Monday in Pescara

At least it has stopped raining! All day yesterday - and Pescara is like Geelong used to be on a Sunday - not one thing was open!! Yesterday I even thought about getting the train somewhere back north because it was sunny and beautiful in Florence but it is a six hour train trip and I would have had to turn around and
come back as soon as I got there so hung around here for the day. I did go to the station to organise my reservation for my next leg to Foggia and got stuck there for two hours because it was raining too heavily to walk in, so I stayed there, had some pizza, espresso, people watched. I felt like Tom Hanks in that movie where he is stuck in the airport.

There was a market getting set up outside the station so I went for a walk through there, ok if you wanted a rip off hand bag, runners or a coat. Apart from that, there was nothing else on any of the 50 or so stalls! And I was the only white person there, I didn't even realise until I got to the end of the market and a couple of huge black guys started talking to me 'Where you from??" "What's your name?"

I got told off by three old bags on three separate occassions because of my scarpa (shoes). I only have leather sandals with me and they were all rugged up as if it was snowing. Italian women don't mind telling you what they think! I just laughed but have decided next time some bloody old Italian chick tells me off for something I am just going to say "NO!" to shut them up yelling at me and starting talking to the person they are with about how rude I am!

I have been walking around all morning, along the beach, checking out shops, had a look in the art gallery, wished I could be like the women who sit in cafes and read and didn't need to be on the move walking around all the time, looked for a ferry to Croatia but they only run in the summer, espresso here and there then went looking for somewhere to eat lunch. Fiasco!

The beach yesterday

Stopped at a restaurant that had a gazillion empty tables. I wanted a table by the window so I could look out at the beach. No. They are set for four people I have to sit at a table that is set for one or two in the middle of the room with nothing to look at except the people at the next table. Hmmmmm. Ok, can you clear away the dead thrip that are on the table please. With a sigh, new cutlery etc arrived, ok, can I have a glass of vino bianco please while I look at the menu. Sorry signora no glasses of wine only bottles. With a wave of my Italian hand and a 'pffffffttttttttttt' I stood up and said 'No tavola folio, niente vino [no table I want, no wine] pffffffffffffffttttttttttttt' - waved my hand again and walked out. Walked a bit further (there are restaurants the whole length of the beach) found somewhere else, got checked out up and down by every single waiter, got the table I asked for, got the wine and food I asked for. Grazie, how freaking hard was that! One person they don't like to bother with, it means they have to clear away the other setting. Poor bastardi!!

Went for a walk along the beach today for miles and miles in the wind, so windy I lost my sunglasses and didnt notice until I went to put them on walking out of a book shop where I couldnt understand any of the books!

Everything is closing up for lunch so I have come back to my room to upload photos and have a siesta and then will have to start thinking about where I will go and what I feel like for dinner, then come back and start to pack up my stuff again ready to move on to Foggia tomorrow!