17.10 Mark continues on to Rome today, so I took him back to the station (via the new-found faster route!) and managed to find the Fidenza Lidl for groceries, which was more complicated than it looked – it was cunningly hidden. But now I am master of the Secret Way Under The Station, so it’s all good.

18.10 Mamma had been scheduled to go home on November 6, but life here is very stressful for her – she’s very aware of not speaking any Italian and she gets very afraid that something will happen while I’m out and she’ll be stuck, so I changed her tickets to today and got her up to Linate. Naturally nothing’s simple and the tickets are screwed up. How on EARTH does anyone think an international ticket is going to be “no baggage”? So of course she was a mess by the time we got it all straightened out, and I was 70E poorer because they Just. Wouldn’t. Let her. Check the ffffffine bags. But we were able to get her a wheelchair, which meant she got expedited through security and onto the plane (ooh Freudian slip: I typed “pain” instead of “plane” initially. No kidding!) and she got home ok. The customs people in Atlanta even commended her for having bleached her shoes before leaving here. (Many years ago when I was coming home from Scotland I had just been at my friend Ruth’s farm, and I almost got stuck in customs because of farm dirt on my shoes. We remember these things.) Yes, the house is less tidy but more calm now.

Vitale and Puppe have gone to Salso for the winter. Vitale gave Mamma a kiss goodbye but not me: “You don’t get a kiss, you’re a besozzolese.” Happy!

19.10 Our bellydance careers continue to progress: We now have hip scarves, a copy of Marcella’s music cd, and some video to practice with.