Bibbiano

4-8-2009

Another day in Bibbiano. This morning I played with Pietro outside. He seemed to enjoy himself and it was a beautiful day. Camilla went to the pharmacy this morning and bought Peter the medicine that the doctor prescribed. The girls spent the morning finishing their homework and afterwards they joined Peter and I outside.

Camilla went to her mother-in-law’s house with Anna and Ludovica for lunch and I stayed home while Peter slept. The mother-in-law/grandmother lives just down the street and all the land/vineyard/winery belongs to her and her late husband. Camilla came home around 4 p.m. and told me that she had to go to Sienna for the afternoon and that I needed to stay with the children at the grandmother’s house. She wanted us to eat dinner there and to take a walk to see the construction that was taking place at the bottom of the hill. This is so weird, but Peter enjoys the large trucks and tractors.

The grandmother’s house is fantastic. It is HUGE. There is a large wrought iron gate in the front and the property is surrounded by a stonewall. The house is absolutely beautiful. There is even a large guesthouse in the back that was probably a barn at one point. There was also a beautiful well in the backyard. I know this is not so uncommon, but this is the type of well that Alice fell into. The house really reminded me of a fairy tale. It was all storybook, but at the same time it felt really lonely and desolate. It was very dark inside and I was sad to think that this one woman lives there all alone.

The dinner was a bit strange. It was very nice, but so NOT American. I fed Peter first and Anna, Ludovica and myself ate afterwards with the Nonna. A Philippine couple prepared the meal and served the dinner. They watched Pietro while we ate. The dinner was ridiculously formal and it made me feel a bit uncomfortable. The Italians always eat antipasti, then a first course, second course … but this was just too much. The man brought us dishes of water to wash our hands after the meal (this has always seemed like a strange dinner tradition to me and really outdated). It just wasn’t your typical meal with grandma. Camilla arrived just as we were finishing the dinner. Anna promptly told her, “Tess e antipatica a me per che …” I did not go her way on the walk to see the tractors and apparently this really upset her. Mamma mia. This kid can be such a brat. I thought we were buddies. I played with her all day long.

Aaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!! Just as Anna was acting out some bizarre and twisted story about how I ruined her day, one of the dogs (there are two large dogs at this house) rushed by the buffet table and all the china fell and broke into a million pieces. Camilla yelled sarcastically, “Alle.”