Terni, Italy, is our local town. It's in the southern tip of Umbria, right smack dab in the middle of Italy. There's a large steel mill near the road up to La Romita, and a charming old town near the Terni FC (soccer club) stadium where events occur year-round.
We were dropped off at the town square, which had a giant turnaround for several streets. I expected to be run over by a bus, bike, or car as no directional arrows existed here, but cars did stop for pedestrians. One member of my cohort, Laura, started walking with me and telling me how much she liked this blog. I wish folks could comment. The feature was working in May, but apparently it's not working now. Alas.
We didn't have a lot of time for our visit. I wanted to see the Roman Amphitheater, but our purpose was to buy sundries (my nemesis on this trip) and other necessities. Cynthia joined us and we three went right to an Italian parfumerie and shoe shop. Pretty intense fragrances and decent prices. I noticed as we walked around the town that everything I'd need to live happily in Italy was here: drug store, supermarket, lots of boutiques, a music school with an opera singer practicing alongside a guitar player, (their notes in different tempos wafting down a narrow lane), and lots of restaurants around every piazza. Unlike Recanati two years ago, we wouldn't be heading to the Piazza every night around 8:00. We were isolated on top of the hill and needed a car or to call a taxi to get to town. I liked this. I'd focus on writing, not on shopping or escaping the difficulty of finding an evasive word.
A little boutique with the name L'aura caught our eye. We learned the middle rows were recycled/vintage clothes and the wall racks had the new items. A section of fluttery tops, pants, and dresses caught my eye. I was tired of the coastal grandma look of navy, white, and pink. I wanted a color outside of my capsule wardrobe (sorry, Audrey). A minty aqua sleeveless top was long enough to cover my height, and I found the same color in a maxi skirt. Several items appealed, and we took turns changing behind a curtain. I loved my outfit and the price: 60 euros for a silk ensemble made in Italy. I placed it on the counter and continued to look. With no intention of buying clothes or presents on this trip, I found just the perfect dress for the reading at the end of our workshop.
After finding the 5th century round Church of San Salvatore, with its 12th-century chapel, closed, we wandered around the other old streets. Much of Terni was destroyed during World War II, but it reemerged as a city manufacturing machinery, textiles, electrochemicals and food. We headed back for our lunch wanting to spend more time exploring the town.
I'm feeling pressure to present something great at our first workshop tonight. I brought a couple of poems that might work, but none of my drafts composed in France or Switzerland feel right. I am writing a fair amount every day, but nothing really worthwhile. The good news: writing is a practice and I'm writing in two different journals, recording sights in this blog, and still meeting new friends and having more fun than anyone is supposed to. If I can't hit my stride while touring Italy, that's OK. I have a lot to look forward to in the coming week. It's so nice to let someone else do all of the planning.
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