I’m back. I already miss the daily cappuccino and cornetto breakfasts, the fab fresh-made pasta, the Smart cars, the spinach pies, the Fanta Lemon, the tiny quaint alleyways, the old ladies, and all the freaky fashion (especially mens). Italy and Greece were very fun. There’s much to say about it all, and a new photo gallery in the works, but you’ll have to live with just a few things until I’m free of this jet-lag haze…
1. The evidence
That was the first day in Rome, when I practically got heat stroke. It’s been so cool here in Chicago this summer that suddenly adjusting to 95 degrees was a little shocking. One nice thing about Rome is the abundance of spring-water fountains all over town so you can always douse yourself to cool off, but there’s no hiding from the relentless Mediterranean sun. Air conditioning is not as common as it is here, and even when you do find some, it’s usually set around 80 degrees.
2. The knitting
I finished the little Debbie Bliss baby cardigan on the trip, in fact the sewing-up was done on the Fragline Ouranos ferry between Corfu (Greece) and Brindisi (Italy). What a swell little pattern! I can’t wait to go to Tender Buttons to pick up the right finishing bits. There’s more than enough yarn left for a hat and some other accoutrements. Now if only our friend S. would give us her new address in Shanghai.
I finished one of the socks (from Weekend Knitting pattern), except for the heel. I don’t like it at all, the yarn’s nice but it’s just too…I don’t know. I didn’t do that well on the toe closure either. I need to pick something with a little more interest than just allover stockinette. I do plan on working on more socks soon.
And the green mohair-blend scarf…well I ran out of yarn on that one. It just barely goes around my neck. I dare not rip it because I think that would result in disaster. Does anyone have Lang Thais in their stash, in dark green? It looks to be out of stock everywhere on earth (including ebay).
Here’s a pic of the finished baby sweater, on top of a thrift-score that I am currently frogging (hey–it was an XXL, all wool, handknit, and still with the tags on for only $2.97).
3. The stash enhancement
People, this was the biggest letdown of the trip. I should have known. When the tour books say that everything shuts up in Europe for July and August for summer holidays, they really mean it! Some streets we walked along were completely battened down, just with little notes taped out front the shops that said “chiusa per ferie” (closed for vacation).
First of all this list was well out of date. The maps we had for Rome did not include several of the streets listed on that site, so we aimed for Filatura di Crosa thinking it would be a safe bet. We finally found the tiny place on via Bergamo, the size of a closet really, and it had morphed into a pizzeria in the last few years. The staff were very kind but they had no idea what had happened to the shop.
A couple days later in a hotel in Naples, I found an English yellow pages for Italy that listed various things for four or five of the major Italian cities. Imagine my surprise to see that Naples was the only one of the cities in the directory with a yarn shop listed! The Boutique della Lana/Adriana Picardi is at 79, via F. Cilea, zip 80127, in case you’re going to Naples soon. And lucky for us–it was within a five minute walk from our hotel!
Alas, this is what we found upon arrival…
Closed until September 4. Because of the metal grate and tinted glass on the front, and the plastic sheets the owner had covered all the yarn with, I could not really get a sense of what the choices were but it certainly seemed like a cute Italian version of any nice LYS.
In the end all I bought was one skein of Greek #30 crochet cotton in white. Which I paid four Euros for–way too much–just so I could feel like I brought some yarn home.
I can’t say I found some wonderful substitute for the yarn portion of my travel budget, souvenir-wise. But that just means I have money left over that I can spend on yarn here. I did like the shopping in Sorrento (Italy) and Corfu Town, both little old towns with coastline, charming cafes, and those intriguing little alleys to wander.
This is getting much longer than intended. I can’t believe it’s 10:15 and I’m still awake. Last night I was completely unconscious by 8 pm (but up at 3:00). Tomorrow I have to go back to work and see what kind of avalanche awaits me. Ugh.
Thanks to Monica and Lynette for taking care of Secret Pal 2 in my absence. I know they did a great job making sure things were under control.
