Allora oggi . . . my extra large bag is packed and I am heading to Florence (Firenze) in a couple of hours.  Si, my five weeks of Italian language school is finished and my time in Siena is now down to minutes.  Even though I still butcher the Italian language each time I open my mouth, at least I understand more when Italians speak to me than when I arrived five weeks ago.  I also understand the basic grammar rules for il articolo determinativo and indeterminativo; that regolari and irregolari verbi exists; there is a separate verb conjugation for io, tu, lui/lei, noi, voi, and loro.  I don’t always remember which conjugation to use but at least I know there are a variety of options depending on the gender and tempo.  The other day during class is when I realized I had had a comprehension breakthrough.  Our teacher dictated a paragraph in Italian and we were expected to follow the story and write what we understood from his reading.  I caught most of what he said, even though there were spelling errors in my Italian writing I was happy with my ability to grasp the gist of the passage.

Part two of my learning plan is about to be implemented.  This is when I apply what I have learned while travelling.  I will practice my Italian language skills in shops, restaurants, on the phone, and when ordering gelato.  Speaking of gelato I believe I promised to provide insight into the best gelato in Italy.  So far my research has yielded the following results . . . inconclusive, must collect more data.  Seriously, Grom in Siena rocks a mean fragola/pesce combination as well as the Bacio/caffe combo.  More on gelato as we get to Firenze, Abruzzo area, the Puglia region and Amalfi coast.  Restate sintonizzati . . .