Lots o Wine!

It's been almost a week since I posted so here are some ruminations...

I thought I could become fluent in Italian after taking language classes and living here. Turns out it's much harder than I thought. Italian is a lot more complicated for me than German was, but I was also 37 years younger then. Whatevs, life is great and I'm happy to be retired with Gwyn traveling and having adventures together!

I finished my 3rd week of language class yesterday, one more week to go. I have progressed from level 1 grammer to level 2 (of 6) which I am proud of. It's like a puzzle, you get some rules, read the sentences and figure out the correct conjugation for verbs or the correct articles and adjective endings. Not that hard to do on paper. Talking however is a different deal altogether! I forget words, my vocabulary is limited and the words I think I know, I am not sure of. When I try to search my brain for a word the first thing that comes up (as a foriegn word) is German, then Spanish... just not usually Italian.

Saw a free concert in this room in one the of Medici palaces by a local string quartet.

The reason we picked Firenze over other Italian towns/cities was because of the art schools. Yea, haven't even taken any art classes yet, but that is going to change! Next week I will start taking classes at Accademia D'Arte Firenze. Just 6 hours a week of drawing and painting, but it's a start!

Wait, you were wondering why I said "Lots o wine?" Here's the locale for a girls weekend! A dozen differen Tuscan wines on tap for only 3 euro per glass! I think Gwyn and I will walk here one evening after she gets back from Chamonix.

Cheers ladies!