Day 11 - Tuesday June 1st

It was morning and I was in Dublin.

Made my way through passport check and security, and then....I got to walk across a runway! I have always wanted to board a plane like that. It was so cool.

I was so antsy on this flight. Yet I was falling asleep. It was weird. I had been up a long fucking time at this point and was just running on fumes.

The plane landed in Rome and we walked onto the runway again. Two huge busses picked us up and brought us to the terminal. I was feeling nauseus. I couldn't tell why. Bad food? Nerves? Whatever. The line for passport check was sooooooo long. I was dreaming of having my Italian passport and one day not having to wait in the line for 'Non EU passport holders'.

The Rome airport is huge, but fairly easy to navigate. My bright orange bag was not hard to find. Neither was the train. I bought a ticket and waited. The train ride was so weird. I kept falling asleep and was worried I was going to miss my stop. Then I had my first Italian interaction. Train stopped. I didn't know where I was. I turned around and said 'Scuzi.....Centrale Statzione Termini?'......'Si, si'. Ah, a small victory.

Now onto find a train to Arezzo. Termini is bigger than Grand Central. So it was a long way to the next train. I decided in that moment that I don't like big cities. I was feeling totally blah. I just needed sleep. There were self service ticket stations so I tried my luck at that. Another success.

I sat in a car on the train across from three very well dress Italian business peeps. One lady who looked like she might burn a hole through me with her eyes. She was wearing a Gucci suit and carrying a Louis Vuiton Bag....so I probably looked pretty scrappy in my dirty skirt and bright orange Jessica Simpson suitcase. But whatever. The two dudes next to her were smokin hot. And they helped me with my bag.

Once I was on that train I started to feel better. It was a beautiful ride to Arezzo and I saw the Italy that I came to see. Not the dirty old Rome train station.

In Arezzo I had another interactive Italian success. Asking the newspaper man for a train ticket. 'Scuzi...treno to Bibbiena?'....'Si, si'.....'Graz....un per favore'.....'Due ottanta'. I am really good with numbers so I love buying stuff and using euros. I forget to ask where the train is. I turn back around and there is a huge line. So I ask another newstand lady. 'Un ene' she says. Not that 'ene' would be hard to translate, but I am happy that I at least memorized the alphabet.

This train ride was even better. Here's some pictures taken at different stops:

And Armando was waiting for me at the station. He was tall and thin with messy curly hair in a ponytail and rough tan skin that looked like he had

been working outside most of his life. He was very nice. We start driving up the hill to his house. I feel like Heidi going to the top of the Alps.

We arrive in their little hilltop town of Biforco and his wife, Fiona, has this great dinner all ready and waiting. The kitchen was amazing too - like Julia Child's. Open cabinets, pots hanging on the wall, little pockets of shelves everywhere, my dream kitchen. We eat white lasagna with chard, salad, hunks of cheese, bread, and freshly picked cherries for dessert. We put olive oil, salt, yeast flakes and apple cider vinegar on our salads. What a nice combo!

They have a son - Arjuno who is 16. And two daughters - Nila is 10 and Gaia is 5. Arjuno is polite, but seems annoyed with me. Nila is super sweet too, but seems weary. Gaia is just an all out entertainer so she likes anyone who pays her any attention.

Fiona takes me outside and shows me this sort of guest house they have in the back yard. Hmmm...I'm not feeling this at all. It would be hard to go from David's room with everybody to sleeping alone in this house out back. She takes me inside to the spare bed in the girl's room. Yes, this is right. I brush my teeth and then delicious sleep.