… I have yet to run into Johnny Depp… I thought I saw him here in Rome back in September but then dismissed the thought thinking that someone was just trying to dress up like him. Johnny Depp from Club ’63 … a good year.
I have just finished having Insalata Caprese at Circus Art. Its like a meal for me and so delicious. I know, I thought I was going to have Pizza too but I surprised myself. Maybe tomorrow? The countdown is on for my food writing course with Don Genova… 10 days to be exact : D I am arming myself with more skills also part of the future … the “next steps”. The rain has actually stopped momentarily so that might be my queue to get some errands done. From Bella Roma… ciao for now!
