Settling In

Monday was our first full day in Certaldo, and it was a hot one. The first thing that we have to do is figure out how to manage the heat.

We went early to the market to fill up our pantry. We were not the only ones who decided they would get an early start at the grocery store. The market was packed. All stores are closed on Sundays, so I guess Certaldoans must be inclined to restock their larders first thing on Monday. Note to self: don’t grocery shop on Monday morning.

It’s not a huge grocery store, and my not knowing where things are located in the store didn’t help. In fact, I have not figured out the logic of how they stock grocery stores anywhere in Italy. First, each one is different so you can’t rely on your experience at another store to guide you. Second, you might find the sugar, for example, on the shelf right next to the toilet paper so you can’t rely on your intuition. Italian logic.

The other thing I learned is that there are little plastic gloves that you use to pick up your produce. I wasn’t using a glove and I discovered I was getting glowering looks from the shopping matrons. So I located the gloves and continued my produce shopping.

One of the things I was determined to buy was a grill. Giovanni seemed very puzzled when I asked him if there was a grill at the Priest’s House. I tried to explain what I meant, and he said, “Well, we have the fireplace.” I’m sure I’m going to suggest to Bill that we stoke up the ol’ fireplace when it’s 88 degrees in the house as it is. Anyway, our market in Certaldo didn’t have any grills, so we drove in the afternoon into nearby Poggibonsi, which is the largest city in our area, and about a 15-minute drive away. We found a larger grocery store, and were able to buy a little grill. Emphasis is on the word ‘little’ because it is definitely one of the teeniest grills I have ever seen. Bill and I laughed at what the Italians would think of our industrial-sized gas grill at home.

The other thing that we were in search for was a larger fan. The Priest’s House has two little oscillating fans, but they weren’t cutting it. We hoped we would find a fan at the larger grocery store in Poggibonsi, but no luck. Earlier in the morning, when we had explored Certaldo a bit on foot, I had spotted a little store that sold electrical items for the home, but it had been closed. When we got back to Certaldo, we went back to that store and discovered it opened. We found a larger window fan. We are now trying to figure out how best to use the fan to get it a bit cooler in here.

I know I sound like I’m whining (which, of course, I am). However, apparently the Priest’s House hasn’t been used in a couple of weeks and has been shut up tight as a drum. It is terribly hot in here, and we are slowly but surely getting it cooled down a bit. It’s, in fact, terribly hot outside. As we drove to Poggibonsi in our blessedly air-conditioned car, the thermometer showed a temperature of 37, which is about 104 F. And, as I mentioned before, our inside thermostat showed it to be 29 all day, which is about 88 F. So, we are trying to figure out how to manage it to get it cooler.

In the evening, we cooked a steak on our new grill, while sipping one of the area’s lovely Chiantis. It is actually fairly cool out on our patio at the end of the day, because we are shaded by a big tree, and of course the church’s bell tower, provided it doesn’t collapse right onto our little selves! Then we ended the day sitting out on the balcony off of our bedroom, looking at the olive groves and vineyards, watching the sky darken as the sun went down, drinking ice-cold limoncello.

The Palio is running in nearby Siena on Wednesday. The Palio is a bareback horse race that the Siennese run twice each year – July 2 and sometime in mid-August. It is a HUGE deal in Siena, which is divided up into 12 or 13 neighborhoods, or what they call contradas that compete against each other. The town literally fills up their big piazza with dirt for the race. Bill and I plan to go into Siena on Tuesday and check out what’s going on in the way of preparations. We also want to see if we can get tickets to the event.