Allora oggi . . . I received my first double cheek Italian kiss from Marcello the mechanic.  I walk by Marcello’s auto repair shop no less than twice daily either on my way to scuolo (school) or citta centro (city center).  We chatted briefly yesterday morning and then again today.  Marcello speaks no English.  And we have already established how little Italian I speak so my conversations with Marcello consist of me introducing myself, describing where, when, and how long I’ll be studying Italian in Siena.  Today I was able to share with Marcello that I was going to Piazza Gramsci to catch l’autobus (public transportation via bus) for San Gimignano.  Marcello helps me with my pronunciation of San Gimignano and then describes it as being molto bello (very beautiful).  So here’s where the Italian double cheek kiss comes in.  There was more Italian dialogue after the description of SG, all of which I did not comprehend.  Marcello leads me to a calendar and has me point out on the calendar how long I will be staying in Siena.  He is so impressed by my length of stay in Siena that he gives me the double cheek kiss before I continue on my way to Piazza Gramsci.

I’ll will spare you the travel drama on the return trip from San Gimignano and share a few photos of this beautiful Tuscan hilltop town instead. Restate sintonizzati . . .