Little things I love

1. I tend to get up on the late side, 8:30 or 9. By the time I'm fully awake, the street outside our building is bustling with people going to work, heading to the shops, or meeting friends to drink coffee and catch up. As a result, there is a constant din of Italian conversation outside our windows, with lots of laughter and drama. Some might find this annoying, but I am charmed.

The street quiets down during the lunch break, which runs from about 1 to 3 p.m. Then the flow of Italian conversation starts up again, and keeps going until around eleven, and maybe a little later on the weekend. It all sounds very jovial, but maybe that's because I can't understand all that much of what they're saying.

It appears there was a sale on toilet paper somewhere

2. This town is flat. There are no hills to speak of. This makes me very happy. I am content to forego dramatic vistas when it's so comfortable to walk around. 

It'a also nice for riding a bicycle, which a lot of people much older than we are do all the time. (There's an abundance of bike lanes and bike paths, too.) We will have to try it. 

3. There are several kiosks in our vicinity where you can buy bottled water, beer, snacks, and other comestibles 24 hours a day. 

One of them stocks not only the usual cookies, candies, sodas, beers, and waters, but an array of local products, including honey and wonderful very fresh whole milk, plus yogurt, kefir, and fruit juice. Sometimes they have butter, pasta, and Parmesan. I find this extremely endearing. 

4. There's a church nearby that rings its big old bells on the hour every hour. It doesn't sound like a recording. 

5. Our street is nothing special; most of it was built (or rather rebuilt) after World War II, and the architecture is not very exciting. But it looks so Italian, so accogliente (cosy, welcoming, hospitable), It's especially lovely at sunset. Walking up or down it gives me a lift every time.